Embedded Files
November 10th, 2020 Framingham, MA
today, I was in the woods, when I heard ANOTHER great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). I was hanging out with friends when i heard it "HooHoo-Hoo-HooHoohoohoohooow". I was having a lot of trouble figuring out which way the hoots were coming from. One second, it sounded like the owl was in the wetlands, and another, like it was up the hill near the highway. I quickly pieced together that there were 2 Owls. This leaves only two possibilities:
they were either a mated pair creating a territorial display against possible intruders, or there was a territorial conflict between two owls, a defender, and an intruder.
It amazes me how many great horned owls there are in framingham. In my lifetime, I have heard similar hooting in many different areas of framingham. I have decided now to make a google map to document all of the vocal owl territories. I Have marked below everywhere that I have heard a Great Horned Owl:
Wikipedia states that they are the "Nocturnal Ecological Equivalent of Red-tailed hawks" which means that they are EVERYWHERE because here in framingham, I probably see a red tailed hawk every day. We only dont see great horned owls often because they sit in there high nests all day, many of which are in fully grown white pines which get REALLY Tall.
Due to daylight savings, it gets dark around five. This means that they begin hunting and territorial activities around 4, so I do not need to wait long to hear them.
You guys can just wait in even small, suburban forests until about Five, and you have a high change of hearing it.
November 9th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Yesterday, I was at my grandpa's house in Saco, Maine. Towards the end of our visit, my grandpa gave me a clipping of geranium. I think now it was a Pelargonium inquinans "Scarlet Geranium".
He said i could dip it in honey and then plant it in soil. When I got home, I wondered to myself why anyone would dip a plant's roots in honey. Then I looked it up. It turns out that in order to protect the beehive from fungal and bacterial infections, bees mix an anti fungal and bacterial substance from their saliva into the honey. These same substances can protect the roots from the fungi and bacteria that would increase the chances of root rot or could infect the inside of the plant.
-Aidan Garrity
November 8th, 2020 Scarborough, ME
Today I went to Scarborough, Maine with my cousins, grandpa, and mom. We went to Pine Point beach. On my way into the beach dunes, I noticed an abundance in red pines. This explains the beach's iconic name. This is probably due to the red pine's tolerance to extremely sandy soil. Sandiness of the soil is what determines if red pines take over, or if white pines take over.
Above is a European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) searching for human food scraps and beach-borne invertebrates.
On entering the beach, I first noticed the massive waves pounding and reaching across the beach. I have not seen the open Atlantic ocean in months.
I also saw a lot of life on the beach:
-Clumps of Common Mussels (Mytilus edulis)
- European Herring gulls (Larus argentatus)
- Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
- Common Acorn Barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
Overall, my walk at pine point beach was great. I definitely recommend it.
-Aidan Garrity
November 7th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Hello, Today I am going to do an update on the developing tadpoles.
Recently, I have been noticing more frog-like features in my more developed tadpole of the 2. For now, well call him T2. T2's hind legs have developed black bands and a much more muscular structure. T2 also has small bumps where it's front legs soon will be. T2's back is also turning green, contrasting it's white underside. I am beginning to suspect that I do not have bullfrog tadpoles, but american green frog tadpoles. This is soully judging from the fact that he has black spots, bands and stripes all over him.
T2, my pet froglet
American Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) Photographed basking in the same vernal pool that i obtained the tadpoles from
I also see other similarities between T2, and the photo above of a green frog. They both have a black line through their eyes. Probably used as a disruptive eye mask. You can also see that both animals have black spots on their backs.
-Aidan Garrity
November 6th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Today, Before hanging out with friends, one of my friends needed help with his homework. He wanted me to photograph and identify trees near my house for him, as he does not have a lot of them near his house. I got REALLY carried away. I began taking pictures from the trunk up, because they looked nice. Here are a collection of them:
Black Oak (Quercus velutina)
Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Eastern White Pine (Penis strobus)
I got really carried away and went looking for every species of tree i could find. Days later, I am still taking these pictures. This gave me the idea to make a tree identification guide. It will have all the species of tree I can find here in framingham. It is going to give identification by anther, seed, leaf/needle, bark, Photo from base, and profile photo.
-Aidan Garrity
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse