A Good Day

Top Photo: American mink on floating deck (photo-Ranger Dakota). Mink are elusive, frenetic, always on the move. Though I’m not sure how intentional their elusivity is. They simply go about their business quickly and quietly, keyword, quietly. In my encounters with the chocolate brown mustelids I’ve always been completely ignored by the weasel, until, that is, I paid too much attention to the animal. In those cases where I’d tried to get close up photos, or otherwise followed too closelyRead more

Gall Midges

Top Photo: Cypress flower midge galls on bald cypress needles (November). When female cypress flower gall midges emerge in the spring they mate and immediately lay eggs on fresh green needles of bald cypress trees. The feeding larvae which hatch from the eggs stimulate the needles into forming flower shaped galls on their surfaces. The galls look very much like tiny fungi, but inside each one of the little “mushrooms” is a larva of a cypress flower gall midge. TheRead more

Snow Day

Top Photo: As the snow begins to melt in the wetlands. Snow days are short-lived here on the Carolina Piedmont. You’d better get outside quick and take in the snow before it’s gone, literally melts away. Here’s a handful of shots from this morning moments before evanescence. Till next time…Read more

A Hooded Surprise

Top Photo: A whir of wings and slap, slap, slap of webbed feet on the water as the birds take off. If you’re the first person of the day to descend the boardwalk leading to Explore the Wild you may see the mergansers in close to or under the boardwalk rousting out any mosquitofish, aquatic insects or crayfish that may be hanging out in the shadows. The birds are shy. If the birds see you coming they may simply swimRead more

What’s Happening on the Outdoor Loop

Top Photo: The Wetlands in summer. If you’re familiar with the museum’s outdoor loop through Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild, you may be happy to know that life goes on as it always has in the past. There are, though, a few changes around the bend. Here, a few familiar sights and a few behind the scenes sneak previews. Shrubby St. John’s wort is in bloom, as it is each year at this time. The 4 foot tallRead more

Mergansers Are Back!

The first hooded merganser of the season arrived in our wetlands on Halloween. On November 1, there were four mergs. There are currently six, two males and four females, swimming and diving in the wetlands. Enjoy!Read more

The Fall

If you’ve been wandering around out-of-doors lately you my have noticed it’s fall, a great time to be out and about. Besides the leaves ablaze in the trees, there’s much to be seen and enjoyed on a walk along you’re favorite trail. Here are photos of some of what I saw on a trip around the outdoor loop through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind here at the Museum of Life and Science on one fine fall day. Depending uponRead more

Hooded Mergansers

Since the arrival of the first of the season, lone male merg back at the end of October, their numbers have steadily increased. Over the past few weeks the congregation in our Wetlands has ranged from the twenties and thirties, into the forties. I counted 41 mergansers on 5 December. They have been very busy pair bonding and feeding. They show a preference for feeding under and around the Main Wetlands Overlook where many golden shiners have concentrated. But, as mentioned in a previous post, theRead more

Duck Dance and Snowy Owl Update

  If you haven’t been down to the Museum’s Wetlands lately you should make a point of doing so. As I’ve mentioned several times in the last few weeks, the merganser numbers have increased. I’ve not seen as many of these magnificently plumaged birds in our Wetlands in the past 7 years. And, they’re putting on quite a show.     Pair bond displays are taking center stage out on the water. Sounds of splashing water and the rolling, croaking,Read more