Top Photo: Banded sphinx moth caterpillar preparing to chew on wingleaf primrose-willow in wetlands. Last September, I photographed a banded sphinx moth (Eumorpha fasciatus) caterpillar on an end-of-the-season wingleaf primrose-willow (Ludwigia decurrens) in the wetlands. There were only a hand-full of those plants in the wetlands at the time. This year, there are many. The larvae may be green-themed, red, black, or multi-colored. The genus name Eumorpha means “well formed” or “good shape” and the species name fasciatus refers toRead more
Posts filed in: Carolina Wildlife
Nest Box Update 7.25.23
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We are now down to zero nest activity. ————————— The Cow Pasture nest which held five house wren nestlings last week has fledged them all. I could hear them in the woods behind the nest box as we checked in on them this morning. The remaining five nest boxes are empty. ——————————— I’m calling the season over. I’ll make one last trip around the nest box trail at the start of next week, but IRead more
Nest Box Update 5.30.23
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We now have three nests which show at least some activity. One has four nestlings, one with bluebirds sitting on five eggs, and minimal nesting material in another. ———————— The Cow Pasture nest box has four nestling house wrens. They look healthy and may fledge by next inspection. Both Explore the Wild and Into the Mist nest boxes are empty. The nest box on the east side of the parking deck still has three smallRead more
More Spring
Top Photo: Northern Mockingbird establishes its territory. Note leaf buds sprouting from tree branches. As temperatures settle back from highs in the mid to upper 70s to seasonal norms of 50s and 60s, more signs of spring are being seen around campus. Here’s some examples. The day following the capture of the photo above, fresh young leaves emerged from the buds of the fig tree our mockingbird was claiming as his own. Blue violet is common along paths in ExploreRead more
Oak and Niko
Top Photo: Oak (left) and Niko carefully watch members of the Animal Care crew in their enclosure during routine maintenance. Now that word is out about the new pair of red wolves having arrived at the museum, Niko and Oak, you may want to come have a look at them. Both wolves are still getting used to their enclosure and the rush of people stopping in or passing by the exhibit space. They’ve only been on-site a handful of daysRead more
Northern Water Snake vs Copperhead (rerun)
Top Photo: Copperhead Over the last few weeks I’ve gotten several emails with attached photos requesting the identification of the snake in the pictures (copperhead). With that in mind, and the fact that fall is upon us, and copperheads will be moving about more, I offer a link to a previous post on distinguishing copperhead from northern water snake, both locally common on the North Carolina Piedmont. The following first appeared in May of 2013 Click here > Northern WaterRead more
Some Outdoor Goings-on
Top Photo: Two adult red-tailed hawks silhouetted against the clouds as they soar above Butterfly House. Note that each bird is molting. The two red-tailed hawks above successfully nested on the museum grounds. They’re regular nesters. I rarely see eastern cottontails on our 84 acre campus, until this year. I’ve seen more this spring and summer than I have in perhaps the last 14 years of hiking the museum’s trails. Predator numbers must be down. Besides the red-tailed hawks above,Read more
Nest Box Update 6.21.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have two fledged bluebirds and four more in the same nest which are ready to fly the coop. The other five nest boxes are empty and waiting for occupation. The Cow Pasture bluebirds which numbered six last week, are fledging. There were four bluebirds tucked into the nest against our intrusion this morning, two had already fledged. The coaxing parents were in the trees above us as we peeked into the nest box. I’llRead more
Nest Box Update 5.24.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We currently have 12 eggs in two active nests on our bluebird trail. One nest holds 6 bluebird eggs, the other 6 house wren eggs. I was surprised to find 3 additional eggs above last week’s 3 in the Cow Pasture nest on today’s inspection of nest boxes. As I mentioned last week, the second brood is usually smaller one than the first. This nest has as many eggs as the initial nest in thisRead more