The Evil Practice of Topping a Tree

Melodramatic titles aside, good tree care is a serious deal. When properly cared for, a tree can boost property value, provide shade, shelter wildlife, and even improve human well-being. Bad management practices, such as topping, can turn an otherwise wonderful tree into a potential safety hazard for many years in the future.

To tell us more about the "evil" practice of tree topping, I've asked my friend Maria, a horticulturist and...

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Charity of the Week: Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a non-profit education and ocean conservation facility located on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach County, Florida. The facility houses a variety of exhibits, live sea turtles, and other coastal creatures. Exhibits include a massive prehistoric Archeon sea turtle replica, salt water aquaria, and displays of local wildlife, as well as educational displays about South Florida's marine environment.

The center hosts thousands of school children each year through field trips, outreach programs, summer camps and...

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A Naturalist's Take on 'Placemaking'

It's been a week since the Jane's Walk celebration weekend around the world, and I've been thinking more about how Jane Jacobs led the way in advocating for a place-based, community-centered approach to urban planning -- now called the placemaking movement.

The placemaking movement is focused on strengthening the elements that make places engaging, livable, sustainable, and worth caring about. These are important efforts, and I believe the open and curious minds of...

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Watch Live Amazing Nature Webcams!

Three new webcams have been added to TheNatureFan.com!

Shark cam: This really cool cam is located in the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" off the coast of North Carolina and has tons of marine life. Mostly you see fish (which hysterically seem like they're all looking right at the camera), but occasionally you see a shark or barracuda passing by, too.

Hummingbird nest cam: There are very few things more adorable than a hummingbird's nest with teeny-tiny, Tic-Tac-sized eggs. She recently laid her second egg, and -- because she's a hummingbird -- she looks like she's vibrating on top of the nest.

Osprey nest cam: If you're like me, you're always fascinated to witness the beautiful seahawk in her nest. This one comes to you from Hog Island, Maine. She recently laid her third egg on the 5th and her mate has been celebrating by decorating the nest with more colorful items.

You can watch all webcams live here.

Earthshine, A Stunning Example

Sometimes you see a photograph that's just so wonderful you can't wait to show it to other people.

That shot above is one of those photos.

It was taken by Petr Horalek, a European Southern Observatory Ambassador -- the ambassadors are a group of excellent photographers who shoot pictures of the ESO observatories for public outreach.

The photo was taken on April 6, just minutes before sunrise. Smack dab in the center is Venus, twin...

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Snow Leopards Gain Protection in Mongolia

Mongolia's parliament declares Tost a State Protected Area. The mountain range is home to a stable, breeding population of snow leopards.

The Great Ikh Hural, Mongolia's parliament, has approved a proposal to turn the Tost Mountains, a prime snow leopard habitat in the country's South Gobi province, into a Nature Reserve, one of four...

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The Great Barrier Reef Through the Eyes of a Turtle

Ever wonder what life looks like below the surface in the Great Barrier Reef? See it through the eyes of a sea turtle.

To better understand the post-release behavior of tagged green turtles, conservationists carefully fastened a GoPro to the back of a female sea turtle. The footage the camera collected gives us a unique view of the Great Barrier Reef.

Continue reading, and watch the video here.

The 2016 Transit of Mercury

See also: Your Astro Guide to May 2016.

Your Starry Guide to the Month of May 2016

Mars will be at opposition on May 22. Opposition occurs when the sun and Mars are on opposite sides of the Earth. That means Mars will be the brightest it's been in 11 years, with a magnitude of -2.1. This is the great opportunity to observe the "red planet."

Jupiter will be above the horizon at dusk in the beginning of May. It will set just before 4 am. Mars will rise around 9:46 pm, followed by Antares at 10:06 and Saturn at 10:13 pm. This small triangle is easy to spot, making it easy to find the two planets.

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First Monk Seals Taken to New Kona Marine Mammal Center

Read about the 2016 release of 7 Hawaiian monk seals. They're happy, healthy, and home again!

7 Hawaiian Monk Seals Released Back into the Wild

After eight months of rehabilitation at Ke Kai Ola, a Hawaiian monk seal hospital, seven young seals are strong enough to return to their ocean home.

Its been just a week since the release of the first of the seven Hawaiian monk seals -- Kilo -- was released back into the wild, and she's already been spotted twice by researchers on nearby beaches. Both times she was spotted playing in the shallow waters near shore with sea cucumber guts on her face, indicating that she had been exploring the area closely enough to scare the small invertebrates into expelling their insides in defense.

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This Week in Nature: April 11-17

Spring Diamond:

The famous "Spring Triangle" includes Arcturus (part of the kite constellation Bootes), Denebola (in the tail of the constellation Leo), and Spica (in the constellation Virgo). Add free-flying Cor Caroli (apparent magnitude 2.9) and you get the Spring Diamond.


Sun Worshipers:

Arctic terns have begun their epic migration to their northern grounds. When Arctic terns migrate in Spring, they leave total daylight at the South Pole and arrive at the time of total daylight at the North Pole.

Butterfly Bask:

Butterflies require warmth to fly. Most butterflies that are active in early Spring have dark wings that absorb solar heat.

Whooping Crane:

Migrating whooping cranes travel more than 2,000 miles in as few as 10 days. Thanks to the Whooping Cranes Eastern Reintroduction Project, whooping cranes are again nesting in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Their arrival time can be as early as mid-April.

Extreme Molt:

Most people know about the change a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly, but did you know that they change several times before they get to that? When caterpillar larvae metamorphose, they shed body layers at several stages. The most extreme is what takes place when they morph into butterflies.

Caterpillar Feast:

Caterpillars hatch from eggs in early to mid-April, which corresponds to the flowering of host plants. They then race to eat enough food before their host plants die back in summer.

About This Week in Nature:

To illustrate the widest range of natural events, I depict the seasonal activities found in the Northern Hemisphere, and I have chosen to present the most intense expressions of each season. My "This Week in Nature" posts are not meant to be specific to any one geographical area. They are intended to evoke the essence of the seasons and to emphasize the cycles of nature. The goal is to simply offer a glimpse of the natural phenomena that make each day an amazing event.