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#NatureZen and Photography

#NatureZen: Our Wildflower Rainbow

#NatureZen: Our Wildflower Rainbow

Words and photos by Melissa McMasters April greetings, park friends! We know that many of you won’t be visiting the park as much as you’d like this spring, so we’ll continue to bring it to you. It’s peak wildflower season in the Old Forest, which means

#NatureZen: Get to Know Your Woodpeckers

#NatureZen: Get to Know Your Woodpeckers

Words and photos by Melissa McMasters, Director of Communications As winter turns to spring, we’ll soon see an influx of migratory birds. But for now, let’s spotlight some of the stars of the winter forest: the woodpeckers!Seven species of woodpeckers are regulars in the Old

#NatureZen: Blooming Tree Edition

#NatureZen: Blooming Tree Edition

Words + Photos by Melissa McMasters, Director of Communications Something I try to practice every year at this time is looking more closely. In a few weeks, when spring bird migration is in full swing, I’ll be distracted by explosive song and flashes of yellow

#NatureZen: Welcome Back, Bees

#NatureZen: Welcome Back, Bees

words and photos by Melissa McMasters A huge part of Overton Park Conservancy’s mission is connecting the people of Memphis, so it’s hard to accept that one of the kindest things we can do for each other–particularly for the most vulnerable among us–is to keep

Bucks for Birds: Best of Migration

Bucks for Birds: Best of Migration

Now that Bucks for Birds is over, I wanted to share my favorite photo of each species that I captured over the past few weeks. In many cases, my favorite photo was not the one I initially posted (thanks for coming through, summer tanager!). I’ve

Bucks for Birds #6: Warbler Wrapup

Bucks for Birds #6: Warbler Wrapup

It’s time for the final set of birds in our April Bucks for Birds promotion, and we saved our most fascinating visitors for last. Over the past couple of weeks, I spotted nine different warblers, which brings our final tally to 54 species photographed in

Bucks for Birds #5: A Colorful Assortment

Bucks for Birds #5: A Colorful Assortment

We’ve officially reached the end of April’s Bucks for Birds campaign! Spring migration continues, so I’ll be doing a wrap-up with some of my favorite photos in a few weeks, most of which are quite different than the ones I’ve posted so far. (The wood