The Wrack

Perfectly reliable and yet completely unknowable, pi is one of those great Absolute Truths that seem to only exist in mathematics. Its one of only a few beautiful round pearls buried in the sands of space and time. How can you not love it, even envy it a little?

Warning: Mildly graphic images of wildlife below

Thanks to a couple of observant walkers, the Wells Reserve education programs will soon have a few new props to teach about our feathered friends out on the trails and along the beach. Last week, I received the bodies of a common murre and a red-tailed hawk that had been found dead: the murre found by volunteer-extraordinaire Stu Flavin along a beach during his morning dog walk; the hawk by a Reserve neighbor strolling through the woods. Its always sad to see wildlife that have passed, and with these two birds the cause of death was unclear, though likely natural as they were found in their respective habitats. The silver lining for me is that they can live a second life as teachers, educating the public about their amazing adaptations and encouraging a deeper appreciation for their role in our natural world.

Two scientists AND their chief salesman want to better communicate coastal science and our changing world, BUT they need some help. THEREFORE, they sought out a guru.

The first week of March is customarily when reserve managers visit Congressional offices in DC to explain why the estuarine reserves are such a healthy bargain.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 2/22/2015.

I learned a new word this year. Subnivean, from the Latin for under (sub) and snow (nives). Its the zone within and underneath the snowpack. Its where weve all been living lately.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 2/8/2015.

In America, enshrined in our First Amendment, we have a right to voicing our own opinions. But ever since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, Ive been thinking about whether free speech does have limits. If what I say ends up hurting others, or even myself, I may have a right to say it& but should I?

My tight-timeframe Wednesday birding routine started in March and carried on through December. Over that span I missed 7 mid-week morning appointments with the birds, but still completed 33 checklists accounting for 61 species.

Starlings were evident on 20 surveys, crows turned up on 19, and a handful of species appeared 11 times: robin, bluebird, a sparrow, and goldfinch.

Sand beaches are incredibly valuable to Maine. Sea walls and jetties disrupt the natural movement of sand along the coastline, creating areas of erosion that combined with rising sea level and increased frequency and severity of storms have contributed to an overall net loss of sand.

In 2014, Wells Reserve researchers trapped and counted numerous brook trout in Branch Brook as part of an ongoing project to restore these native fish and the habitat they depend on (see previous blog post). ?We caught these fish as they moved from the estuary into the freshwater reaches of Branch Brook and ascended the restore…

It is NOT about easy answers, shortcuts, or even a-ha revelations. Why on earth is that great?