Nature Notes
11/6/2016
We have moved past our "peak" foliage season and many of our trees have lost their leaves for the winter. There are still a few hold-outs...some oaks that are still green, maple leaves that are stubbornly hanging on and giving us gorgeous reds and oranges along the canopy. Every fall I'm asked why leaves turn colors. For many of the leaves, the pigments that make the yellows, oranges, and reds (carotenoid pigments) are always present in the leaves but are masked by an overwhelming presence of chlorophyll pigments which reflect green light. In the fall as the daylight hours get shorter, leaves stop producing chlorophylls and they are broken down. This gives the other pigments a brief chance to shine before the leaves drop off.
We have moved past our "peak" foliage season and many of our trees have lost their leaves for the winter. There are still a few hold-outs...some oaks that are still green, maple leaves that are stubbornly hanging on and giving us gorgeous reds and oranges along the canopy. Every fall I'm asked why leaves turn colors. For many of the leaves, the pigments that make the yellows, oranges, and reds (carotenoid pigments) are always present in the leaves but are masked by an overwhelming presence of chlorophyll pigments which reflect green light. In the fall as the daylight hours get shorter, leaves stop producing chlorophylls and they are broken down. This gives the other pigments a brief chance to shine before the leaves drop off.
10/12/2016
Yesterday I spotted a juvenile bald eagle while hiking in Acadia National Park! The gorgeous bird was surveying the ocean inlet below, presumably keeping a sharp eye out for fish. Birds of prey have remarkable vision and giant talons for grabbing their prey in flight.
Yesterday I spotted a juvenile bald eagle while hiking in Acadia National Park! The gorgeous bird was surveying the ocean inlet below, presumably keeping a sharp eye out for fish. Birds of prey have remarkable vision and giant talons for grabbing their prey in flight.
Once an eagle has captured a fish (fish make up nearly 75% of their diets...small mammals and waterfowl are other victims) it will use its sharp beak (look at it! would you want to be on the receiving end of that mouth?) to tear up its prey.
Bald eagles are an environmental success story. Their numbers were decimated following the advent and widespread use of the pesticide DDT after World War II. After DDT was banned in the early 1970s the eagle (and other birds of prey) slowly began to rebound. In New England, there was only one successful nesting pair of eagles in 1949. Now there are hundreds of adults that can be spotted around the region.
