Summertime!

Despite what the calendar says, it’s summer.  And, as what happens every summer, birds that had been caring for and feeding their young in the nest are now out and about with their families teaching the youngsters how to survive on their own. Warm weather frogs, like treefrogs, stimulated by the heat and thunderstorms, are breeding on cue. And plants, that can, like-wise, take the heat, have set blooms. Insects that have been less obvious to us the rest of the yearRead more
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Waxwings and Mulberries

I was cruising Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind for turtles that might have been looking for nest sites when I noticed that the branches of the mulberry tree that hangs over the path near the Sail Boat Pond were drooping very low. There were also many purple stains on the pavement below the branches. The mulberries were ripe. It was time to keep an eye out for berry loving birds raiding the trees in search of that ohRead more
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While we’re all waiting…

…for 1287 (the wolf) to have her liter, a Green Heron dropped into the swamp across from the wolf exhibit. It’s good to see one of these little herons back in our midst from wherever it was for the past six months, presumably someplace warmer and with more fish, insects, and tadpoles to eat. Also in our midst yesterday (4/13) was a Great Crested Flycatcher. I heard the loud WEEP call of the bird but couldn’t locate it visually. Unlike theRead more
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Flowers, Butterflies, Odes, Birds, Snappers, and the Fox

Dame’s Rocket and Blackberry are in bloom. Butterflies find the early blooming blackberries rather tempting. More species of dragonflies and damselflies have been emerging recently. A first-of-the-season Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) was seen on 29 April as was a new species for the Museum, a Prince Baskettail (Epitheca princeps). I had thought that I spied one of these Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura) relatives last year, but couldn’t be certain. The sighting on the 29th confirmed it. On April 23, I witnessed the matingRead more

Early Nesters, Arrivals, Delayed Departures

It was a busy time for birds. Besides the Red-shouldered Hawks snatching frogs out of the Wetlands, Carolina Chickadees feeding their young in a nest in a Loblolly Pine between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild, and the Red-bellied Woodpeckers sitting on eggs in another loblolly in front of the Lemur House, many new seasonal arrivals and migrants have been observed. After a seven-month absence, a Green Heron was back on station on 28 April. As if it hadRead more

Broadwinged Hawk!

Finally, a Broad-winged Hawk! I had expected to see a Broad-winged Hawk in mid to late April when they first arrive back from their winters spent in South America. They usually slip into the nesting season with little fanfare so they can easily be missed. Broad-wings don’t make very much noise, usually vocalizing only during the early part of the nesting season. When they do call out, it sounds more like a Killdeer’s whistled song, or the song of anRead more

A Night Heron, Birds on the Move

Top Photo: Green heron eyes blue dasher (dragonfly). A Black-crowned Night Heron was seen on two separate days at the beginning of the period. The bird was in immature plumage and had not yet acquired the “black crown” of its common name. It may take 3 years to acquire full adult plumage. Black-crowned Night Herons are active at night and sleep the day away, so it may still be about tucked in out of sight amongst the willows. This isRead more