Marcia Bonta

  • Purple Martins

    Purple Martins

    One mid-July afternoon near our barn, our son Steve watched two purple martins insect-catching high in the sky. Several days before, down in nearby Sinking Valley, Steve had driven up a private road called Purple Martin Lane and found two large purple martin houses set up by a local Amish family. “There were at least…

  • Songbird Journeys

    Songbird Journeys

    For those of us who appreciate songbirds, September is the saddest month. That’s when most of them start their long journeys south. Gone are the songs of spring and early summer, the raising of youngsters, even, in some cases, their bright spring colors. A few songbirds, such as eastern towhees and yellow-rumped warblers, migrate no…