Spring Casting!

A friend asks . . . Mark, when will Spring finally arrive in Maryland, and when will Spring start where you live?  Well, here is the answer: Spring Casting ( Real Time Spring… Continue reading →

Conservation Priority: Controlling Populations of White-Tailed Deer

White-tailed deer, (Odocoileus virginianus), are beautiful animals, part of the natural fabric of North America, adaptive and graceful.  Deer are prey species, requiring predators to keep their populations in check.  Without predators removing… Continue reading →

Good and Substaintial

The Conversion That Made a Veteran Cop Change His Views on Concealed Carry As the head of the Maryland State Police Licensing Division, Jack McCauley decided what would qualify as a “good and… Continue reading →

Implausible Deniability

Fresh Intellectual Froglegs  

2014 State of the Birds Report

One hundred years after the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, the nation’s top bird scientists from conservation groups and agencies have come together again to publish the fifth State of the Birds report. … Continue reading →

Gun Ownership Declining? Don’t Believe It!

An Associated Press story receiving considerable attention cites the latest General Social Survey finding that gun ownership has declined in recent years, though other research—from Gallup polls to FBI background checks to NSSF-commissioned… Continue reading →

One Old Bat

. . . and I’m not talking about your Grandmother! This male little brown bat was banded in April 1983 making it at least 32 years old in February 2015 when it was… Continue reading →

The Chesapeake Bay is Closed!?

Ice Melt Hazard – NO Boating Allowed Until April 15, 2015 You won’t be able to navigate a boat at will in the upper Chesapeake Bay area through April 15.  The United States… Continue reading →

The Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening

Plants are as close to biological miracles as a scientist could dare admit.  After all, they allow us, and nearly every other species, to eat sunlight, by creating the nourishment that drives food… Continue reading →

The Loss of Field Biology Skills

Warning of a serious decline in college graduates with sound natural history identification skills. It is widely accepted that the decline in field biology skills has reached crisis point.  But so what?  The… Continue reading →

Bald Eagle Covered in Snow Protecting Eggs

Codorus State Park, Hanover, PA Think you’ve had it up to your neck with snow? Try being one of the bald eagles at Codorus State Park.  The eagles took dedication and parenting to… Continue reading →

Action Jackson

The Burchick’s allowed their family dog, Action Jackson, a mixed Pyrenees-Bernese, to be used in a GEICO commercial. Jackson’s favorite table-fare is Breakstone’s lightly salted whipped butter in the 8 ounce tub container. … Continue reading →

Pomp and Petulance

Fresh Frog Legs from Joe Dan