I see tree frogs nearly every day in and around the Museum’s Wetlands. It’s difficult to not take photos of them, they’re so attractive. After photographing one such tree frog, a green tree frog, I noticed a line of small marks on its nape, just behind the head. The marks looked like a series of small tears in the frog’s skin. What could have caused these tiny cuts or tears in the frog’s skin? I don’t know for sure, butRead more
Month: July 2013
Bluebird Final Tally
Last week there were five nestlings in the Cow Pasture nest box, they have all fledged (7/9). With the fledging of the Cow Pasture brood, all of our six nest boxes are empty. There’s a jumble of twigs in the nest box next to the Picnic Dome, but I don’t expect to see any more added to it, it hasn’t been worked on in over two weeks. This year there was a total of 33 birds fledged out of ourRead more
Hummbird Minute.
As I stood near the service road across from Into the Mist I noticed a small bird at the top of a very large mimosa tree alongside the road. It was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It’s always a thrill to see a hummingbird, and certainly many people get really close looks at them at their backyard feeders. But it’s always a special thrill to see one away from the feeders, even if it is in a mimosa tree (non-native). You canRead more
Can Groundhogs Swim?
You already know that groundhogs climb trees, right? If you didn’t know that, now you do, they can climb trees. But can they swim? I believe that every animal has the ability to swim. Cats don’t like to swim, but if you throw one, or should I say, if one falls into the water, you will most certainly see a cat swim. The question then, should be, do they want to, do they like to, or do they voluntarily swim? As farRead more
Bluebird Update 7.2.13
I was anxious to check the nest boxes this morning. With all the torrential downpours we’ve had lately I worried for the nestlings in the two remaining active nests. As it happens, it wasn’t the rain I needed to be concerned about. The birds in the Cow Pasture nest next to the Train Tunnel seemed content as I opened their nest box. It’s difficult to see but it appears all five birds are still present. They will surely fledge beforeRead more
More Eggs for the Green Herons
I checked on the Green Heron nests first thing Saturday morning (6/29). The first nest was still occupied as expected, and I was happy to see that two herons were working on the second nest (NS2) after three days of inactivity. Late in the day I noticed one of the herons standing at the nest and could see an egg just below the bird. The birds are, without a doubt, committed to this nest site. Both heron nests now containRead more