Red-shouldered, Stinkhorn, and Mistletoe

Top Photo: Red-shouldered hawk quietly perched in wooded swamp. Every now and then one of our resident red-shouldered hawks displays its complete lack of concern for we humans here at the museum. The red-shoulder in these photos was perched perhaps thirty feet from the walkway in the wooded swamp on the north side of our outdoor loop trail. This past week I noticed two of our adult red-shoulders performing courtship flight maneuvers and even gathering nesting material. One hawk wasRead more

Falling Into Winter

We’re on the back side of fall and sliding into winter. There’s still much going on out-of-doors with lots to see if you keep an eye open to it. Here’s some of what I’ve been seeing. Asters are late summer and fall blooming flowers. They’re still blooming in the garden in front of our Butterfly House. Red buckeye fruit have already burst open spilling their large brown seeds (buckeyes) to the ground. Several common snapping turtle hatchlings were spotted bothRead more

Gum Balls and Mistletoe

This is a good time of year to look up among the bare branches of the trees for what couldn’t be seen when they were covered with leaves. The seeds of Sweetgums are enclosed in ball-shaped “fruits” or husks. The seeds are eaten by many birds and animals. In the two images at the top left, you can see an American Goldfinch perched among sweetgum balls, then reach down to pick a seed from one of the prickly balls. AppropriateRead more