Flocks of waterfowl exploding into steely skies above frozen marshland, salamanders creeping across the forest floor to vernal pools, chorusing frogs peeping their ecstasy while warblers crowd budding trees, turtles sunning on floating logs, the ecological engineering of beavers'these are but a few of the sights and sounds marking a year at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary and its neighboring landscapes in Southern Maryland.
In an absorbing account of a year in the life of this Sanctuary, naturalist Colin Rees invites us to join him as he explores the secrets and wonders of the changing natural world. Alongside the author, we witness spring's avian migrations, quickening of aquatic vegetation, burgeoning of myriad invertebrates, and the assaults of extreme weather conditions. We revel in summertime's proliferation of fish, fowl, and mammals. We become attuned to the shifting climate's impacts on autumnal transitions, and we marvel at amazing feats of biological inventiveness in preparation for winter conditions. Through these visions of the fleeting'and yet enduring'cycles of nature, Rees shares deep insights into the ecological and behavioral dynamics of the natural environment.
Enhanced by more than two dozen color plates, the book touches on a wide range of issues, from microbial diversity, bird banding, and butterfly phenology to genetic diversity and habitat fragmentation. It also examines the challenges of conserving these and other natural features in the face of climate change and development pressures. Thoughtful and lyrical, Nature's Calendar speaks to all readers, scientific and lay alike. Fascinating profiles of flora and fauna celebrate the richness and complexity of a unique ecosystem, exploring the entire ecology of this dynamic and delicate area.
Foreword, by Rick Anthony Acknowledgments Prologue The Setting The Seasons by Month January: The Big Cold Moon February: The Snow or Hunger Moon March: The Wakening or Crow Moon April: The Grass Moon May: The Planting Moon June: The Rose Moon July: The Thunder Moon August: The Corn Moon September: The Hunting Moon October: The Leaf-Falling Moon November: The Mad Moon December: The Long Night's Moon Epilogue Appendix A. Animals Mentioned in the Text Appendix B. Plants Mentioned in the Text Notes Bibliography Index
""Birds led Colin Rees ' a former environmental advisor for the World Bank ' to Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. There he discovered a wider love, of the natural world, so strong it led to his latest book, Nature's Calendar: A Year in the Life of a Wildlife Sanctuary ... In Jug Bay, Rees documented an ecological year from a variety of viewpoints. His weekly visits to the park coincided with citizen science projects, sampling and surveys with volunteers or researchers. During active times in the sanctuary, he visited as often as three times a week to make his observations, which take the form of a diary of sorts, much in the style of Sand County Almanac.""
