Author Archives: Roger Gosden
Eastern Bluebird
One of our most popular residents, there is even a Virginia conservation society dedicated to Bluebirds. Someone who grew up locally told that they were uncommon when she was a child. Fifty years ago these cavity nesters had trouble finding … Continue reading
Posted in Inge Curtis birds, Nature
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Happy and Grubby in the Garden
I suspect former neighbors laughed from behind half-drawn curtains: “There’s a weird gardener next door who toils in the midday sun.” But I didn’t care, wearing my green hat with pride and careless if anyone thinks I’m a throwback to … Continue reading
Posted in garden
Tagged Allotment, Organic gardening, Victory garden
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Great-crested Flycatcher
Flycatchers are allies of those who loath mosquitoes and blackflies without spraying their yards. This handsome bird is found east of a north-south line splitting the North American continent in half, and projected to lose western territory and perhaps gain … Continue reading
Living or Livid with Nature?
We weren’t always doggedly efficient extirpators—of insects for eating crops and stinging, of moles for spoiling perfect lawns, of predators for preying on livestock, and so on and on … Not so long ago, humans tolerated annoying wildlife with a … Continue reading
Songbirds Taste Sweet
Hummingbirds don’t visit feeders to quench a thirst. They have a taste for sweetness, like us, although different receptors on their tongues (T1R1 + T1R3). Now, we learn that songbirds taste it too. Several avian ancestors emerging in Australia 30 … Continue reading
Posted in Birding
Tagged Hummingbird feeder, Sweet tooth, umami receptor
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Roger musing about Peace with Nature 