Nesting Season Continues

Nesting season is still going strong. A pair of green herons has taken up residence in a willow tree in the wetlands, great-crested flycatchers seem to be using a wood duck nest box for what is probably their second brood of the season, and many other bird species are proceeding with their annual attempts at increasing the bird population. Green herons have built a nest in a black willow within easy view of the main Wetlands Overlook. In fact, in 2013,Read more
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Lawn Thrush

Everyone is familiar with the robin. It’s the bird that, when describing another bird, people often use as a reference, “it was about the size of a robin.” We see them on our lawns, in city parks, in our fruit trees, and even nesting in our backyards. We see them in every season of the year from the blistering heat of the summer to the frigid (especially this year) winter. The American Robin got its name from the early EuropeanRead more

Cooper’s Hawk and the Robin

During the month of July, I casually monitored the progress of two young Cooper’s Hawks that fledged here at the Museum. I would sometimes see the birds through the trees hopping and flying from limb to limb, but more often I would hear them whining for food back among the pines on the north side of the path through Explore the Wild. Occasionally I saw one of the adult Cooper’s Hawks carry in a newly captured passerine to feed to theRead more

Red tails, Red breasts, and a Nervous NOMO

As a follow-up to the Spring? posting of February 25th regarding the questions on the Red-tailed Hawks: A few hours after posting the above, I was out in Catch the Wind and observed a pair of Red-tailed Hawks performing their aerial courtship flight. I didn’t get the whole sequence of events on film (digital), and the birds were way up there requiring a bit of enlargement, but hopefully you’ll get the gist of what the birds are doing. The nextRead more

Nuthatch Landlords? Hollies under Assault?

There are still two pairs of Hooded Mergansers present in the Wetlands. There is one pair of Canada Geese present. Red-tailed Hawks continue to be seen daily and Cooper’s Hawks have been noticed flying and perching in the vicinity of the previous year’s nest site. And, as mentioned above, Red-shouldered Hawks are once again showing up in the Wetlands. Eastern Phoebes are calling regularly in and around the Wetlands. Phoebes nest on ledges. I’ve witnessed the birds investigating potential nestRead more