Top Photo: A trio of great blue herons in loblolly pine tree at the edge of the wetlands. Three great blue herons were present in our little wetlands this dark and damp morning (3.8.24). As I walked down the boardwalk leading to Explore the Wild and into the wetlands, all three birds rose out of the water on the east side of the pond. The large prehistoric looking birds flew circles around the wetlands for several minutes, as if to gainRead more
Posts filed in: Spring
Springtime
Top Photo: Following mating these two red-shouldered hawks spend several minutes preening and looking about before splitting off to hunt for frogs and brown snakes. It’s spring and the local fauna and flora are responding to the mild temperatures and extended periods of daylight each new day brings. Here’s some resident species and how the season affects them. A pair of red-shouldered hawks respond to the season by courting and hunting for emerging pickerel and other early season frogs andRead more
Nest Box Update 3.5.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs from previous season. We have one active nest with a new addition from the previous week. There has been no activity in any of the other 5 nest boxes. The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, and Into the Mist nest boxes are all empty, no nest material and no sign of interested birds in the area as each nest box was opened and inspected this morning. The Parking Deck East nest box had one additionRead more
Olives
Top Photo: Ripe thorny olive drupes. In January, on this blog, I mentioned the fruit of thorny olive. It was not quite ripe at the time. The fruit is now ripe and can be eaten. It’s a bit on the tart side (be forewarned before picking and eating). Some people prefer a sweet fruit, some like it tart. This is tart. Thorny olive (Elaeangus pungens) is not native, is considered invasive and has two relatives in the area that shareRead more
Nest Box Update 2.27.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs (from previous season). There is only one active nest, a near complete eastern bluebird nest. No activity has been observed in any of the other five nest boxes. The Cow pasture nest box is empty. There’s no nest material in the nest boxes at Explore the Wild or Into the Mist. Parking Deck East nest box has our first bluebird nest of the season. If the weather cooperates these birds will have the jump onRead more
Nest Box Season Begins
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs from previous season. Though the season hasn’t officially started, at least two of our six nest boxes have seen some sort of activity. One had a pipe organ mud dauber’s nests within. Another has the very beginnings of a bluebird nest. It’s important to remember that it’s early and things can change quickly. If the weather remains good and the birds get an early start with few storms and cold, it’s definitely in their favor.Read more
Awakenings
Top Photo: Adeyha and Oak (front) sticking close. It’s February and the season for procreation begins. Red wolf Oak is in estrus, Canada geese have arrived, hawks are soaring above screaming out their intentions, and songbirds are ramping up their melodious twitterings. Oak and Adeyha have been much more attached to one another over the past week, estrus has arrived. As of yet, I’ve not witnessed a tie, which is required for the female to become pregnant. Each year inRead more
Three Drupe Producers
Top Photo: Japanese apricot (Prunus mume) flower buds. Just a brief reminder that Japanese apricot is about to burst into bloom, thorny olive is fruiting, and American holly still has plenty of fruit left over to satisfy the resident robins, wintering hermit thrushes, and visiting waxwings. Two of these plants are non-natives while the last, American holly, is born and bred. They all produce drupes, fruits that have one central seed surrounded by a fleshy, usually edible, part and skinRead more
Snake Jaws
Top Photo: Northern water snake. Northern water snake (nerodia sipedon) is the water snake of the North Carolina Piedmont. The banded and brown water snake look-a-likes are more closely tied to the coastal plain. The water snake shown here was basking on a wax myrtle branch next to the floating walkway in our wetlands. Curiously, this snake kept opening and closing it’s mouth. This is probably the same snake I reported seeing on May 26 which also kept opening andRead more