Alex Palmer's Natural History Notes and Thoughts

December 26, 2013 President Obama:             I am writing to urge you to stand down any legislation that would move the Keystone Pipeline project forward.  I know that we are in an economic bottleneck and that we need to create jobs and build back our economy sooner rather than later.  The Keystone Pipeline does sound promising with all of its presumed “job creation.”  But I hope you do NOT let this project go forward during your rein of power.  This pipeline has enormous environmental consequences looming beneath it, and as you know environmental depletion and economic degradation are intimately linked.  If we let this project move forward, we will further compromise America’s natural resources, including endangered natural capital such as brook trout and other sensitive wildlife, and the greenhouse gas emissions that result from this dirty energy production practice could vastly accelerate climate change.  Also, let us not forgot the high risk of oil spills, chemical leak

Introduction Imagine there's two islands, and on each of these two islands is an all-inclusive resort.  Imagine that the only way to get to these islands is to swim.   Island A is only a short swim away across shallow water while Island B is a 50 mile doggy-paddle off of the coast (although the water is at least still warm and calm in this scenario).  Which all-inclusive resort do you think is going to get more patronage: the one on Island A or the one on Island B? Now image instead of people trying to swim across an ocean to a beach resort, image wildlife trying to reach their homes - but only this time the ocean they must cross consists of busy freeways, asphalt parking lots and polluted land.  Which island are most of them going to make it to...and how long can they survive on a habitat island surrounded by all of this chaos?  Chances are, not for long, and those islands will soon be void of most wildlife species. This unusual sounding situation is actually an all too com

This blog post is my notes for an arbor installation that is being conducted at a local community garden in Greenbelt, Maryland.  It is intended to help me articulate how to build this arbor for when I need to instruct volunteers for a workday event.   Installation instructions STEP 1:  Rest the arbor on top of some 2 X 4's so that it is leveled out.  Use a level to ensure horizontality.  STEP 2:  Dig four 3-ft holes right next the 2 x 4 supports.   STEP 3:  Insert the four 4 X 4 X 10 posts into the holes and be sure they are properly aligned with the doors  (sides) of the arbor and ensure that they are exactly vertical.  Use the level to verify this.  There should only be 7 feet of the posts exposed (10 ft - 3 ft) as the bottom three feet of them should be below the ground in the holes.   STEP 4:  Using a 1/2 inch socket, drill in four 1/2in X 4 in lagbolts into each post  in order to to attach the sides (the doors) of the arbor as shown in Figure 1.   STEP 5:  Re

One thing birdwatchers like to do is count birds.  Counting birds, though, is not just an arbitrary pastime of avian fanatics, but is in fact an important citizen science project that assists professional wildlife biologists with the tracking and monitoring of the national and global distribution and abundance of the planet's bird life.  The following  is a list of bird species (common names) and their count that I and another volunteer conducted this morning: Date:  September 22, 2013 Time:  9am-10:45am Location:   Lake Artemesia and adjacent portion of Indian Creek Trail (see Map 1) Weather conditions:  ~65 F, Clear skies, NW Wind at ~7mph Weather past 24 hours:  Showers, ~70 degrees F, calm wind Habitat:  Woods, streams, open shallow water, wetlands, swamps, old fields Blue Jay: 4 American Crow: 2 Common Grackle:  1 Gray Catbird:  6 Northern Cardinal: 6 European Starling: 8 American Robin: 16 Carolina Wren: 1 Downy Woodpecker: 3 Yellow-bellied flyc

I've always had an infatuation with small urban creeks and streams.  Perhaps it's because I grew up around one, or maybe it's a glaring reminder that the natural landscape history of our vast cities still exists and still deserves our care.   Sligo Creek and it's surrounding valley provides an oasis for native trees and wildlife in a densely urban setting.  Sligo creek flows through the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, and I had the opportunity to track its entire course through Montgomery and Prince George's County via the Sligo Creek Trail . The stream collects runoff and perhaps some spring water from the Franwall Avenue neighborhood in Silver Spring, Maryland (see Map 1).  The water then collects into a storm drain, which ominously emerges into a stream channel from an underground culvert (see Photo A).   Map 1:  Headwaters of Sligo Creek.  The green pushpin is the location of the residential neighborhood that drains water into the creek. View

This morning I was awoken not by sirens or random people shouting, but by the call of a Carolina Wren .  It then gave way to church bells ringing, then to my housemate turning on the shower, and ultimately into the usual anthropogenic noise of a groggy Monday morning. Yet I felt at peace hearing that bird singing in the back yard, and I wonder how many people have the chance to slow down and listen to a Carolina Wren or other sounds of nature first thing in the morning? Probably not a whole lot of people appreciate those subtleties.  Or maybe it's more than just the fact that they can't or won't appreciate something like that - maybe it's a sign of their disconnect from nature, and their disconnect from the world around them. Perhaps I'm being over-analytical.  I still think, though, that waking up to the call of a backyard songbird is a necessary overture to anyones workweek.

Please note:  The opinions and commentary expressed in this blog post are my own, and are not intended to represent the views and policies of the Norfolk Botanical Garden Society or any affiliated organizations.   Before I can even finish saying "There's a bald eagle!" people on my tour boat jump up and practically tip the pontoon over as they scramble to get a look at the majestic bird.  The Norfolk Botanical Garden in Norfolk, Virginia is situated in an ideal location to view birds and wildlife of all sorts.  Not only is it the largest single green-space in a densely urban port town, but it is also surrounded by lakes, tidal estuaries, wetlands, and lush maritime forest.  A canal winds through the 155 acre garden, going past fragrant roses, exotic fan palms, and brightly colored flowering trees.  The canal connects the garden to a 700 acre freshwater reservoir, and visitors to the garden can take pontoon boat tours that go out onto this wildlife-abundant lake. For m

There's a section of the Norfolk Botanical Garden that, even on the busiest of days, only a handful of visitors at best can be seen strolling the trail along Mirror Lake.  This section of the Garden was part of the original 'Norfolk Azalea Gardens' developed during the Great Depression as a way to generate revenue from tourists for the city of Norfolk, Virginia.  Over the years, however, the Norfolk Botanical Garden grew in size and added exciting amenities like a children's garden with lots of fountains, a showy tropical-themed garden, and tram and boat tours that wow visitors with large flowers and soaring bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ).  These additions combined with the fact that the main entrance road breezes right past the Mirror Lake area without a clear pedestrian sidewalk makes Mirror Lake the most allusive and least-visited section of the garden. Which is perfect. On a sunny and bright day I prefer to join the crowds of people ooohing and aahhhi

  Section I: Introduction             As nations around the world become more urbanized, and as space suitable for agriculture amounts to a premium , people living in urban areas will need to seek alternative methods to acquire fresh produce.  A lack of ready access to fresh produce has both environmental and human health consequences.  A study by Pearce, et.al. (2007) revealed a strong indication of “food deserts” in economically deprived urban neighborhoods in New Zealand.  Food deserts are areas where people have a long travel distance to full-service grocery stores compared to fast-food restaurants and convenient stores.  Their study revealed total distances to full-service grocery stores were longer than distances to fast-food restaurant within economically poor urban areas in New Zealand.  There exists a general lack of understanding of where food comes from, as well.  A reliance on large grocery stores with expensive food coming from great distances has revealed a pop