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A Year across Maryland: A Week-by-Week Guide to Discovering Nature in the Chesapeake Region
A week-by-week look at the abundant wildlife and plants in and around Maryland―where and when to find them. When can you find ripe blueberries along the Appalachian Trail in Maryland? Where can you see the air filled with monarch butterflies as they migrate south each autumn? If you want to enjoy nature this weekend, where is the best place to visit? Bryan MacKay can tell you. Written as an almanac, A Year across Maryland invites you to explore the natural world throughout the year, from watching bald eagles nesting in January to harvesting mistletoe in December. Entries identify the best time and place to experience such wonders as wildflowers blooming, birds in migration, amphibians singing, and morel mushrooms ready to be picked, sliced, sautéed, and devoured. Color photographs of more than seventy species enrich and illustrate the text. Every week of the year has a recommended "Trip of the Week." Personal essays that draw from MacKay's field notes provide an intimate glimpse into a biologist encounters with plants and animals over the years. Whether you want to see snow geese and trumpeter swans pausing in their northward migration each March, or the mating "jubilee" of polychaete worms during the new moon in May, A Year across Maryland offers valuable advice for the spontaneous adventurer and the serious planner alike.
- GenresScienceNonfictionTravel
312 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2013
16 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 18, 2016
My eyes often turn westward when I think of quintessential amazing places... But reading books like this reminds me of the very beauty and wonder that exists right where I am now.
This book is well-conceived, with great information of flora, fauna, and geography of this diverse, yet small state. I really liked the essays and interludes alongside the hiking, canoeing suggestions, and plant identification, as well as the not-Maryland-but-still-close day trips. I've been to 70% of the places mentioned in the book in my 17-some years here in the state, and now I have even more renewed interest in the other spots!
This book is well-conceived, with great information of flora, fauna, and geography of this diverse, yet small state. I really liked the essays and interludes alongside the hiking, canoeing suggestions, and plant identification, as well as the not-Maryland-but-still-close day trips. I've been to 70% of the places mentioned in the book in my 17-some years here in the state, and now I have even more renewed interest in the other spots!
January 3, 2024
I've never read a book quite like this one, but I wish there was one for every location I've ever lived. My sweet son - who knows me well - gave this to me for Mother's Day, which led to lots of trips to the places described for the two of us along with his children. When we did not explore together, I often told them about the knowledge I gained about our state. I've read through this twice and know that I will continue to consult it as I am blessed with more seasons here in Maryland!
July 25, 2018
This book is an aspiring naturalist's dream.
Between the covers of this book are pages full of potential adventures. Maryland has a lot to offer, as do West Virginia, Delaware, Virginia, and Philadelphia. This book offers a week by week guide to what is going on in the natural world over the course of a year in MD and where to best experience these wonders. There is everything from the great migration of the Monarch butterfly to Least Terns nesting, the bloom of native orchids and wildflowers, and a healthy warning of when Lyme disease is most commonly rearing its ugly head. There are trails, botanical gardens, canoe trips and birding adventures. There are even bugs you could take a short trip to try and see.
This book is fascinating, and at times a bit sad for how many invasives exist and how the deer have negatively impacted our land. Nevertheless, this book shows you how to make the most of what you have, and even how to volunteer now and again as a citizen scientist to help rid the land of non-native invasives in any way you can. This is a must-browse at the very least for anyone living in MD. It has certainly made me appreciate my proximity to the Patapsco State Park and the Patuxent.
Can't wait to go down to Prettyboy one of these days.
Between the covers of this book are pages full of potential adventures. Maryland has a lot to offer, as do West Virginia, Delaware, Virginia, and Philadelphia. This book offers a week by week guide to what is going on in the natural world over the course of a year in MD and where to best experience these wonders. There is everything from the great migration of the Monarch butterfly to Least Terns nesting, the bloom of native orchids and wildflowers, and a healthy warning of when Lyme disease is most commonly rearing its ugly head. There are trails, botanical gardens, canoe trips and birding adventures. There are even bugs you could take a short trip to try and see.
This book is fascinating, and at times a bit sad for how many invasives exist and how the deer have negatively impacted our land. Nevertheless, this book shows you how to make the most of what you have, and even how to volunteer now and again as a citizen scientist to help rid the land of non-native invasives in any way you can. This is a must-browse at the very least for anyone living in MD. It has certainly made me appreciate my proximity to the Patapsco State Park and the Patuxent.
Can't wait to go down to Prettyboy one of these days.
July 4, 2022
This book is wonderful! An excellent summary of the seasonal changes of nature in Maryland that also includes interesting anecdotes and suggestions for trips. I really like that MacKay doesn't only include unspoiled/pretty/"good" nature; wildflowers in roadside ditches, birds nesting in manmade structures, and invasive species are all as much a part of nature as any other organisms. We have to appreciate nature for what it is, not just what we think it is or should be.
This book is not comprehensive, but rather aims to provide a few select highlights. It's a good starting point for becoming familiar with nature in Maryland.
This book is not comprehensive, but rather aims to provide a few select highlights. It's a good starting point for becoming familiar with nature in Maryland.
December 8, 2021
I read this a month at a time to keep up with Maryland nature....what to see when and where. So many excellent adventures!
December 8, 2021
What a GREAT book and an amazing guide to Maryland and the region! I learned so much. We used it a lot this past year and I look forward to starting over again in January as we plan our local excursions for 2022.
February 5, 2018
Charming book ~ beautiful pictures ~ and I love the author.
January 1, 2021
A must read for Marylanders. You will learn all sorts of things, and it will give you ideas for where to go on hikes and other trips.
December 10, 2024
The best locally-informed nature guide I’ve read. It has been a key resource in my nature programming year-round. A must-have for all Maryland/Delmarva explorers!
April 26, 2015
A very useful overview of a range of nature-related occurrences throughout the year. The author provides good visuals and descriptions, but also refers to a number of .gov or .org websites, which I've found tend to become dates quickly. If you live in Maryland and spend time outside, I'd highly recommend for purchase.
August 28, 2015
No a book to read in one day - but one in a year or a life time interesting places to visit and seen Maryland.
September 23, 2022
I've re-read this book multiple times a year since I moved back to Maryland. I wish there were others similar to this, but haven't been able to find any!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews