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By BILL DANIELSON

My office is located in a loft above the main room of my house. The ceiling is basically the same shape as the roof and if I reach up from my chair I can touch the wood that separates me from the outside. As I sit here in the early morning hours,...

By BILL DANIELSON

As the days continue to lengthen and the birds outside start ramping up their activities for the breeding season it is time for some of our resident species to start house hunting. A large number of the species that we see at our wintertime feeders...

By BILL DANIELSON

One thing that I must remember to be mindful of is that my readers live in different places. Some weather events can be quite localized and others express themselves in different ways depending on latitude and elevation. Thus, what happens in...

By BILL DANIELSON

So far, this winter has been remarkably average. Some areas might be a little low on snowfall levels, but the temperature has been about average for most days. I’d say it has been a cloudy, gray winter, but nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to...

By BILL DANIELSON

We’ve reached that point in the school year when my biology students have learned about Gregor Mendel, his experiments with pea plants and the general concepts of genes and heredity. We’ve also taken a look at the structures and basic functions of DNA...

By BILL DANIELSON

In last week’s column, I featured the American red squirrel and I shared a photo of one of these rascals solving the puzzle of one of my birdfeeders. “How, do I get those peanuts?” it must have wondered and in relatively short order it managed to get...

By BILL DANIELSON

Friends, Romans, birders, lend me your ears. I am delighted to say that I am back from a horrible experience with kidney stones. It started off, rather innocently, as a slight pain in my back that I couldn’t quite account for, but as time progressed I...

By BILL DANIELSON

I have no idea how many photos exist in my personal collection, nor, I am afraid, will I ever know. I can say (definitively) that in the past 6 years I have taken exactly 104,308 photos, but that is where “exact” comes to a close. My records prior to...

By BILL DANIELSON

In keeping with my New Years resolution to focus some more attention on the plants that live around us I decided to look for a list that I was convinced must exist somewhere. You see, I am a compulsive list-maker. The blood of a scientist runs through...

By BILL DANIELSON

For the past couple weeks I have found myself grumbling during my mornings at the kitchen window.For some reason my yard has become popular with a flock of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and I am not at all pleased. The house sparrow is an...

By MONYA RELLES

Have you heard about gay penguins? You may remember Ray and Silo, the gay penguins of the Central Park Zoo of 2004, proud parents of their own adopted chick. Since then, there have been dozens of gay penguins in zoos, in news articles, and even on...

By BILL DANIELSON

Welcome to 2023! Another calendar has been used, another red journal finished and safely tucked away on a shelf and newness has taken over. I place a brand new desk blotter calendar on my office desk, I unwrap a brand new red journal and begin to...

By STEVE PFARRER

NORTHAMPTON — The Back Porch Festival, Signature Sounds’ late-winter showcase for American roots music, is poised to return in 2023 — in a much bigger format.Incorporating elements of First Night Northampton, the Back Porch Festival will expand to...

By BILL DANIELSON

Today’s column will discuss two separate events that illustrate the powerful ability of birds to bring joy to the lives of humans. The first event took place at my school last week, while the second happened in my brother-in-law’s front yard. Both...

By KEVIN GUTTING

SOUTH HADLEY – About 16 families with young children took part in a hands-on discovery presentation, “Nature Up Close: Explore Nature with Your Child”, by Doug Fleury of Holyoke on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at the town library. With guidance from...

By DAVID SPECTOR

If you sit on a city park bench you’re likely to see birds, especially house sparrows. This species, native to Europe and Asia, was first introduced into North America in 1851 and is now common where farms or cities provide both grain on the ground...