After months of gray skies, frozen toes, and solitary walks past snow-covered gardens, spring arrives like a child rushing out for summer break. The sun lingers longer, birds burst into song, and suddenly you…the long-winter-cabin-fevered homeowner…feel an irresistible urge to grab gloves, wield a rake, and declare war on every last stem, leaf, and twig. Finally, you think…I can actually go outside and do something! But here’s the reality in March: your garden is still hittin

Pileated Wood Pecker ( Dryocopus pileatus) adult and two juvenilles in a nesting cavity . By Jan Bowman. A dead tree is often considered a danger of sorts depending on where it stands from a human perspective, but dead trees provide a lot more than just potential nutrients once fallen to the ground. As they stand, they may hold more life than meets the eye. Some animals hollow out dead and dying trees to provide homes for themselves (primary cavity nesters), and many other an

(Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula ) Cities are often noticeably warmer than the countryside that surrounds them. This phenomenon, known as the “urban heat island” (and sometimes called an “urban heat bubble”) can raise temperatures by several degrees compared to nearby rural areas—especially at night. In major metropolitan areas such as New York City or Chicago, the difference is well documented, but the same effect also occurs in much smaller developed areas.   The cau

One of the many things Western New York is known for is its cold, often unforgiving winters. While recent years have brought more variability, those cold months continue to play a vital ecological role across our region. Native plants and wildlife are adapted to seasonal rhythms shaped by snow cover, deep frosts, and predictable dormancy. These seasonal cues, known as phenology, refer to the timing of biological events such as bud break, insect development, flowering, and mig