Three American black ducks showed up in the Wetlands on the Fourth of July. I’d not previously recorded black ducks here at the Museum, so it’s noteworthy that the ducks appeared today. They all appear to be males. Wood duck, mallard, blue-winged teal, hooded merganser, redhead and bufflehead are the members of the duck family on my list of duck visitors. Black ducks become number 7 on the list. Happy Fourth!Read more
Painted Turtle Nest
Top Photo: eastern painted turtle. Thanks to the vigilance of Animal Keeper Sarah, with an assist from Keeper Kent, we now have a turtle’s nest to monitor. On June 21, Keeper Sarah spotted an eastern painted turtle laying eggs next to the gravel driveway that leads to the Red Wolf Enclosure. I placed a cage over the nest site to keep predators, such as raccoons, from digging up and eating the eggs. There are numerous sites throughout ourRead more
The Paper Chase
What is the insect in the photo up to? First, let’s establish what the insect is. You may have guessed by its shape that it’s a wasp. You’d be correct. It’s a bald-faced hornet, named for the white (bald) face. Bald-faced hornets have a reputation, good or bad, for vigorously protecting their hives from intruders. They will activity pursue, en masse, perceived destroyers of their hives. Like the familiar yellowjackets, which is what these wasps actually are, a type of yellowjacket, they will chaseRead more
Bluebird Update 6.30.15
It’s the end of June. We have two active bluebird nests with three nestlings each. The bluebird nest in the Amphimeadow nest box has three nestlings. They are at least ten days old, appearing to have hatched just prior to last week’s inspection of their nest box (6/23/15). Like the Amphimeadow nest, the Butterfly House nest contains three nestlings. One of its eggs did not hatch. The nest’s inhabitants appear to be six days old. They’re certainly no more than that since theyRead more
Bluebird Update 6.23.15
One of the two currently active nests here at the Museum has hatched its eggs (most of its eggs) and a bluebird female is incubating her clutch in another nest. Activity is slow to non-existent in the other four nest boxes. The bluebird nest at the Cow Pasture has seen some progress, but I’m afraid it ends there. It’s perhaps the heat, or maybe it’s the slow down of hormonal juices, but the bluebird that had been building this nest seems not atRead more
Hot Summer Sights
Even though it’s blistering hot outside, it’s still worth the trip outdoors to see what’s going on. Here’s proof. Some dragonflies. A trio of butterflies. A fly. And turtle news. Parting shot. Read more
Racer
While walking through Catch the Wind, I caught a glimpse of a black snake in the grass on the side of the path. It was a black racer. There are two species of snake here at the Museum which are black, the black rat snake and the racer. Rat snakes average about five feet, maxing out at little over seven. The racer averages about four feet in length, maxing at just under six. The racer is black throughout except under the chin andRead more
Bluebird Update 6.16.15
Since last week, there has been another bluebird nest started and one additional egg laid in an existing nest. A bluebird nest has been started in the nest box at the Cow Pasture. This nest box has already fledged four bluebirds. We’ll have to wait to see if the bluebirds finish the nest. Birds sometimes start a nest without completing them when the season is this far advanced. The nest box next to the Bungee has not been worked on forRead more
Brief Report from the Wetlands
First, some ode news, odonata, that is. Great blue skimmers and slaty skimmers have emerged from their watery, pre-adult aquatic habitat. Eastern amber wings have been with us for some time, although I never tire of looking at them. Common whitetails are in the process of ovipositing (laying eggs) in the Wetlands. On cooler days, yellow-bellied sliders stack up on any available perch. But, you probably won’t see many turtles out baskingRead more