m'' 



birds in parks and gardens. Although the white man has "wrecked" 

 the original ecology of this continent, enough time has now 

 passed for the wildlife to get over its initial shodc and to bound 

 back. A new balance is developing, and it is nowhere more 

 obvious than in Appalachia, the first area to be ravished and the 

 one that has been most hardly done by. 



There are still what used to be called "rare" things in this 

 province. I mentioned the occurrence of fisher marten in New 

 Jersey. There are unseen ones like the fabulous star-nosed mole 

 and the anhinga or snakebird, which is popularly thought of as 

 being a denizen of Floridian swamps but which has bred in that 

 same state. Appalachia is a great place for black bear, and they 

 are downright numerous in many parts, even appearing within 

 thirty-five miles of New York, to the considerable astonishment 

 of Westchester commuters. There have also been repeated rumors 

 of mountain lion in Maine, the Adirondacks, the Poconos. and 

 even in the Alleghenies. It was not long ago that the idea of 

 porcupines in Connecticut was considered ridiculous, but now 

 they are quite common in many areas. The fauna is really very 

 varied if you dig for it. What is more, many forms seem to be 

 spreading steadily north and east. Mourning doves, opossums, 

 and turkey buzzards have all moved into New England within 

 the past twenty years, and coyotes have been reported in upper 

 New York State. 



The lesser creatures are also numerous though less obvious. 

 The chorus of the spring peeper frogs is notable, as are the 

 basser compositions of the bull, green, and leopard frogs. Snakes 

 are fairly abundant, and a foreigner may well see bladt. hog- 

 nosed, and garter snakes any day, while copperheads and timber 

 rattlers are extremely numerous in some parts. I know of one 

 place in northern Pennsylvania where they congregate for hiber- 

 nation in enormous numbers. Tortoises, both box and wood, and 

 snappers are very numerous, and the newt and salamander 

 population is enormous, though mostly known only to specialists. 



There are insects all over the world, but in Appalachia there 

 are some that come as a great surprise and seem to be especially 

 outstanding. Most notable are perhaps the vast, pastel-green 

 Luna Moths that sometimes just appear out of the night and 

 freeze to the side of the house under a light. Then there are the 

 huge Cecropia Moths, the large praying mantises that some- 

 times invade the skyscrapers in cities above the four-hundred- 

 foot level, and those terrifying creatures the giant dobson flies, 

 the males with their indi-long pincers snapping menacingly in 

 front and their flat bodies and dusty-looking wings raised behind. 

 People see these; but there are many other smaller fry that have 

 to be looked for but which are altogether fabulous. I have in 

 mind certain carpenter and wood-boring bees that drill per- 

 fectly circular holes into fence posts with a noise like a radio 



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