Above: After successfully laying eggs, a yellow-bellied slider heads back into the pond. At this time of year many turtles are moving up to dry land to lay eggs. They turn up in the most peculiar of places in their quest for the perfect spot in which to dig a hole and lay their eggs (According to Ornithopter Operator, John Hammons, a Yellow-bellied Slider was found on the Ornithopter one May morning). Museum staff often encounter Yellow-bellied Turtles walking downRead more
Month: May 2010
Kingfisher Returns, With Some New Faces!
There were five Belted Kingfishers in the Wetlands on Wednesday afternoon (5/26). What does that mean? It means that our resident female, which is seen in the Wetlands nearly every day of the year until nesting duties call her away in April, has returned with her new family. I wasn’t able to get a close enough look to see if there were three young and both adults present or four young and just one of the parents. There was muchRead more
Worm or Snake?
“Is that a worm or a snake?” shouted a Museum guest as she stared down at the ground at a small, slender, brown creature frantically wiggling along the macadam on the north side of the Wetlands. Standing about thirty feet from the woman I could see the critter, but couldn’t tell exactly what it was. Getting closer, I could see that it was a snake. I flipped the little snake over to see the pink of its belly to confirmRead more
Big Blue and the Bull
The Great Blue Heron is back, and hungry! A Bullfrog makes a nice meal for a heron. Our resident heron (below) has captured a large male frog. With a firm grip on the frog, the heron wades over to a nearby island to safely prepare the frog for consumption. The frog must be rendered motionless before it’s gulped down. A squirmy, wiggling frog may accidentally be dropped in the water and could be lost among the weeds and algae, tooRead more
Insects Come Alive
With the heat comes the insects. As the season moves along more and more insects have begun to hatch, emerge, or arouse. As you already know (if you’ve been reading this journal), insects spend the cold months as either eggs, larvae, pupae, or even as adults, tucked away in some crevice, under the ground, underwater, or in the trunk of a tree or other such safe haven. Spending their time underwater feeding, resting, and growing, odonata are now emerging fromRead more
May Flora
Japanese Honeysuckle is in bloom. An exotic species, and an invasive one, Japanese Honeysuckle is still a favorite of many people for both its fragrance and taste. People either love Japanese Honeysuckle or they hate it. Here’s just one paper on the subject. Mulberry is ripening and many birds are gulping down the berries as soon as they do. What’s wrong with this picture? No, it’s not snow. It’s seed dispersal in action. Since the first of April, the Black WillowsRead more
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