She’s back! After over a month and a half of peaceful coexistence (downright playful coexistence) between our two red wolves, the female has resorted back to her aggressive behavior towards our male red wolf. I watched this morning as the male pawed at a small tree just outside the den in which our female spends much of her time. He was obviously trying to get the female’s attention. He did. The female emerged with a most unfriendly greeting. Let’sRead more
Turtle Time
Top photo: Courtship display by male (foreground) yellow-bellied slider. By this time of year I should have seen six, eight, even a dozen female turtles walking along the paths here at the Museum. Each spring, our aquatic turtles leave the water in search of safe places to dig a nest and lay eggs. I’ve only seen three turtles out and about this season. Two of those were relayed to me by Animal Keepers Autumn and Sarah. One was an eastern musk turtle, theRead more
Bluebird Update 5.19.15
Top photo: Nest box at Cow pasture. All of our six nest boxes are empty! The bluebird nestlings that were in the Cow Pasture, Amphimeadow, and Butterfly House nests have all fledged, an additional twelve bluebirds (4 in each nest) have joined the local avifauna. One nest box has been relieved of it occupants, and two others are waiting new residents. The nest boxes at both the Bungee Jump and the Sailboat Pond are empty and waiting for occupants. The Bungee nestRead more
The Lemur Boys
As you probably already know, our ring-tailed lemurs have been released to the outdoor viewing area at the Lemur House. Our five male ringtails, up until very recently, have been indoor lemurs. I’ll leave it to others to tell you about their lineage, their family ties, and where they came from. I’m here to show you images of our lemurs and what you may see if you decide to take the short hike out to the Lemur House and have aRead more
Bluebird Update 5.12.15
One nest has fledged its young, one nest will probably fledge its inhabitants this week, two nests may have to wait another week before fledging its occupants, one nest still has unhatched eggs, and one nest remains empty with no activity. The nest box at the Cow Pasture has four growing bluebirds. I’d been told a black rat snake had been seen the day before, moving in the direction of the nest box. I was apprehensive, yet confident the birdsRead more
Birds, Insects, Reptiles and Mammals Too!
If you keep your eyes and ears opened while hiking the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop you’re likely to see and hear all sorts of wonderful sights and sounds. Birds that have spent the winter in the tropics are back home and full of song. Insects that have spent the last few months or longer in pupal or larval states are entering the next phase of their lives. Reptiles are taking advantage of locally plentiful food andRead more
Bluebird Update 5.5.15
We’re into the eighth week of nest box inspections and we now have sixteen nestlings, twelve bluebirds and four chickadees. We also have six house wren eggs cooking. I haven’t been able to get an accurate count of eggs in the nest at the Cow Pasture over the past few weeks due to the female’s insistence at sitting tight on those eggs when I opened the nest box for a quick look inside. Likewise, she was reluctant to leave theRead more
It Just Keeps Rolling Along
More springtime happenings. Although there is some habitat available here on our 84 acres at the Museum, eastern kingbirds are annual stopovers, I’ve yet to see them nest here. In actuality, they prefer somewhat more in the way of open spaces for their nesting. There’s is so much for you to see outdoors. The one requirement, you have to be there to see it!Read more
Spring Rolls Along
Spring continues to move along and the flora and fauna here at the Museum rolls along with it. Thousands, no, millions of neotropical migrant birds are moving through our area, flowers are inviting insects to pollinate themselves, tadpoles are becoming frogs, fish eggs have hatched, and an old friend showed up in the Wetlands. Warblers, thrushes, cuckoos, swallows, and many other birds are migrating north at this time. Most migrate at night (less likely to be seen by hungry hawkRead more