The Feeders

OK, in the past few weeks we’ve had days with snow, ice, and some very cold temperatures. We’ve also had a solid week, seven days, with temps in the sixties and seventies. And now, it’s chilling down again. Not long ago the local birds were singing a happy tune. Now it seems all they care about is putting on fat, the bird feeders in Catch the Wind are busy! Here’s just some of the birds looking to put on weightRead more

A Chorus of Frogs

As I mentioned in a previous entry in this journal, Spring Peepers and Upland Chorus Frogs had been calling vigorously during the warm weather of last week. We certainly have chorus frogs here at the Museum but they are difficult to locate visually. The best place to look for them is the U-shaped pond next to the Bungee Jump in Catch the Wind. Upland Chorus Frogs are small (about 1″ – 1.5″) and typically cease their singing when approached byRead more

Female Redhead

In a recent post I highlighted two pair of Redheads that dropped into the Wetlands for the day. The following day the birds were gone, presumably continuing on to wherever it was they were originally heading. A line of heavy storms moved through our area on Friday, two days after the four redheads were with us. Soon after the heaviest of the rain passed, I noticed a lone redhead swimming in our Wetlands, a female. There’s no way to knowRead more

Spring!!

It seems the lengthening days and warm weather of last week created a stirring in some of the local wildlife. As I drove in to work Friday I saw two Black Vultures copulating on the side of the road. On Wednesday (4/19) I saw one of our local Red-shouldered Hawks aloft, stooping, soaring, and screaming for all the world to see and hear his desire to procreate. I later saw the bird land next to another red-shoulder and mount the otherRead more

Redheads

In the six plus years that I’ve been here at the Museum I’ve never seen a Redhead in the Wetlands. There were four redheads swimming, diving, preening, and resting in our little quarry of a wetland on Wednesday morning (2/19/14). Redheads are diving ducks. They feed by diving under the water to retrieve submergent plants, mollusks, aquatic insects, and even small fish. Redheads spend the summer on the northern prairies and intermountain regions of the North American West where theyRead more

Hoar Frost

I recently posted an image of fern frost which I discovered on the hood of my van one frosty morning last week. I often see this type of frost on cold mornings on the interior of the storm windows of my house (if you live in a newer house with energy efficient double pane windows you’re less likely to see frost on your windows). But there are other types of frost, and they form in different ways. The two thatRead more

The Week Ahead

You can expect to see more scenes as depicted in the above photo for the duration of the week, the temperatures are expected to be in the 60s with at least one 70 thrown in. I saw six turtles out basking this morning. I expect to see more this afternoon. In fact, I expect to see many more later today. The turtles are waking up and I’m anticipating that every available perch, every rock, boulder, log, and bit of shoreline outRead more

Fern Frost

The van was covered with snow the day before this photo was taken. I cleaned it off (the van) the next morning and didn’t move it the entire day/night. I’m not sure of the wind velocity, but think it was calm overnight, clear sky and calm. The temperatures were in the mid to high twenties. Interesting pattern, don’t you think?  Read more

Purple Martins in the snow

As reported last week Purple Martins are on their way north. The first arrivals in North Carolina have been seen, just in time for the snow, sleet, freezing rain and cold. The birds were spotted in the southern portion of our state in Maxton (2/9) and Godwin (2/10) NC. Both of those locations are on the coastal plain about 56 miles distance from one another. These birds are insectivorous, wish them luck.Read more