Top Photo: Little Bear by the waterfall. Little Bear’s pelage stands out among our three black bears occupying the Black Bear Enclosure. The following are subjects you might encounter on our Outdoor Loop Trail in late spring to early summer, now. Two very common and widespread dragonflies, common whitetail and eastern amberwing are sure to be seen on any sunny day. Not as frequently seen but still common are Carolina saddlebags. They spend much of their time on the wing.Read more
Posts filed in: Spring
Nest Box Update 6.4.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have eight bluebird nestlings in two separate nests. Four of our nest boxes are empty with no activity. — The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Into the Mist, and Parking Deck East nest boxes are all empty, but ready to go should any local avian cavity nesters feel the urge. Last week I predicted that the five bluebird nestlings in the nest box on the west side of the parking deck will have fledgedRead more
Nest Box Update 5.28.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We have four empty, inactive nests and two nest boxes with bluebird nestlings inside. — The Cow Pasture nest box has been cleared of nest material and a new berry basket placed inside. The Explore the Wild nest box is empty. Into the Mist is vacant. The nest box on the east side of the parking deck has no occupants. The are five, almost ready to fledge, bluebirds still being fed by their parents inRead more
Nest Box Update 5.21.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. First, thanks to Ranger Kade and Volunteer Sammie for conducting the nest box inspections this week in my absence (everybody deserves a little time off). They did an excellent job checking, photographing and reporting on the nest box activity during the past week. Here’s what they saw. Three nest boxes are empty. One nest box has two eggs in it, but should be labeled empty (will be, hereafter). One nest box has bluebird eggs whileRead more
Comings and Goings
Top Photo: Tree swallow rests on a snag between nesting duties. Tree swallows have chosen to nest in the oversized (for them) wood duck nest box in our wetlands. We’ve hosted wood ducks, great-crested flycatchers, raccoons, European hornets and tree swallows as well as some creatures I may not be aware of. All are welcome. This is the third year in a row for the swallows. Mulberries are having a bumper year at the museum and the birds are lovingRead more
Nest Box Update 5.14.24
Top Photo: eastern bluebird eggs. Of our six nest boxes, three hold bluebird eggs, two, five, and three for a total of ten eggs. The other three nest boxes are empty. — The Cow Pasture nest box still contains two bluebird eggs. There have been two eggs in this nest since at least April 30’s inspection of the nest boxes, two weeks ago. These eggs should have hatched. I’ve not seen adult bluebirds in the area. Has this nest beenRead more
Cicadas and Other Things Around the Campus
Top Photo: Magicada tredecim, one of two species of periodical cicadas emerging this spring in the Central Piedmont of North Carolina. You’ve most likely heard about the emergence of two broods of cicadas this spring, Brood XIII and Brood XIX of seventeen year and thirteen year periodical cicadas, respectively. Here in Durham and surrounding counties there is no overlap of the two broods but there are two species emerging at the same time from Brood XIX. Magicada tredecim and MagicadaRead more
Nest Box Update 5.7.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We now have four newly fledged chickadees getting lessons in survival in the woods and airspace of the museum. There are seven eastern bluebird eggs being incubated. — The Cow Pasture nest is all bluebird. The nest looks clean and although the two eggs in the nest are a bit mismatched they’re being incubated by a female eastern bluebird. She hopped off the nest as we arrived. The more round of the two eggs inRead more
Common Snapping Turtle Tumble
Top Photo: Common snapping turtles during spring mating. A disturbance just below the water’s surface caught my attention. Something was breaking the water’s surface about 100 feet or more out in the open water of the wetlands. Then it was gone. Was it a duck? No, all our winter resident diving ducks had already departed for the north, or wherever else they feel a need to be at this time of year. Was it an otter? Otters can stay belowRead more