If you’ve been out strolling the outdoor areas of the Museum you may or may not have noticed some of the many creatures we have living here alongside our exhibits. Here’s some suggestions as to what to look for. If you’re down by the Wetlands in Explore the Wild or up near the Bungee in Catch the Wind you could possibly hear what may sound like the bleating of a lamb. Rather than a lamb, it’s probably a small amphibian that you’reRead more
Bluebird Update 7.21.15
This morning’s (7/21) check of our six bluebird nest boxes indicated that the season is at an end. There will be no further nesting this season. The three nest boxes that had nesting material within have not been added to or manipulated in any manner. A paper wasp lives in the nest box at the Sailboat Pond and an orb weaver (spider) resides at the Picnic Dome nest box. The Cow Pasture nest box produced fourRead more
Gulf Fritillary
The butterfly above is a gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). It was in the garden along the ramp leading down to the Butterfly House here at the Museum (7/18/15). Is this a big deal? It wouldn’t be a big deal on the southern coast or mountains, but here on the north-central Piedmont a sighting of a gulf fritillary tends to raise eyebrows. It perks me up no matter where I see one, it’s a beautiful butterfly. This long-winged butterfly is tropicalRead more
Great Blue in the Sun
It has been hot, very hot! So why is this great blue heron (GBH) sunning? At the time the photos here were taken (about 4:40 PM) the sun was still fairly high in the sky. The temperature was in the 90s. The rock the heron was standing on had been in the sun approximately 7 hours (had to be very warm!), and the sun was bouncing off the water’s surface like it was a giant suntan reflector. The heron was panting,Read more
Bluebird Update 7.14.15
The last of the active nests has been vacated. The three bluebirds that have been fed and protected by their parents for the past several weeks in the nest box at the Butterfly House, have fledged. They are out in the real world learning how to secure food for themselves, find shelter, and hopefully avoid predators. The only activity in any of the nest boxes is that of spiders and wasps. The paper wasp nest at the Sailboat PondRead more
Great-crested
I first noticed the bird in the photo as it stood on the ground chasing insects in front of the Bungee Jump (Take Off). It is, as it says in the photo’s caption, a great-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus). After the bird presumably caught and consumed the insect, or insects, it was chasing it flew up to one of the tell-tale poles that are everywhere in Catch the Wind and proceeded to preen, allowing many opportunities for photography. Here’s just a handfulRead more
Laying Eggs
Alerted to its presence by Dale (Facilities), I took a detour in my weekly bluebird nest box inspection Tuesday and hightailed it up to the summer camp outdoor classrooms to see if the yellow-bellied slider he reported was still there. Dale said that she was in the middle of laying eggs and I wanted to first, see who she was (I mark the nesting turtles here at the Museum), and then confirm she was indeed laying eggs. When I arrived, theRead more
Bluebird Update 7.7.15
There is currently one active bluebird nest here at the Museum. The nest at the Amphimeadow which held three nestlings last week is now empty, it’s occupants having fledged some time during the past week. The only remaining active nest is in the nest box at the Butterfly House. It contains three nestlings. They are likely to fledge by the next nest box inspection. It’s difficult to say whether the other nest boxes will host other bluebird nests, butRead more
The March of the Soldier Flies
The water level in the Wetlands was low. The shoreline reached out a dozen feet or more from where it had been most of the spring, creating mud flats where there was once water. As I walked past the viewing area on the north side of the Wetlands, I noticed the mud sparkling in the sunlight. The mud appeared to be alive. There was something, many things, moving on the surface making the mud itself seem to crawl. I took severalRead more