Eastern Shore Master Naturalists
Managing and preserving the Eastern Shore of Virginia’s natural resources and natural areas through education, outreach, citizen science, and stewardship.
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ESMN: 2024 In Review, By the Numbers
Eastern Shore Master Naturalists were busy in 2024. Motivated by a desire to protect our natural resources via stewardship, support scientific inquiry, and educate our community, it is a privilege to be a part of this select group, and to have the knowledge and opportunity to serve as we do. Because our efforts require specialized…
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Chincoteague Bird Walk Gets Them Asking for More!
“My ambition is to see a kingfisher. That would really make my day,” a beginner bird watcher said. And as if on cue, there was the distinctive rattle of a belted kingfisher. It flashed white and blue in the early morning sun, darted high above us and zigzagged over the top of some loblolly pines. We followed its…
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A Final View from the Course
The writer Annie Dillard reminds us that ”how we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives.” So how did we spend our days these last ten weeks? We spent our days at Savage Neck and Brinkley and Brownsville. We spent our days at the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge and Fishermans…
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Bald Eagle Returns to Wild
Dr. Meg Gammage-Tucker pulled on a long leather falconer’s glove and pulled back the orange cloth printed with the word Freedom. The bald eagle batted its body against the sides of the crate. Gammage-Tucker slipped the latch. The door swung open. A white head. The bird reared upward inside the crate. The eagle lunged forward, head low, eyes fierce, dark brown body, broad wings bent high, then wings outstretched, he launched. His bright yellow talons almost grazed the ground, and the eagle…
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A View from the Course – Late October
Information is ridiculously easy to obtain. Which honeysuckles are native? What time is low tide tomorrow? What is the species name for cordgrass? To make information meaningful, though, we have to make it our own. We need to be active constructors of knowledge and not just passive consumers of data. We need to react and…
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What About the Insects?
Blue Ridge PRISM Fall Meeting 2024 Bullet Points Guest Speaker: Linda Fink, Professor of Biology, Emerita, Sweet Briar College, Virginia. Featured image: Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus) larvae feeding on garden dill.
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ESMN at the Exmore Fall Festival
ESMN would like to thank Mimi Stitt, Laurie Jones, Audrey Shirif, Tiara Tracy, Nancy Biegel, Karen Morris, Suzanne Noseworthy, Debbie Pocock, Maggie Long, Wayne Poist and Brenda Poist for spending the day at the Exmore Fall Festival. They shared the message of Plant Virginia Natives along with the ideas that our species need native plants…
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A View From The Course
Early October 2024 “We’ve come this far, let’s take some time to just enjoy and explore,” Shannon wisely instructed us once we arrived at the water at Savage Neck. Like school kids getting some extra recess time, we clapped and gleefully headed off in a few different directions. Week five and we couldn’t have asked…
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September Chapter Meeting Highlights
Our President, Peter Fisher, opened our meeting in the Seaside Building of (VIMS), Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Wachapreague, VA. A total of 41 Master Naturalists attended. Eight of the 41 were from the 2024 class currently in training. Ann Quigley and Patty McLaughlin have designed the 10-week training schedule and facilitate each Thursday.…
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A View from the Course
September 12 2024 Huddled together in small working groups, we attempt to identify our mystery plants. Fluorescent lights overhead, and local plant specimens in front of us. Are the leaf edges smooth? Does anybody have more than one fruit? Is this a composite flower? A kindergarten teacher is working across from a university professor. A…