Articles by Gary Pendleton

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 2/24/11

Winter Ducks Open a Window on the Past

Once upon a time with a duck called canvasback ...

From the North Beach boardwalk, where I take my morning walks, I have seen a small, mixed flock of Bay ducks, hanging close to the shore: mainly scaup, bufflehead, goldeneye and canvasback. This is a tiny remnant of the vast flocks that once wintered here. In December I called the Canada goose an icon of the Chesapeake. Canvasback ducks also deserve the label, though more for their historical place than present day. Until recent decades, the Chesapeake hosted more...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 1/20/11

A Very Old Story

Calvert Cliffs’ Miocene marine deposits are the largest in the world. But why?

I am going to test your patience and write about geology. This means you will be tempted to immediately turn to the News of the Weird. Please don’t. Memorize the following sentence; it is your five-second speech on what makes Calvert County special: Calvert Cliffs contain the largest exposed Miocene marine deposits in the world. That, and a geological mystery. The Miocene marine deposits that form the famous, fossil-laden, Calvert Cliffs are roughly 10 million years old. That’s...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 12/23/10

My Christmas Bird Count

Plus official counts you can join

It is hard to remember a transformation such as we just had, when the season seemed to change suddenly, with the decisiveness of a no-nonsense business executive. November was pleasant and mild, warm but not unseasonable, with enough rain and cold to bring out the sweaters and not fool us into thinking we had all been transplanted to Georgia. Then December came along and it was winter. The calendar might haves said not quite yet, but the thermometer said Now! I like early winter because the...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 12/2/10

Backlit Against a Heavy Sky

The sound and sight of Canada geese overhead

Is there a more iconic figure from nature to represent the state of Maryland than the Canada goose? Resplendent as our state bird, the Baltimore oriole, is, it is seldom heard and rarely seen by the majority of Free Staters. The great blue heron and osprey are contenders, and I would also nominate the canvasback. But let’s stick with the goose. Once upon a time, there was no surer sign of winter’s coming than a skein of “geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 10/21/10

The Great Raptor Migration

Fall’s cool, western winds drive birds of prey our way

Fall is the time for raptor migration. For a few days after a cold front, when the wind comes from the west or north, hawks, eagles and falcons pass overhead in large numbers. It could be that cooler temperatures stimulate a response that makes the birds move. Places to visit: Fort Smallwood Park, Pasadena; Sandy Point State Park, Annapolis. Classes and field trips to see and identify hawks: The Audubon Naturalist Society, www.audubonnaturalist.org. Books: Hawks in Flight by...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 9/23/10

Maintaining the Mystery

It’s a complex balance that holds together the web of life

It was late summer in the coastal plain forest. At mid-day, it was quiet but not quite silent. There was a background buzz of flies, then the whine of a mosquito in my left ear. Swat! Then I heard a sound like water coming from the trees. A flock of grackles, hundreds perhaps, were drifting through the scene, making low clucking sounds that together form a sound like water flowing over rocks. They moved from tree to tree, in the same direction, left to right. Then something startled the...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 8/19/10

The Age of the Beetles

Everything living eventually dies. If it weren’t for decomposers, we would be buried in all of the dead stuff.

Perhaps you thought you were living in the age of technology? Yes, humans with our tools and machines have had a tremendous impact on earth. Evidence of human impact goes back thousands of years, and the pace is rapidly accelerating. But a few thousand years is just a moment in the history of the earth. It might be easier to argue that we are living in the age of the beetle. Insects outnumber us, they outweigh us and they are a driving force in the world. Scientific name: Orthosoma brunneum...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 7/29/10

Notes from July's Garden

July 2, North Beach: Red admiral butterflies are abundant in the yard. Some species of butterfly hatch multiple broods during a season. Red admirals have two or more broods in our region. One brood must have just hatched because so many are around. They are one of the widest-spread species on the planet. There is also plenty of Calvert County’s official insect, the zebra swallowtail, flying about. The weather is surprisingly cool, a nice break from the recent heat. But it is going to get...

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 7/29/10

Notes from the July Garden

Article - Earth Journal by Gary Pendleton; by Gary Pendleton - 6/24/10

The Bay’s Summer Visitor

Brown pelicans arrive after wintering on the Gulf Coast

The brown pelican, Pelicanus occidentalis, is the state bird of Louisiana. Worldwide, there are six species of pelican. Two species, the white and the brown, are native to the U.S. The brown is the smallest of all; Atlantic browns are even smaller than the ones in the Pacific. Still they are large and with their huge bill, unmistakable. For years, brown pelicans were not to be seen on the Chesapeake — or anywhere. From the late 1950s until the mid 1980s, the brown pelican...