Feeding the birds has helped people young and old to get through this pandemic winter. For many home-bound Americans, this backyard hobby has helped lighten the loneliness and depression brought about by the isolation of the pandemic quarantine. But in recent months, all these bird feeders may have brought the birds an epidemic of their own. Thankfully, the solution to this problem is simple Read the Full Story >>
Doug Pifer
Doug Pifer is an artist, naturalist, and writer. He has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Penn State and has been an editor and art educator. His illustrations have appeared in various books and magazines and he has been a contributor to The Observer for several years. He lives with his wife and assorted animals on 5.7 acres in a historic farmhouse near Shepherdstown.
Feeling The Heartbeat Of Spring Emerging
During my sixty-odd years as a naturalist, I’ve learned spring actually starts long before the first of March. I write this in mid-February as it seems winter has yet to loosen its grip, until you listen and look closely. Read the Full Story >>
The Flow Must Go On
No creatures on earth can change their environment more drastically than humans and beavers. In the natural world, beaver dams create new wetland habitat for a variety of wildlife. Fishermen, hunters, bird watchers, hikers and outdoor recreationists love to visit beaver dams. But when beavers cut down trees, obstruct and divert waterways, and flood fields, septic systems and basements, their “damming” activities place beavers in direct conflict with humans. Read the Full Story >>
Seeing & Hearing The Signs of New Beginnings
As a difficult and challenging year winds down and the pandemic shows new surges, I find much comfort observing nature. The transition from late fall into winter to me represents more of a beginning than an end. Read the Full Story >>
Even the Birds Sound Different in 2020
About a half hour after sunrise, the song of a white-throated sparrow came from our big forsythia bush. I look forward to these sparrows every year, but this time I was paying special attention. Read the Full Story >>
A Colorful Winter Ahead?
Last month I heard a different bird call coming from one of our tall arborvitae trees in the front yard. When I heard it again a few days later I recognized it—pine siskins! I was excited to see a flock of about a hundred land in the same tree. Read the Full Story >>
Rediscovering Hummingbirds
Can you find something positive to remember about this summer, despite the lockdown and the quarantine? I shall remember this as the summer we rediscovered hummingbirds. Read the Full Story >>
Butterfly Weed — Outstanding In Our Field
We were talking and my wife suddenly stood with her mouth open, staring out into our distant hayfield. “That looks like orange butterfly weed!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. Read the Full Story >>
Wake Up: It’s Later Than You Think.
March sneaks up on me. I still consider it the beginning of nature’s year when the earliest spring birds and flowers appear. But now there’s a somber side to nature’s awakening—an odd, empty feeling, like waking up to discover I forgot to set the alarm clock. Time has passed while I’ve been snoozing. What did I miss and why is it so quiet? Read the Full Story >>
Winter is Party Time for Crows
People might say a crow is a crow, but in the Potomac and Shenandoah Valley, when you see a crow it could be one of three different species. By far, the most common is the American crow, followed by the slightly smaller Fish crow. Occasionally a Northern raven will join them. All three species nest here and can be seen all year. But they’re more evident and easier to see in winter. Read the Full Story >>
Tracing the Travels of Saw-Whet Owls
The caravan of cars reached the top of South Mountain. A couple-dozen riders emerged into the night, bundled into parkas and wearing winter coats. As we inhaled crisp November air, our ears were blasted with a continuous amplified recording that sounded like a big truck backing up. Read the Full Story >>
Bringing Back Bobwhite Quail
On our wall hangs an ammunition poster printed in the 1940s featuring a crouched rabbit and ten Bobwhite quail. Painted by sporting artist Lynn Bogue Hunt, it celebrates bygone days when hunting was a favorite fall pastime. Read the Full Story >>
Welcome Back, Bob White!
The whistled call, “Bob-White,” is seldom heard here anymore. But that may be about to change. Interested farmers and landowners in Virginia and West Virginia now have an opportunity to bring the cheerful little quail back to their original habitat. Read the Full Story >>
Rough-Wings Are Somber Swallows
I saw my first rough-winged swallow when I was a teenager fishing along a creek in western Pennsylvania. I thought it wasn’t much to look at. It had a graceful swallow shape, but otherwise it was plain and dull. Skimming low over water catching insects along with other swallows, a rough-wing lacks their polished plumage and contrasting, iridescent colors. The back, head, and wings are wood-brown and the throat is drab, shading to gray on the chest and sides. The belly is a dirty, brownish white. Only the undertail feathers are dazzling white. The black, shiny bill looks very short, even for a swallow. Read the Full Story >>
Swan Pond Attracts Wintering Waterfowl
A sign beside Route 45 says: “1.5 miles north is Swan Pond Manor, a 2,000-acre retreat set aside in 1745 for use of Thomas Lord Fairfax, once the proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia who established an estate at Greenway Court, Frederick County in 1738. So named because wild swans inhabited [the] site.” Read the Full Story >>