Welcome to “Wachusett Outdoor Window,” where I, Ted Purcell, have the opportunity to occasionally share insights on the outdoors.
My wife and son are Rutland lifers, and I have lived here for 33 years. One of the benefits of living in this area is the opportunity to access the outdoors, whether it be for walking, hiking, wildlife observation, hunting or fishing or simply being outdoors, while having close access to the benefits of urban life for healthcare, shopping, work and cultural events.
My parents were bird watchers, amateur naturalists, and were just plain curious about things. We had field guides for everything, and I have always wanted to know what type of tree, mushroom, bird species, etc. I was seeing, or why we experience certain weather phenomena.
This led me to informal and formal education in sciences.
For the past 21 years I have taught 7th and 8th grade science in Paxton, with a good deal of time spent on ecology, weather and climate, including access to an “outdoor” classroom right behind the school.
I am an avid bird watcher, participating in local Christmas Bird Counts and Breeding Bird Census, a very amateur nature photographer, a gardener and a fisherman, both locally and in the nearby saltwater of Cape Cod and Long Island Sound. I am an active advisory member of the Ware River Nature Club, which regularly offers local programs often at the Rutland Library and local field trips. This has led to being a “citizen scientist” by submitting observations of birds, butterflies and other wildlife to the Audubon Society, American Butterfly Association, eBird and iNaturalist.
Our son has his captain’s license and is also an avid fisherman, pheasant and goose hunter, all of which require and help build appreciation and knowledge of our outdoors.
Each month I hope to offer a glimpse of our outdoors, perhaps focusing on local flora and fauna, nature and weather phenomena, what can be seen at certain times of year and suggestions on what to look for and where. The goal is to provide knowledge and insight to the outdoors here in the Wachusett area and beyond.
People who know that I am into birds often say to me, “I thought robins flew south for the winter, but I just saw some,” “I thought I saw a bluebird recently, and I haven’t seen one in years,” or “Why are there more bald eagles around?”
Some robins do migrate. Others switch to eating fruit and stay around as long as there is winterberry (wild holly), bittersweet or crab apples they can access. So don’t be shocked if you see them around in the coming months.
Bluebirds have made a comeback since the 1970s and act as nature’s holiday lights, also eating berries in the winter. If you feed birds, you can attract bluebirds with mealworms or suet with fruit in it.
Bald eagles may be one of the great wildlife stories of the past 50 years. In the 1970s they were all but extinct in the lower 48 states, but thanks to conservation efforts, our national symbol is back. They now nest locally and winter in the New England area, especially near ponds and lakes where they hope to find fish or even a deer carcass from which to eat.
Winter is here, but the thermometer may not always show it, and there are outdoor activities that offer great sights.
Deer such as this one recently seen in Holden will soon shed their antlers, which can be a prize on a nice walk in the woods.
Even though winter has just started, the sunsets are already getting later. From our earliest sunsets of 4:15 p.m. in mid-December, they were back to 4:30 by New Year’s Day and will be at 5 p.m. by Feb. 1. This will not be lost on the birds. Just after dusk, barred and great horned owls will start to call, and chickadees and tufted titmice will start singing in the day anticipating the coming spring.
Our son has already jigged up his first yellow perch through the ice, and just a short while ago, (Dec. 28) we heard a barred owl while ice fishing here in Rutland, though the recent warm spell will make the ice unsafe for now.
The rail trail system, Rutland Prison Camps and even the hiking trails up Mount Wachusett offer great access to the outdoors in winter.
