Kerry Wixted

Connecting Nature & Community

Tag: maryland

Eastern Coyotes

A tale I often hear is how Maryland and other state wildlife agencies secretly introduced coyotes into their states. Sometimes, the release was done in conjunction with insurance agencies. Sometimes, it was done just because. People will repeat stories of coyotes running around with “State Farm” ear-tags and the secrecy of the project to reduce
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  • By - kwixted0
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  • Posted in plants

Secrets of Skunk Cabbage

For many years, I took skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) for granted. It was that stinky plant that dominated wetlands and helped frogs hide from my youthful pursuit. In college, I learned how it was a wetland indicator plant, meaning its presence marked a wetland. It wasn’t until I met Master Naturalist (and later friend!), Siobhan
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A Better Guide to Yellow, Stripey Things

Did you know? Maryland has over 1,200 documented wasp species, many of which are super tiny and exist around you without you realizing they are there. I have spent the last 20 years working with wildlife and unlearning a lot of harmful stereotypes I grew up with (snakes are dangerous/spider bites cause major medical issues/
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Giant, Flying Spiders

This week, I have been combatting the clickbait news which has made it seem like giant, venomous spiders are going to drop from the sky. Here are a few things to note: Here is what is true: To provide some more context, ballooning, also known as kiting, is a method by which spiders and some
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Embracing Free Bird Food

As I was driving along the highway this past weekend, I was struck by the number of eastern tent caterpillar tents along the road. It seems like this year is going to be a BIG year for them in Maryland. Worry, not! You might be called upon by friends, neighbors, and contacts in regards to
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Give it Up for the Ground Nesters

Here in Maryland, we are in the beginning throes of ground-nesting bee season. You might be surprised to learn that there are over 440 species of bees that have been documented in Maryland and that most of them nest in the ground. When most people think of a bee, they envision the honeybee which has
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  • Posted in Herps

Slimy Season: Spotted Salamander Edition

This week, I finally got to check off a life list item: see spotted salamanders in their annual breeding frenzy. For years, I have gone out either too early or too late and/or had this pesky thing called ‘work’ derail my plans. When I saw the predicted forecast of a warm, rainy night, I jumped
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Screams in the Night

On winter nights, you might hear harrowing sounds reminiscent of a woman screaming in the woods. Those chilling calls are actually from our local red foxes. Red fox mating season begins in January and continues through March. During this time, competing males will scream at each other while females, aka vixens, will scream to attract
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Wild Teenagers on the Town

As kids head back to school, our local mammal neighbors are also experiencing a new education. In the fall, many local fox, raccoon, and skunk families tend to break up as this year’s young head off on their own. Because of this, we will have increased sightings of “teenagers on the town”, particularly during the
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