The 2016 bluebird nesting season here at the Museum of Life & Science is officially over. We had 25 birds fledge, 19 of which were eastern bluebirds with 6 Carolina chickadees. The most productive nest box was the Cow Pasture nest box with a total of 9 bluebirds fledged, 5 early in the season and 4 in a second brood. Five bluebirds each fledged from the Woodland and Butterfly House nest boxes. The Bungee nest box, which is just northRead more
Month: July 2016
What Feather
At the tail end of this past winter, I noticed a feather floating in the water just off the boardwalk. It was black with white triangular notches on the inner vane. The feather looked to be about 4 inches long, maybe a bit smaller. By its shape, I could tell that it was either an inner primary or secondary feather (wing feather) of a medium sized bird. This feather both puzzled and troubled me. The feather puzzled me because IRead more
Bluebird Update 7.12.16
The eggs in the nest box at the Cow Pasture, our only active nest, have hatched. There are now four bluebird nestlings in the nest. By the way, if you read these bluebird updates each week, you’ve heard me mention the Cow Pasture nest box each time. It’s the first nest box on my route as I check the nests on Tuesday mornings. This nest box is in a location on the campus that’s only visible to the public through aRead more
Bluebird Update 7.5.16
One week after finding 4 bluebird eggs in the nest at the Cow Pasture, not much else has changed. There’ve been no changes to either of the five nest other nest boxes, all are empty except the Cow Pasture nest, although the eggs in that nest have still not hatched. The only change in the Cow Pasture nest is the fact that the eggs have been moved, rearranged. It’s part of the incubation process for birds to turn their eggsRead more
Nesting Season Continues
Nesting season is still going strong. A pair of green herons has taken up residence in a willow tree in the wetlands, great-crested flycatchers seem to be using a wood duck nest box for what is probably their second brood of the season, and many other bird species are proceeding with their annual attempts at increasing the bird population. Green herons have built a nest in a black willow within easy view of the main Wetlands Overlook. In fact, in 2013,Read more