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 a sampling of The Birds of India in "Bonus Content" at left.
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View my log of April nature sightings by clicking "diary" at left.
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A few signs of early spring to keep an eye out for...

By this time of year in Central New York, many species of migrating waterfowl - and those planning to nest here - have arrived. Hooded Mergansers are local nesters, preferring beaver ponds, slow-moving rivers and other secluded waters.


The first Tree Swallows I see in April are almost always swooping low over our local rivers, feeding on emerging flying insects that are too small to see (perhaps midges).


Colt's Foot is a sure sign of spring, and one of our earliest blooming flowers. Appearing along roadsides and other patches of disturbed ground, it is sometimes mistaken for dandelion. Yellow flowers appear before this plant's colt's foot-shaped leaves.


Some Eastern Bluebirds spend the winter here, feeding on dried fruit. Now, others are arriving from southern wintering grounds. During harsh early spring weather, they will roost together in nest boxes at night.


Here's another type of waterfowl that nests locally: the Wood Duck. Now relatively common, these gorgeous birds had been hunted nearly to extinction by the early 1900s. A century later, many Wood Ducks nest in boxes placed by people interested in their continued success.


The Killdeer's call sounds like its common name: "kill-deer, kill-deer." In early spring, I often spy them on riverbanks and in cut corn fields.


There's no mistaking a Belted Kingfisher when it hovers over a river or pond. If it spies a minnow, the kingfisher will dive to the surface with a splash and try to snatch its prey with its bill.
Photos by Rick Marsi

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