Nature's Notebook

 From two miles high in the Rockies, your faithful correspondent is filing his weekly column. A day ago I was flying across the midsection of our country, directly overhead of the Big Bend of the Platte River, where even now half a million sandhill cranes are pausing on their northward migration. Now I am in the land of black-billed magpies, common ravens, and pine siskins. Spring is arriving here, as it is back home, releasing us from the late-winter deep freeze. (Take that, groundhog!!)

 Let the mating season begin! For many of our birds, including hawks, owls and waterfowl, as well as some other wildlife, breeding season is well underway. One example is the

 eastern screech owl.This small nocturnal hunter is one of the most common and widespread owls in our region. It breeds in woodlands of all kinds, appropriating the natural tree cavities, including those excavated by woodpeckers, to lay three or four eggs.

 Of all our owls, it is the most habituated to human presence, and often nests in proximity to houses and in artificial nest boxes. Egg-laying takes place between mid-March and May.

 The screech owl has an eclectic diet that includes small vertebrates and invertebrates of all kinds.

 There are two color forms (morphs) of the eastern screech owl: reddish and gray.

 The most commonly heard call of this species is a haunting, monotone wail, often preceded by a descending "whinny." It also has a variety of weird cackles and, yes, screeches.

 For those with anthropomorphic leanings, the good news is that most screech owls mate for life. The bad news is that a small percentage get "divorces" when their nest fails, and another small percentage are polygynous — males mate with two or occasionally more females.

 u u u

 A caller from Salisbury, who asked that his name not be used in the paper, warned that it’s time to start taking birdfeeders in at night. His yard was visited by a bear on Monday morning who "smashed all the birdfeeders, and bent a steel post like it was aluminum. They’re waking up, and they’re hungry. Their clock is saying it’s springtime."

 u u u

 Henry Wirth of Belgo Road, Salisbury, has seen bears four times at his house on Reservoir Road this week. A mother and four cubs, no less! They've come to the house and put their paws on the glass door.

 Fred Baumgarten is a naturalist and writer. He can be reached at  fredb58@sbcglobal.net . His blog is at thatbirdblog.blogspot.com. 
 

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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