Tracking the Present
#WildlifeLove: River Otters Play in the Valley Again
Otters aren’t just oceanic creatures — their semi-aquatic mammal cousins, North American river otters, are found all over the continent, including in the Hudson Valley. Recent local sightings, like Riverkeeper’s at the Westerly Marina in Ossining, have made many people...
Looking Good for 200 Million Years Old: Gorgeous Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonflies and their daintier cousins, damselflies, are such fixtures of warm, sunny Hudson Valley days that perhaps you’ve taken them for granted. Come late spring and early summer, they seem to be just about everywhere (especially if you live near...
Vernal Pools: The Valley’s Special Spring Amphibian Habitat
“Fairies” no bigger than a human fingernail, frogs returning to life after a winter suspended in ice, salamanders assembling for an underwater congress. What might sound like a scene invented by Lewis Carroll or Hayao Miyazaki is really just a...
Three Reasons This Land Save is a Plus: Hudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are an ecological powerhouse and a hiker’s paradise. To increase opportunities for people and wildlife to benefit from these magnificent mountains, Scenic Hudson recently partnered with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust to protect 71 forested acres —...
#FlightWatch: The Local Eagle-Spotting Outlook
Few things in life draw the sort of deep-sigh feeling of awe as the sight of a majestic eagle soaring overhead. The experience can be inspirational, motivational, even spiritual. Even at a distance, a bald eagle perched on a broad...
#WildlifeLove: Why Bobcats Are So Fierce
Extremely shy and secretive, bobcats are one of the hardest mammals to spot in the Hudson Valley. But with bare trees and perhaps a blanket of snow, your chances improve of glimpsing one of these beautiful creatures that resemble a...
#FlightWatch: On Cold Days, Go Gull-Spotting
You might see a seagull over the Hudson River and think it’s amazing that these birds have come 50 or 100 miles upriver from the ocean. Here’s the thing: The birds we see in the Hudson Valley are not really...
#WildlifeLove: Talking Wild Turkey
Currently flocking in valley cornfields, wild turkeys lead extraordinary lives. We’ve assembled some fun facts about the habits and history of one of North America’s largest birds — including the amazing comeback they’ve made in New York State. Fossils of...