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Scott Shalaway Results
Cabela’s: A retail store and a destination
When the Cabela’s store in Wheeling, W.Va. opened in 2004, it was billed as a “destination.” Give it a few months, I thought, and it will be just another outdoors store. I could not have been more wrong. Four million shoppers. According to Cabela’s retail marketing manager, Bud Forte, four million shoppers visited the Wheeling […]
Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon be back
Their tiny size, acrobatic flying ability, and eagerness to use nectar feeders make hummingbirds one of America’s favorite backyard birds. This fascination always triggers a flurry of mail, so let me anticipate the most common hummer questions I will get over the next month. Q: How many species of hummingbirds live in the east? A: […]
Red-backed salamanders rule Appalachian forests
Vertebrate animals are those with backbones — fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. As a group, they are much less abundant than invertebrates such as insects, spiders, and mollusks. But there is one vertebrate that occurs in stunning numbers, often quite close to home. Among common vertebrate species, chipmunk population densities can range from 10 […]
Rabbits or rodents? Meet the lagomorphs
Thanks to cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, the rabbits we see in our backyards, eastern cottontails are familiar to almost everyone. And yet I suspect most people think they are rodents. They are not. Rabbits and hares are lagomorphs, members of the mammalian order Lagomorpha. The confusion is understandable. Both groups are herbivores, and […]
How can we get more interested in fishing?
According to statistics from the National Surveys of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, which are published every five years, the number of anglers in the U.S. is in a steady decline. Over the last 20 years the number of anglers has dropped from 35.6 million in 1991 to 33.1 million in 2011. Fishing trends Though […]
Sky dance: The woodcock’s courtship routine
In his classic, A Sand County Almanac (1949), wildlife biologist Aldo Leopold described the male American woodcock’s courtship display as a “sky dance.” I call it my favorite harbinger of spring. A few nights ago, as I watched the February full moon rise in the east, a familiar sound caught my ear. “Peent!” A few […]
It’s time to hang spring nest boxes, and here’s how
Last week, a day after the morning low temperature plunged to nine degrees, the sky cleared and the thermometer rebounded to 45 degrees. That balmy afternoon, bluebirds, chickadees, titmice and Carolina wrens sang with spring-like enthusiasm. It reminded me to get my nest boxes ready because all four species use boxes within 100 yards of […]
It’s mating season for mammals in North America
It’s common knowledge that wildlife breeds in the spring. When it comes to medium and large mammals, however, common knowledge is often wrong. Mating season peaks in mid winter for many mammals, and some species actually mate a year in advance of giving birth. Baby fisher The fisher, for example, is a large member of […]
The fox is definitely an intriguing predator
Last week I described the wary nature of the wily coyote. I hear coyotes often, but very seldom see them. The same can be said of red and gray foxes, though they are even more elusive. I never hear them, and only occasionally do I see a red fox trotting along the edge of the […]
It truly is ‘survival of the fittest’ when it comes to coyotes
It truly is ‘survival of the fittest’ when it comes to coyote populations. A few nights ago at 9 p.m., the thermometer on the back porch read a spring-like 60 degrees as I stepped out to listen for a few minutes.No owls on this night, but soon I heard a “yip.” And then another The […]
How chimney swifts’ diet affects population size
In April, chimney swifts will return, but every year there seems to be fewer. One reason chimney swift numbers are down is we cap chimneys to keep them out. No one wants a chimney full of birds, nests and droppings. And no one wants live birds flying around the living room. A recent study in […]
January has produced a winter wonderland
Over the last two weeks, we have had 13 inches of snow, and winter has just begun. I consider this good news. I love snow. A fresh snowfall makes the world pristine and quiet. It brings serenity to my busy life. Favorite spot A few days ago, with 5 inches of snow already on the […]
Grand Vue Park’s white deer attract attention
Earlier this year two white fawns stole the show at Grand Vue Park (www.grandvuepark.com) near Moundsville, W.Va. They were hard to miss, and soon became favorites of park visitors. Park general manager Craig White told me people began driving through the park just to see the white deer. Photographers hoped for that special shot. Rock […]
Memories of a Christmas Eve walk in the woods
Everyone has special Christmas memories. This is one of mine. It first appeared in 2008. It was the night before Christmas about 20 years ago. Nora was barely 10 years old, and Emma was still dreaming of kindergarten. We had just arrived home from a Christmas Eve church service. About two inches of snow had […]
Hummingbirds in December? It’s no joke
A week ago, Vonda Poole of New Wilmington, Pa. emailed me and worried about “a female hummingbird that has not gone south for the winter. It’s now December 9th,” she wrote, “and it’s still here. Was I wrong to leave a feeder up? What will happen when freezing weather hits?” I explained that keeping the […]
Yes, even sparrows are fun birds to watch in winter
The diversity of backyard birds fuels their appeal. Cardinals and blue jays are spectacularly beautiful. Chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches sparkle with personality. Woodpeckers entertain. But some, the nondescript native sparrows we call “LBBs” (little brown birds), avoid the spotlight by simply feeding on the ground. Ground feeders are nice to have around because they help […]
Christmas Bird Count and Project FeederWatch
Cold winter weather means it’s time for two important citizen science projects — the annual Christmas Bird Count and Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch. This year the 113th CBC runs from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. Volunteers will devote one entire day to counting all the wild birds they can find. Local leaders determine […]
‘A book is a gift you can open again and again’
Books always make great holiday gifts, especially for those who have everything. Here are a few recent titles that I recommend.
Winter’s fury is no match for Kinglets
As days get shorter, and nights grow longer, the cast of characters on my bird feeders changes. A mixed flock of pine siskins, purple finches, juncos and a few red-breasted nuthatches has joined the usual crowd of chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, song sparrows, and goldfinches. But it is a tiny winter bird that captures my […]
Wildlife is resilient in a storm, even during Hurricane Sandy
As I write this, Hurricane Sandy has claimed more than 70 American lives and done an estimated $50 billion in damage, and those numbers are likely to increase. Another unspoken toll thus far is that taken on wildlife. How can wildlife possibly survive a super storm? That’s certainly been the topic of many emails I […]
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