By BONNIE LEE STRUNK

Special to The Press

To call Fred Buse observant would be a vast understatement.

Not only can the South Whitehall Township resident list the bird species, insects, wildlife and plants that appear in his three-quarter acre natural landscape every day, he can provide similar information for the same time period last year, or even 30 or 40 years ago.

Buse says he has been keeping records “on the development of my yard over 50 years.”

His interest in phenology, the study of life cycles, which combines ecology with meteorology, led him to anticipate what would be happening in his environment month to month.

Although Buse notes he kept the records “for my own amusement” and had “no intention” of compiling the data into a book, nevertheless he did write one, over a five-year period.

His recently-released 560-page volume, “Anticipation,” contains over 300 photos that Buse shot over the years in his ever-changing landscape, a nationally certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

The marine engineer who grew up on Long Island, N.Y., where he enjoyed camping as a Boy Scout, keeps a camera and binoculars on his kitchen table and has a receiver in the kitchen to amplify nature’s music from his backyard - everything from croaking frogs to hooting owls to numerous bird melodies.

Buse recalls when he and his late wife bought their home in 1969, the property had no trees.

The area “had been an apple orchard at one time and all the trees had been taken down,” he explains.

A photo of the bare landscape is included in his book, as are the many changes he made to the property gradually, completely changing the environment surrounding his home.

His lot now is beautified by a variety of trees, shrubs and perennials, many of which are native.

Trees include black oak, pin oak, spruce, pine, silver maple, sugar maple, dogwood, birch and apple, to name just a few.

A small sampling of his other beneficial plantings includes blueberry, hawthorn, raspberry, holly, winterberry, milkweed, coneflowers and black-eyed Susans.

A Master Gardener and a member of the organization’s speakers’ bureau, Buse has invited garden clubs to tour his property and often gives gardening presentations to service clubs and groups.

He also performs volunteer work in community gardens near Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation.

According to Buse, critters which have invited themselves to his lush property and small pond include frogs, hummingbirds, several butterfly species, red fox, groundhogs, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, a heron, owls, garter snakes and a startling array of birds.

He has seen Baltimore orioles, indigo bunting and scarlet tanagers, along with the mourning doves, cardinals, blue jays, robins, finches and grackles often observed in the Lehigh Valley.

For several decades, Buse has been participating in one of Cornell University’s citizen science projects, reporting the types of birds he observes in his yard during a specified time period, often during winter months.

Needless to say, he has much to count.

With temperatures rising in the area, he says he is seeing “birds overwintering instead of heading south.”

In recent years he has observed a flock of 20 to 30 robins hanging around all winter.

According to Buse, “The mean temperature of each year has gone up three degrees in the last 30 years,” in the Lehigh Valley.

For anyone with an interest in local weather patterns, his book meticulously details the spikes in snow and rainfall amounts, month by month, year by year, in addition to monthly temperature changes over several decades.

Buse continues to keep daily records, noting when certain insects first appear, such as lightning bugs, when bats arrive at night, when perennials bloom, when various leaves drop, and when a migrant bird last was spotted in his yard.

He remains as fascinated by his findings now as he was 50 years ago when he first started his chronicles.

Buse is hoping readers of his book, too, will be fascinated, not only with the landscape he has created on his property, but with what is happening in their own environment.

He wants readers to anticipate the changes they will observe month to month.

“I hope I plant a seed in people’s minds so more people will notice what’s going on in their own backyards,” he declares.

“Anticipation” by Fred Buse can be purchased at Amazon, Target and Barnes & Noble websites.