Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. All of our six nest boxes are empty, though one has the remains of an intended nest by a house wren, and one has an abandoned bluebird nest having just fledged five of the colorful thrushes. ——————————— The Cow Pasture nest box still has the scanty attempt at nesting by a house wren at the end of April. The nest was never completed. The Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and Parking DeckRead more
Posts filed in: Season
More Summer Stuff
Top Photo: Painted lady butterfly on purple coneflower. Just a brief look at a few sights out on the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind loop. Asiatic dayflower grows throughout the Piedmont area. It’s a non-native, but it attracts various creatures to itself for a variety of reasons, shelter and food standing out in the case of the two creatures that were found on a stand of dayflower in Catch the Wind the past week. The six-spotted neolema isRead more
Nest Box Update 6.17.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have one active nest with what looks like five nestling bluebirds. All five remaining nest boxes are empty except one which hasn’t been touched in weeks. ————————————— The Cow Pasture nest box still contains the twigs placed in the box by a house wren, but it hasn’t had any other activity since they first appeared in the box earlier in the season. The ETW, Sailboat Pond, and Into the Mist nest boxes are allRead more
Early Summer Sights
Top Photo: Canada geese, single file. Let me know what you see! Ranger GregRead more
Nest Box Update 6.10.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. Nearing the end of the season (in the past we’ve gone as far as August with the final fledge of the season), we have one, maybe two, active nests, bluebirds all, I think (see below). ————————————— The nest boxes at Cow Pasture, ETW, and Sailboat Pond, are all empty. No nests of any kind. A strange occurrence at Into the Mist has me wondering. Inside the nest box at Into the Mist were three veryRead more
Red Wolf Pups
Top Photo: New father Oka watches over his three pups in the red wolf enclosure. While Martha stays within the safety of the wolf enclosure’s den by day (she’s visible on camera) Oka remains vigilant on the ridge above the den. He’s also been responsible for bringing food in the form of lab rats to Martha and the pups, who try, but have yet to break the solid food barrier. Here’s a few photos to introduce you to the, asRead more
Nest Box Update 5.20.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. This should have been posted on May 20, 2025 but somehow missed. ——————————- Finally some action, there is a small clutch of eggs in one nest box. All the others are empty. ——————————— The Cow Pasture nest, though there are house wren twigs in the nest box, doesn’t seem active. The nest hasn’t been altered since last week’s inspection. The Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and Parking Deck East nest boxes areRead more
Nest Box Update 6.3.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. All but two nest boxes are empty. Of the two that are active, only one is truly active having bluebird eggs within. The other hasn’t been touched in weeks. —————————— The Cow Pasture nest has a smattering of twigs placed in the box weeks ago by a house wren but is currently inactive. The Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and PKE nest boxes are all empty with no nest material ofRead more
Summer’s Here!
Top Photo: Male eastern pondhawk. Summer’s here and the time is right for basking in the sun. The young male eastern pondhawk in these two photos (above and below) is perched on a rock just off the floating walkway in our wetland. It can be identified as a “young” male by the green color on its thorax, which will become blue as the dragonfly matures. I’ve shown lots of pictures of basking aquatic turtles in the past few weeks. SoRead more