Editor's Column
A Day on Long Pond
by John Hanson MitchellPresident's Message
Three Legs of the Stool—Observations on Mass Audubon’s Mission
by Henry Tepper, President
Stake-drivers and Sac-a-plombs
Not only do they have a few weird popular names, but birds that are found around freshwater ponds exhibit interesting feeding and nesting habits. Some are stalkers, some are divers, some, such as mallards and black ducks, are dabblers. But they all play a role in the larger ecosystem of pond life.
by Wayne Petersen
Pondering the Pond Plants
Long the subject of painters such as Claude Monet, pond lilies and other aquatic plants have been admired for centuries for their beauty. But they too, like the birds and the other living things of freshwater areas, are critical elements of pond life, providing food, shelter, and even shade for other aquatic species.
by Teri Dunn Chace
The Great Circle of the Pond
Like the earth itself, a pond is a closed, dynamic ecosystem. It begins with bottom soil structure and bacteria, and rises all the way through a well-organized food chain, including predators and prey, scavengers and decomposers.
by Michael J. Caduto
The Waters in Between
One learns a great deal over a lifetime beside a pond. The waters offer endless entertainment for a child, a retreat for teenagers, with a little work an overview of issues of water and land use, and, finally, an appreciation for the interconnection between an individual and a body of water.
by Whit Griswold
The Case of the Missing Spadefoot
One rarely sees them. But they are there, and they are not uncommon. Spadefoot toads have the ultimate clandestine life. Read on.
by Ann Prince
In the Field: Playing at the Pond
Children have an affinity for the water and love full emersion, engaged with nature and the wild surroundings during a day at the pond.
by Ann Prince
The Political Landscape: Public Endangered Species in Our Public Trust
Conserving our flora and fauna benefits the citizens of the Commonwealth. Mass Audubon is defending endangered species protection in court and in the legislature.
by Karen Heymann
