Not surprisingly, there have been no changes to the nest boxes since last week’s inspection. No new nests have been started and the one which had the beginnings of a bluebird nest last week, the Butterfly House nest box, looks the same. The weather needs to improve before we see more in the way of nest building. As usual, we’ll have to wait till next week to see what happens on our six nest box, bluebird trail.Read more
Posts filed in: Spring
Hunting Hawk
Keep and eye out for the red-shouldered hawk pictured here while you stroll through our outdoor exhibits, especially near the wetlands and the wooded area on the far side of the outdoor loop. This hawk has been actively hunting frogs (mostly pickerel frogs) from low perches, often very close to the path. The hawk is very people tolerant and will allow a close approach. All its attention seems focused on the task, catching food. Don’t push your luck though, itRead more
Just a Few Tree Thoughts
While this post is mostly pictures of trees along our paths here at the museum, there is some news to impart and to perhaps think about. Most of our elms and red cedars are only recently past blooming, but other trees still have their seeds attached from last year’s growing season and are far from flowering anew. Try to catch the trees backlit against a severe clear blue sky. Just a week ago male red cedar flowers were sending off theirRead more
Bluebirds 3.6.18
This is the first official 2018 status report of our bluebird trail nest boxes. We have six nest boxes located across our 84 acre campus, from the Cow Pasture near the Train Tunnel, through Catch the Wind, to the south side of the campus near the Woodlands Classrooms. I’ve had to make adjustments over the last seven or so years that I’ve been monitoring our nest boxes, allowing for changes in landscaping practices, new exhibit openings, and even parking deckRead more
Quiz Bird 2 Answer
I know, I know, this is tough. But hang on, let’s go through this together. As mentioned in the post when the birds were first introduced, they are much larger than swallows, much larger; goose, duck, heron, etc., size. You might be tempted to say the birds are ducks, or better, geese, simply because they’re flying in “V” formation. Ducks and geese do fly in “V” formations as well as echelon (like a V with one side removed, as inRead more
Pickerel Frogs
By the time you read this, it will be spring, meteorological spring. Spring to me actually begins in February. The days continue to get longer, red maple and elm flowers pop, and frogs, peepers, chorus and pickerel frogs, are all calling. I know there may indeed be some cold days between now and April, but it won’t last long, a few days at most. Winter’s done. If you’ve been down into our wetlands in the last week and a halfRead more
Springing Forward
If you put any stock in what plants tell you, you’d have to agree that spring’s about to pop. Don’t take my word for it, look: incidentally, spring peepers and upland chorus frogs have been calling. So, it’s time to get out and experience these early manifestations of spring.Read more
The Dagger
On Wednesday of last week (6/3), I spotted a not quite 2” caterpillar trekking across the macadam of our outdoor loop trail through Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild. The caterpillar had a black head, yellow-green body, black markings on its sides and a whitish mid dorsal stripe, which included a series of eight “warts,” three of which were more prominent than the others. It was moderately covered with white setae (hairs) with the setae on the thorax longer andRead more
Nest Box Update 6.6.17
There are two active nests, one at the Cow Pasture nest box, the other at the site of the old Bungee Jump in Catch the Wind. Both are house wren nests. At last week’s nest box inspection, the six house wren eggs in the nest box at the Cow pasture near the Train Tunnel had yet to hatch. There are now six nestlings in the nest box and they are doing well. The nest box at the Outdoor Classroom serviceRead more