Welcome to Rick Marsi Online

For the past three decades, Rick Marsi's name has become synonymous with excellence in the following fields:

Purchase Rick's books and photos, hire him as a speaker for your next meeting or special event, or engage him to lead you on a guided nature walk.

Available for sale here now...

Rick's new book of nature

essays, "Log Cabin Year",

48 Reflections from Our

Seasons Past with illustrations

by Jan Mars

Price reduced to $19.95

Click on the book cover to view sample pages

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Read a description of Rick's new slide program"The Last Wild Tigers of India" by clicking "slide shows" on the tool bar at left.
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Check out more spring photos in "Bonus Content" at left.
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View my log of June nature sightings by clicking "diary" at left.
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Photos from late May...

For one of North America's smallest songbirds, the Winter Wren packs quite a punch. Its rollicking song is louder than you can imagine for such a diminutive creature. Look for them in ravines and swampy areas.


Another well-named bird is the Common Yellowthroat. Yes, they are common. You can find them in most brushy areas. And they certainly have a yellow throat, especially this male. Masked Yellowthroat also would have been a good name, except females don't feature a mask.


Bald Eagles don't get white heads and tails until they reach 4-5 years old. Juveniles, such as this one, are brown, showing varying degrees of white in their plumage. 

I found this clump of Columbine growing on a moist rock ledge on a shady road by the river. This is the same plant you can by at a nursery. 



This Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is showing off its true colors. One of our smallest songbirds, the gnatcatcher makes up for its diminutive size with a feisty personality. Its song is a faint, nasal whisper you can hardly hear. 


One of my favorite spring activities is harvesting a few Wild Leeks for leek/potato soup. I look for their spear-shaped leaves in woodlands with rich soil and many wildflowers. 


Add a few croutons to the finished product and enjoy. 


I found this baby Painted Turtle on the concrete floor of my garage. How it got there remains a mystery. Painted Turtles are strictly aquatic, except in spring, when females leave the water to dig holes in lawns and other grassy areas. There they deposit their eggs, cover them up with dirt and let the sun incubate the eggs until hatching. 


The song of the Veery is one of the most beautiful to waft through a spring forest. Some say it sounds like a marble spiraling down a drainpipe.

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