|
|
Wild turkeys — true, original Americans
By Buckmasters Online
Benjamin Franklin called the wild turkey “a true original native of America,” and a “bird of courage” because turkeys were known to attack red-coated British grenadiers during the Revolutionary War. Old Ben may have looked past the fact that a wild turkey has a usual negative reaction to the color red, male birds seeing it ... READ MORE
The smallest falcon has its own superpower
By Buckmasters Online
Photo: The American Kestrel—a small, fierce raptor. The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America, but it was once misidentified as a sparrow hawk. Similar in size to a mourning dove, at nine inches in length, with a 22-inch wingspan, and weighing 4.1 ounces, this fierce little raptor has its own superpower—it can see ult... READ MORE
Migrating orioles love Southern hospitality (and grape jelly)
By Buckmasters Online
Photo: An adult male Baltimore oriole enjoys his favorite grape jelly snack at a feeder. During February 2017, for the third year in a row, South Carolina became known as the state most favored as a winter home by migrating Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore Orioles are neotropical migrants, normally wintering in South and Central America and migrating t... READ MORE
Time for a Tick Check
By Buckmasters Online
Bloodsucker. It’s a vampire, a science fiction film, a song title, a comic book character. Or it’s a tick. Ticks are uninvited, annoying and potentially health-risking creatures that land on you and your pets. They can carry a long list of tick-bite related diseases, such as Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) or Southern ... READ MORE
Be aware—invasive species are everywhere
By Buckmasters Online
Photo: Starlings have been in America since 1890, so long that we don’t realize they are an invasive species. The stories arrive from the East Coast or the West, from the Great Lakes states, or the arid lands of the Southwest and the humid areas in the South. And what these stories have in common is one thing—America is being inva... READ MORE
Older than dinosaurs, horseshoe crabs are migrating, living fossils
By Buckmasters Online
During June, visitors to beaches in the mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland can see an astonishing sight – millions of horseshoe crabs making their annual pilgrimage from the Atlantic Ocean to the beaches where they will mate and nest. It’s an event that has occurred for the past 350 million years, and re... READ MORE