Latest news with #MassAudubon
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Retiree earns inspiring nickname after rescuing hundreds of owls from airport: 'They might be hiding or ... sleeping'
Since 1981, Norman Smith has rescued more than 900 snowy owls from Boston Logan International Airport, The Washington Post reported. The 73-year-old "Owl Man of Logan Airport" worked at Mass Audubon for nearly 60 years and continues to catch and release southbound snowy owls from the airport's runways. The retiree's involvement at Mass Audubon began when he was a teenager, the Post said. Most recently, he served as the director of the organization's Blue Hills Trailside Museum. He remains an expert on snowy owls, having made discoveries about the species through both his work at Mass Audubon and the airport. Logan Airport hosts the largest concentration of snowy owls in the Northeast, according to Mass Audubon. The birds migrate south from the Arctic when winter approaches, the Post explained, choosing the airport as their temporary home because of its resemblance to the barren Arctic tundra and abundance of food. However, snowy owls pose risks to planes, passengers, and themselves. Collisions between birds and airplanes can hurt everyone involved, and Logan Airport recorded the deadliest bird-related airplane accident in 1960 when a flight crashed because of a flock of starlings, killing all but 10 people on board. While policies to shoot birds at airports arose from accidents like this, Smith responded with a different strategy. He reached out to Logan Airport in 1981 and asked to humanely trap the snowy owls there, studying the birds before relocating them. For the past 44 years, Smith has rescued about 10 to 15 owls a year, according to the Post. He attaches transmitters to some of the owls as part of the Snowy Owl Project, allowing him and his team to learn more about the birds' locations and migration routes. His work also landed him in a documentary. "They might be just sitting there, they might be hiding, or they might be sleeping," Smith said about the owls. "They could be out on the salt marsh, roosting or feeding on a duck or a rabbit." Snowy owl populations are decreasing because of warmer temperatures, which cause habitat and prey loss, and Partners in Flight listed the species on its Yellow Watch List. Smith aims to protect the species by educating others about it and promoting care "for this world in which we live," Mass Audubon stated. Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What goes ‘bump' in the night is actually helping to ensure humanity's survival
When you're asleep, the world remains awake. Thousands of nocturnal species are crawling, flying, leaping, swimming, and dancing through forests, caves, lakes, parks, and the urban environment. Without seeing them, people may not even know they're there. Even though they're largely unseen, a new research review has found that without the contribution of the world's nocturnal pollinators, humanity would struggle to survive. "We have this idea that all the magic happens during the day, because that's when we're active, and that's when we see bees and butterflies fluttering around flowers," Liam Kendall, a postdoctoral fellow at Sweden's Lund University, said in a statement. Kendall and fellow researcher Charlie Nicholson were the authors of the first-of-its-kind meta-analysis which was published this month in the journal Ecology Letters. Most people know about daytime pollinators, including birds, bees, wasps, and butterflies. They provide critical ecosystem services, working to fertilize flowers that can create fruit and seeds. Without their services, humanity would be in dire straits. One in three bites of the food Americans eat depends on pollinators. Furthermore, nearly 80 percent of global crop plants used to make food and other plant-based products require pollination by animals. For decades, scientists have tried to determine whether plants are largely pollinated during the day or at night. But, less attention has been given to the bats, months, nocturnal butterflies, and fireflies. To understand their role compared to their daytime counterparts, Kendall and Nicholson compiled data from 135 studies, finding that 90 percent of the 139 plant species that were examined in the studies had similar reproductive success, regardless of when the plants were pollinated. "We were definitely surprised by the number of plant species where it didn't matter. We found this really fascinating because it's easy to assume that a specific plant needs a specific pollinator. The analysis actually showed almost the opposite — there's much more flexibility. A different pollinator than expected can contribute enough for a plant species to reproduce," said Kendall. So, why has their impact taken so long to widely recognize? In fact, it hasn't been totally unrecognized. Moths have been called the 'unsung heroes of pollination,' many of which are tied to apple pollination. The white-lined sphinx moth, which is also known as the hummingbird moth, is a crucial pollinator for twilight-blooming flowers, according to Mass Audubon. They are widespread in North America. Plus, hundreds of species of plants rely on U.S. bats, including bananas, mangos, and agave. Kendall theorizes that daytime pollinators are seen by humans as more 'beautiful,' and attract more attention. Furthermore, he hypothesizes that many researchers may have had a certain idea for how pollination for a particular plant may occur. Of course, it is also notable that humans are most active during the daytime. The authors also highlighted that daytime species are better protected than nighttime species. Tackling artificial light at night — or excessive or poorly placed lighting that can interrupt the natural environment — may be one way to help protect them. They also face exposure to pesticides, disease, invasive species, climate change, and habitat loss. Climate change is disrupting the relationship between all pollinators and plants, with rising temperatures affecting when plants flower and potentially getting them out of sync with their pollinators. "Actions are often taken to protect daytime pollinators, such as spraying pesticides at night. There's an oversight there — sure, you're protecting the daytime insects, but you're also, theoretically, harming the nocturnal pollinators. This means we could be doing much more, but we haven't thought enough about it so far, and more research is needed," said Kendall.
Boston Globe
19-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
The beauty and joy of May
At the Arnold Arboretum, May is the busiest month, averaging nearly 60,000 visitors. On Lilac Sunday, 16,000 fans took in the intoxicating scent. The blossoming flowers and trees are spectacular. Emory Watson,6, climbs a tree in the arboretum and proudly takes in the view with her dad. She's told she gets one wish. 'I would climb as many trees as I can because I'm not scared,' she says one recent day. Advertisement Nearby, others are timid around the flowers, where the bees are busy. Experts say just let them be. Emory Watson,6, climbs a tree in the Arnold Arboretum. 'For a lot of people these can evoke fear when you see insects flying about. It's like 'Oh no, am I going to get stung?'' Nicolle Bell a UMass Extension pollinator specialist says by telephone. 'Most of these bees are disinterested in people. They're just trying to survive. And it's a beautiful thing to see bees persisting and making a go of it in these really fragmented urbanized habitats.' Honeybees, which are not native to the United States, have suffered major losses this year, says Bell. 'Massachusetts is a bee haven, with 400 different native species, although some are declining due to habitat loss and other factors…. others have increased.' Advertisement A a male Xylocopa virginica, or eastern carpenter bee, enjoys a southern treat, a pinkshell azalea, Rhododendron vaseyi, a native and endangered shrub of the Southeast, at the Arnold Arboretum. At Crane Beach in Ipswich, thankfully, the nasty greenhead fly season has not started. A fisherman says the stripers are back, but the only one catching anything is one super clean herring gull. It snags a fish but then loses it to a more aggressive juvenile gull who isn't afraid to get down and dirty in the low tide mud. Mr. Clean screams like a baby but does nothing to take it away. Up on Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, the deer outnumber people on the beach. A few scurry away but one doe stands still, watching the evening sun head toward the horizon. (Note to Bambi: Stop by the guard shack and look for info on the controlled bow hunt in October.) A herring gull adult is very vocal about a juvenile gull's theft of a fish, as identified by John Herbert, Mass Audubon director of bird conservation. In Boston this time of year fog, rolls in and out, creating a pillow of serenity until the sun finally wins out. A fleet of 420s, with Boston College sails, cruises in formation in Dorchester Bay past the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The young president loved to sail. 'We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came,' said the president in Newport, R.I., in 1962. Sailboats glide by the JFK Library in Dorchester. In 1967, the Rolling Stones sang about the praises of 'Dandelions' a trippy nursery room tune written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards with backup vocals by Lennon and McCartney. 'Dandelion don't tell no lies Dandelion will make you wise Tell me if she laughs or cries, Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion.' Advertisement Increasingly the dandelion has been public enemy number one for lawn owners who have been brainwashed into pummeling it with pesticides. It didn't use to be that way. Dandelions were used by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Romans, and Greeks. The Puritans intentionally brought it to the New World aboard the Mayflower for their 'medicinal and sustenance value,' according to the National Park Service. They continue to be a good source for pollinators. Just ask the bees. Dandelion puffballs glisten in the setting sun as motorists drive down Victory Road. Lawn owners hate the spreading of their seeds, but kids love to blow them and make a wish. But dandelions nowadays are more damned than weeds. The exception is the legendary retired Red Sox senior director of grounds David Mellor. 'Dandelion is definitely my favorite flower,' says Mellor. 'Anytime I see one, I think of our girls picking bouquets for my wife. When the dandelions would turn into puffy seed heads the girls would be giggling and chasing each other around the yard blowing the seeds and having fun. If they were happy, I was happy. In fact, they make me smile, so I don't worry about them or the clover on my home lawn anymore. Instead, we started looking for four leaf clovers.' @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Cicadas could emerge soon in Massachusetts. Here's what to expect.
The emergence of cicadas could start any moment now. Last year, the country witnessed a surge of the insects but they were not in Massachusetts. This time around, the 17-year periodical cicadas, also known as Brood XIV, will emerge. "Cicadas emerge when the soil temperature reaches about 64°F at a depth of 12–18 inches," according to The Nature Conservancy. So, when will the cicadas start appearing? And how long does the cicada emergence last? Here's what to know. The Nature Conservancy stated on its website that cicadas arrive as early as May and stay until late June. WBUR radio in Massachusetts stated on its website that cicadas will most likely appear in mid-May, but more likely near the end of the month or early June. The Nature Conservancy stated on its website that cicadas will remain in the region for a period of four-to-six weeks, adding that "the exact time of emergence can vary depending on the specific brood and soil temperatures." There are more than 2,000 species of this insect worldwide, according to Mass Audubon the most common in Massachusetts being the "Dog Day" cicada, which arise every two years or so. The Dog Day cicada is "approximately 2.25 inches long, medium brown, with a green venation, the vein structure in its wing." The "periodical" cicada comes out once every 17 years, and are a bit smaller than Dog Day cicadas, with black bodies, Mass Wildlife explained. The periodical creatures are the ones people are clamoring for this year. What they're most known for is their ability to make a racket, able to generate noise reaching 100 decibels. Cicadas can typically be heard "singing" during late summer days, according to Mass Wildlife. The cicadas make such sounds with organs in their bodies called tympana. According to Mass Audubon, "cicadas are among the most benign of insects" and do not typically carry any sorts of disease. The organization added that they do not hurt pets, either. Brood XIV is the one that will emerge in parts of the United States this year, according to The Nature Conservancy. The last time this particular brood of cicadas was around was 2008. Historical dates for Brood XIV in Massachusetts include appearances over the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s in Barnstable, Dennis, Falmouth, Bourne, Plymouth and a handful of other nearby towns. The cicadas will only be seen in 12 other states when they arrive, including Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, according to Cicada Mania. In 2024, two broods of "periodical" cicadas – 13-year brood Brood XIX and the 17-year Brood XIII – emerged from the ground at the same time last summer. That's a rare occasion in itself - it's not often that two such broods arise at the same time. It hadn't happened in 200 years. However, the convergence of the two broods mostly occurred in the southern United States, so Massachusetts residents weren't able to see the full spectacle. This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: When will cicadas arrive in Massachusetts
Boston Globe
24-04-2025
- Boston Globe
The ‘owl man' keeps busy at Logan Airport
Advertisement With the congested airspace and constant rumble of jets, the airport is hardly a tranquil bird sanctuary. But Smith said the terrain resembles the Arctic tundra. It's open, flat and barren, with water on three sides and plenty to eat, including waterfowl and small mammals. The airfield is also a dangerous place to alight. A collision between a plane and an owl can end badly for both types of fliers. 'The importance of Norm coming in is that he helps us take out a significant threat to aviation safety, which is a large, dense-bodied bird on the airfield,' said Jeff Turner, the airport facilities supervisor for the Massachusetts Port Authority. Related : In 1981, Smith sent a letter to his home airport, asking whether he could study the visiting raptors. He offered to humanely trap the owls from October to spring, or whenever the last bird decided to return home. After checking their vitals, conducting a few tests and banding their legs, he would release them farther afield, such as from Cape Cod or the North Shore. Advertisement 'If it was early in the season, you'd want to move them south of the airport, because the birds were generally heading south,' said Raymond MacDonald, a wildlife photographer who has been collaborating with Smith for 15 years. 'If you released them north of Logan, they might run into Logan again.' Smith started that fall and has not stopped. The owl man of Logan airport Several times a month, Smith will drive to Boston Logan, where he has a high security clearance. In the back of his truck, a bow trap rattles, and the live mice don't make a peep. (No animals, including the bait, are harmed in the process, he says.) He typically catches 10 to 15 snowy owls a year, plus several other birds of prey, such as short-eared owls, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks and harriers. He set a personal record in the 2013-2014 season, capturing 14 snowy owls in one day and 121 over the winter. In late March, it was 15. 'They might be just sitting there, they might be hiding or they might be sleeping,' Smith said of his targets. 'They could be out on the salt marsh, roosting or feeding on a duck or a rabbit. Obviously, those birds you're not going to catch, because the bird has to be hungry." The Boston-area native, who started working at Mass Audubon as a teenager and recently retired as director of its Blue Hills Trailside Museum, is a preeminent authority on snowy owls. He was the subject of a recent award-winning short documentary film by local filmmaker Anna Miller, called 'The Snowy Owls of Logan Airport.' Advertisement Through tagging, satellite telemetry and field work, he has made numerous discoveries about the species' life expectancy, vision, migratory routes and feeding habits. He was a pioneer in bird tracking, attaching transmitters to wintering snowy owls and determining that the animals successfully complete the 3,000-mile odyssey to the Arctic. But not all of them do. 'I was out there one time, and a snowy owl was sucked into a Learjet engine. It blew the engine, and the plane had to turn around and come back,' Smith said. 'That's the reason why we catch them and move them from the airport.' Smith said some people have suggested he leave the snowy owls alone. He shrugs them off. 'That's not good for the owl,' he said, 'and it certainly isn't good for the plane.' Birds strike again and again Boston Logan is haunted by the specter of a 1960 bird strike that ranks as the deadliest of its kind. In October of that year, a flock of starlings caused Eastern Airlines Flight 375 to plunge into Winthrop Bay minutes after takeoff. Of the 72 passengers and flight crew members on board, 10 survived. More often than not, bird strikes are not life-threatening to airplane passengers, but they can be harrowing. One of the most famous nonfatal incidents occurred in New York in 2009, when a US Airways plane flew into a flock of Canada geese. Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger III safely landed the aircraft on the Hudson River. Advertisement Wildlife strikes are on the rise, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's most recent and complete data. In 2023, the agency recorded 19,603 run-ins in the United States, a 14 percent increase from the previous year's 17,205 collisions. Around the world, wildlife accidents involving civilian and military aircraft have killed more than 491 people and destroyed more than 350 aircraft between 1988 and 2023. Domestically, the numbers are 76 and 126, respectively. During roughly the same period, nearly 800 species were involved, including 651 bird species, such as black and turkey vultures, gulls, brown and white pelicans, trumpeter swans, American kestrels, bald eagles, and snowy owls. Among birds, the FAA said, waterfowl, raptors and gulls cause the greatest amount of damage. Airports employ a battalion of tactics to deter birds and mammals from tangling with aircraft operations. Not all of the strategies are well-received. In 2013, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey instructed its airports to shoot any snowy owls on the premises, a legal method despite protections from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Workers at JFK International killed three snowy owls, unleashing a public outcry. The episode also spurred Turner, who was a Department of Agriculture biologist at the time, and Smith to create a USDA-accepted protocol for airport wildlife practices dealing with raptors. Searching for No. 16 On a late March morning, the Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton was still in winter's grip. Smith wore a blue Mass Audubon hoodie, baggy black jeans and scuffed leather hiking boots. With his snowbank of hair and intense gaze, he resembled a snowy owl. When he smiled, his bushy white mustache quivered like feathers in the wind. Advertisement I followed him into the small museum and to a glass case containing a pair of taxidermied snowy owls. Smith launched into a lesson about the birds - their size and coloring, courtship rituals, breeding habits, and taste for lemmings. In addition to his research, the grandfather of six is an educator. One of his primary goals, he said, is to inspire people, especially young ones, and help them 'better understand, appreciate and care for this world in which we live.' Back outside, two snowy owls in an enclosure coolly regarded us as Smith recounted their backstories. Both were airport rescues. The female bird had been sitting on a snow-melting machine at Boston Logan, and the heat caused irreparable damage to her feathers. 'This bird is not going to find its way back to the Arctic,' Smith said. The other snowy owl, a male, was hit by a plane at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport and suffered a broken shoulder. It will never soar again, either. The tour ended at his truck, a hybrid classroom and mobile office. Smith keeps snowy owl specimens in his vehicle, as well as the bow trap he uses at the airport. On a hard patch of dirt, he demonstrated the contraption, which he jury-rigged with a fishing pole and long line. The box containing the bait was a miniature version of a great-white-shark cage: The prey can see the meal but not taste it. When choosing a location to set up a trap, he coordinates with the airport staff to avoid active runways. He doesn't want an owl to dash across the tarmac and get slammed by oncoming traffic. 'There have been cases [at other facilities] where they try to chase the snowy owls off the airfield and the birds get upset and are looking at the vehicle that's trying to chase them,' Smith said. 'They're not looking for the plane, and then they get hit by a plane.' Advertisement In the field, he camouflages himself in his vehicle, sometimes peering at the owl through binoculars or a night vision scope. As soon as an unsuspecting bird lands on the trap, he yanks the fishing rod, releasing the net over the catch. He will then drive over to the apparatus, seize the bird by its feet and stash it in a carrier. 'You grab it before it grabs you,' he said. On Monday, he received a tip from a birdwatcher. He dashed over to the airport but didn't see the reported owl. His season tally remained 15.
