Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, (male). This is the first nest box inspection of the season on our 6 nest box Bluebird Trail. All the boxes had been previously cleaned and readied for occupation. Only one of the boxes showed activity. The Cow Pasture nest box is empty, no activity. The Explore the Wild nest box too, is empty. The nest box on the service road to Into the Mist has an empty berry basket inside. Not surprisingly, the nest boxRead more
Posts filed in: Spring
Geese, Opossum, Pollen and Turtle
Top Photo: Canada geese return to wetland. As they do every February, a pair of Canada geese have arrived to stake a claim on a piece of our wetland. More will likely show up as we roll into spring (last year we had six pair vying for space in our three acre wetland). An opossum spent the entire day some twelve feet up a vine that wrapped itself around a tree next to the Dinosaur Trail. It’s not unusual toRead more
Final Nest Box Update 7.8.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. The last nest with birds has emptied, all the birds have fledged. It’s late in the season and though we’ve gone into August in years past, that nest would have had to have been underway by now in order to make it through the rest of the season. So we’re calling it quits and tallying up the numbers. Twelve birds fledged this season, 9 bluebirds and 3 chickadees. Of those, 4 bluebirds fledged from theRead 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
Otters and More
Top Photo: River otter latrine. Our roughly three acre wetland drains into a small creek which connects with Ellerbee Creek. Ellerbee eventually flows into the Eno River and from there Falls Lake, all part of the Neuse River watershed. These creeks, rivers and lake are the trails, roadways and highways in which river otters and other aquatic animals move across the countryside. I occasionally see one or two otters in our wetland, but their visits are usually marked only byRead more
Nest Box Update 5.27.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. Though one nest box has a handful of twigs (house wren) in its walls it is essentially unused, not having nest material added to it since the last week of April. Four of our nest boxes are completely empty having no nest material in them at all. One nest box has had bluebird nest material since the first week in March and finally has a full clutch of 5 eggs. ———————————— The Cow Pasture nestRead more
Swallows and Flowers
Top Photo: Family of geese pass behind recently fledged family of northern rough-winged swallows The young swallows are watching their parents fly overhead, and begging for food. Each year a family of northern rough-winged swallows brings their newly fledged young into our wetlands for training. The adults want the young birds to hit the skies and catch their own insects on the wing. The fledglings seem more interested in begging for handouts than learning how to hawk insects. But eventuallyRead more
Nest Box Update 5.20.25
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. 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 are all empty with no sign of activity. The PKW nest box, after havingRead more