April's Hard Freeze Hits Trees Hard
Like many locales in the Carolinas, Hilton Pond Center awoke to a very hard freeze on Easter morning, which caused environmental problems we first detected with our sense of smell. The newspapers have been full of articles about how the cold will hurt this year's peach harvest, but what about damage to trees themselves? Many tender new leaves were killed by cold, which undoubtedly will have lasting impact on woody plants--to say nothing of caterpillars that would have eaten those leaves AND hungry birds that will be looking for caterpillars as they pass through in migration. And what about all this dead foliage on Trumpet Creeper? Will the plants still be able to make nectar-laden blossoms that attract hummingbirds? Our sense of smell and how it's related to the potential long-term devastation wrought by a late cold snap is the topic for our 1-9 April 2007 This Week at Hilton Pond photo essay, accessible at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070401.html As always we include a tally of birds banded, a list of recaptures (of which there were several old-timers), and miscellaneous nature notes. Happy (Warmer-weather) Nature Watching! BILL -- RESEARCH PROGRAM c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED], (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845 Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project at http://www.rubythroat.org **
Re: What is a 'metal snake'?
JONATHAN . . . Could it have been a Ribbon Worm (Phylum Nemertea or Nemertini)? See http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/nemertini/nemertini.html Cheers, BILL Recently on fieldwork in lowland Malaysia I saw a very strange snake-like or worm-like animal about 45cm long without any obvious eyes or head, and a very metallic appearance, slithering out from between some rocks. My companion said 'oh yes that's a metal snake, I've seen those before'. I have been trying to find out what they really are .. are they reptile, amphibian or annelid? They don't seem to be mentioned anywhere on the web, at least not under that name. I have a short movie clip I took of it with my digital camera, in case anyone wants to see it. Jonathan -- RESEARCH PROGRAM c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED], (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845 Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project at http://www.rubythroat.org **
Re: Summer research experiences for youth?
ALAN . . . See the student section of the Web site for Holbrook Travel at http://www.holbrooktravel.com/pages/educationExpeditions/students.aspx Cheers, BILL === We are looking for summer field biology or ecology research opportunities for high school students this summer, either in the northeast or further afield. Any information you have about such programs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Alan Berkowitz * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Alan R. Berkowitz, Ph.D. Head of Education Institute of Ecosystem Studies PO Box R (181 Sharon Turnpike) Millbrook, NY 12545 Phone: (845) 677-7600 ext. 311 Fax: (845) 677-6455 =20 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -- RESEARCH PROGRAM c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED], (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845 Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project at http://www.rubythroat.org **
Shade-grown Coffee
Drink coffee? Even if you don't, have you ever wondered how coffee growing in Central America might affect birdwatching in your own backyard in the U.S. or Canada? Do you know what folks mean when they talk about shade-grown vs. sun-grown coffee? Coffee--and birds and orchids and butterflies and sustainable farming--are all covered in the 1-7 February 2007 edition of This Week at Hilton Pond. (The photo essay really should be called This Week at Finca Cristina, an environmentally friendly organic coffee farm in Costa Rica that's doing shade-grown coffee the right way.) To learn more about one farm's efforts to help our birds as well as their own, visit the current installment at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070201.html . It's an essay with LOTS of photos of Costa Rican flora, fauna, and habitats, so be patient if it takes a while to load; if the site's busy, please bookmark it and come back later. Next week we'll report on our just-completed hummingbird research expedition in another part of Costa Rica. Happy (Tropical) Nature Watching! BILL -- RESEARCH PROGRAM c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED], (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845 Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net): Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at http://www.hiltonpond.org Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project at http://www.rubythroat.org **
