For native and visitor alike, the New England landscape has a rich allure. This grand sweep of land is a living tapestry woven of interconnected bioregions and natural communities whose compositions of plants and animals have evolved over time.
In more than fifty essays, Michael J. Caduto brings readers into the complex stories to be found in nature. Drawing on first-hand experiences and reflections on the relationship between the natural world and humans, Caduto explores some of the plants, animals, natural places, and environmental issues of New England – from dragonflies, cuckoos, and chipmunks to circumpolar constellations and climate change. Stunning illustrations by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol illuminate these elegant and humorous essays.
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Prologue: Chipmunk CPR
ANIMALS
- Mouse or Mole, Shrew or Vole?
- Catamount: The Game Is Afoot
- The Swifts of Summer
- That’s the Nature of Coyotes, Deer
- Endearing, Enterprising: The Eastern Chipmunk
- Woodcocks in Mudtime
PLANTS
- Blooming Heat: Skunk Cabbage Turned On by Pollination
- Beyond the Pussy Willow: Early Spring Wildflowers
- Explosive Seeds and Spores
- Ghostly Parasite: Indian Pipe
- Green Defenses: How Plants Fight Back
WINTER
- A Burst of Boreal Birds
- Cold Comfort for Trees
- Snug as a Snow Bug
- A Muskrat Winter
- Biding Time: Winter Seeds and Buds
- How Birds of a Feather Survive Winter Nights
HABITATS
- The Great Pond Adventure
- Breathing New Life into Old Fields
- Remarkable Riparians
- For Peat’s Sake
- The Pond in Winter
WATER AND WETLANDS
- The Comeback Canary: Our Common Loon
- Dragonflies and Damselflies: Alpha Navigators, Bio-indicators
- Eels on a Slippery Slope
- Minute Mussel Makes Big Splash
- Spring Peepers, Winter Sleepers
INTERRELATIONSHIPS
- Saplappers and Bugnappers: The Keystone Sapsuckers
- Pine on the Cob
- Nature’s Own Herbicides
- Of Cuckoos and Caterpillars
- Big, Bold, and Rusty: Invasive Crayfish Has Claws
PATTERNS AND PERCEPTIONS
- April Fools: Nature’s Myths and Misbeliefs
- Stellar among the Stars: Circumpolar Constellations
- Nature’s Secret Codes: Fascinating Fibonaccis
- How Much Wool Would a Woolly Bear, Bear?
- Phenomenal Phenology
HARVESTS AND HUNTS
- Eat Your Weedies: Stalking the Backyard Buffet
- Hunting with the Abenaki: Indigenous Wildlife Management
- Scrumptious Seaweeds: Gastronomic Delights of the Thallophytes
- Herps in the Garden: Snakes and Toads Provide Pest Control
- Wild Nuts: Autumn Bounty, Holiday Treat
OUT OF BALANCE
- Whither Fall Foliage in an Age of Climate Change
- Heavy Metal Blues
- Fang versus Fungus
- Nesting Northward: Birds on the Move
- Teenage Mutant Frogs
- Sugar Maples: Not Sweet on Climate Change
STEWARDSHIP
- The Beetle and the Paparazzi
- Right of Passage for Migratory Fish
- Days of the Living Un-Dammed
- New Day for Nighthawks?
- When Nature Comes Knocking
Michael J. Caduto, the author of twenty books, is an internationally recognised leader in natural history, environmental education, and cultural diversity. Adelaide Murphy Tyrol is a fine artist, a natural history illustrator, and a large format commercial painter.
"Looking through a naturalist's eyes is all the richer when those eyes are Caduto's [...] Natural history will always be a rich opportunity for discovery. Through a Naturalist's Eyes celebrates why it is also such fun."
– Portland Press Herald
"Michael Caduto, one of the most perceptive observers of New England's natural world, writes with authority and affection for his subject. With Through a Naturalist's Eyes, he's outdone himself. Not only is he describing what's constantly going on around us, but he makes it a personal experience, and we find ourselves saying, 'Yes! I've seen that! So that's what it is!'"
– Willem Lange, author of Words from the Wild
"For all of us who love the forests, hills, and marshes of New England, this is much more than a guide book – it's an invitation to explore, and a key to making sense of what we notice. Many thanks to Michael Caduto for opening my eyes again!"
– Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home and cofounder of 350.org
"Michael Caduto's well-researched, engaging essays are a combination of personal narrative, natural history, and bits of conversations – like a naturalist's dinner party with a roomful of ecologists, biologists, and storytellers."
– Lisa Purcell, director, Four Winds Nature Institute
"Rich with fascinating details [...] No matter what you may think you know, this book offers something new to discover about the natural world around us."
– Paul Rezendes, author of Tracking and the Art of Seeing