Kids learn how the Lenape lived, and then make a coil pot in the style of the Lenape people.

WILD Jersey is bringing a new program to several branches of the Ocean County Library this summer. There’s still time to register your child for the Lenape Coil Pots program.

Children will learn how the Lenape, NJ’s indigenous people, lived long ago. We’ll talk about what the Lenape ate, how they made their clothes and homes, and who did which chores – the men or the women. Kids will get to make their own Lenape-style clay pot, a coil pot.

There’s still room for a few more kids at several upcoming Lenape Coil Pots programs. Register now through the Ocean County Library website for the following dates:

Island Heights Branch
Friday, August 5, 2011
2:00 pm

Beachwood Branch
Thursday, August 11, 2011
3:00 pm

You can also schedule a Lenape Coil Pots program for your Girl Scouts, camp, or school group. Contact Debbie at WILD Jersey to learn more.

Don't mow your violets! Leave them for the bees and butterflies.

I’m surrounded by suspiciously green carpets of turfgrass. There’s probably nothing worse for wildlife than a weed-free, well-fertilized yard of turfgrass. Most of my neighbors probably cringe at the sight of my yard, with its sprawling patch of weeds. I don’t care.

From an insect’s perspective, my “lawn” is paradise. Bees are already foraging on violets and dandelions, important sources of early spring pollen and nectar. Those violets serve as the host plant for fritillary caterpillars, too. The larva of some skippers feed on crabgrass. Soon, the bumblebees will keep busy in the clover patches.

Let your lawn get a little weedy, and set your mower blade high enough to leave some flowers behind. Remember, the food chain starts with insects. If you support the insects by providing them with diverse plant life, you also support all the critters that depend on those bugs for food.

Goodbye, old WILD Jersey website! Hello new, improved WILD Jersey website!

If you can read this, it means I’ve finally finished a project that’s been on my to do list for way too long. I’ve been itching to redesign my website for the past several years, but as they say, life kept getting in the way. I’m happy to cross this off my list, at last. I think you’ll find my new site easier to navigate, and a lot neater and tidier than the behemoth of a site I’ve used for the past six years.

If you were familiar with my old site, you’ll probably notice some different nature and science programs among the offerings here. If you’re a new visitor, please put your feet up, make yourself comfortable, and take a look around.

While my former website was rather static, this one will be much more dynamic with the addition of a blog integrated into the home page. I’ll share updates, ideas for activities you can do on your own, and a bit of natural history there. Please drop by regularly, and feel free to leave a comment now and then.

Scientists believe the “v” formation gives large birds an aerodynamic advantage that helps them conserve energy. French researchers measured the heart rates of great white pelicans, and found their heart rates slowed when flying in this formation. They were also able to glide more often. The birds can flap their wings in unison, and draft behind one another, much like cyclists do in the Tour de France. It’s also believed that a close group formation improves communication between the birds.

A white-breasted nuthatch collects safflower seeds from my feeder.

The white-breasted nuthatch, seen in these photos, is an accomplished hoarder. Nuthatches empty feeders quickly in the fall, removing one seed at a time and stashing it for a winter meal. They’re known for walking up and down tree trunks, so it is no surprise that they like to hide seeds under bark or lichen.

The white-breasted nuthatch stores its seed for winter, often under bark.

Birds that cache food have excellent spatial memory, and are quite good at retrieving their stored seeds when needed.

Field crickets often come indoors in the fall.

Field crickets overwinter as eggs in the soil. The adult crickets do not survive the winter cold, so there is no need to feel bad about the demise of crickets in your basement. As for the chirping, which is pleasant to hear (for a really short time), it’s only made by males in search of mates.

_{Photo credit: Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org}

During the cold winter months, many birds simply can’t find enough food to survive in northern habitats. Insect-eating birds, and some that rely on certain berries or seeds, will head to warmer climates where food is always plentiful.

So why don’t birds that live in the warmer climates just stay there all year?

In summer, those same northern areas offer an abundance of plant and insect food for birds. Remember, birds forage during the daytime and rest when it is dark. Breeding birds take advantage of the longer daylight hours of temperate zones to feed, and to gather food for their hatchlings.

Sweetgum leaves turn many colors in the fall, from yellow to purple.

The amount of daylight (photoperiodism) prompts the color changes in leaves, not cooler temperatures. As days get shorter, trees use less chlorophyll. All that green pigment starts to degrade, revealing the other leaf pigments.

• Trees with leaves that always turn yellow include tulip poplar, birch, hickory, and redbud.
• Some trees have leaves with high amounts of tannins in them (like oaks). These leaves may turn brown in fall.
• Yellow and orange colors come from carotenoid pigments; red color comes from anthocyanin pigments. The combination of both pigments produces the deep red, oranges, and gold colors of fall leaves.




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