After the excitement of the last few months, all is quiet on the bluebird front. All six of our nest boxes are empty. We’ve had nests started by one species and finished off by another. Two nests were well on their way (with eggs) and subsequently destroyed by a competing species of bird. One nest was begun by one species (chickadee), completed by another (bluebird) and destroyed by yet another (house wren). That same nest was cleaned out of its 6 eggs by what wasRead more
Posts filed in: Spring
A Trapped Turtle
Top photo: common snapping turtle below the surface. It was morning on the 12th of May. I received a call from Animal Keepers, Autumn and Sarah about a snapping turtle seen near the entrance to the bear compound. When I arrived on the scene the snapper had entered a small swamp between the compound and the open water of the Wetlands and was heading towards the water. The turtle had probably been out laying eggs and was now headed back toRead more
An Unexpected Turn
She’s back! After over a month and a half of peaceful coexistence (downright playful coexistence) between our two red wolves, the female has resorted back to her aggressive behavior towards our male red wolf. I watched this morning as the male pawed at a small tree just outside the den in which our female spends much of her time. He was obviously trying to get the female’s attention. He did. The female emerged with a most unfriendly greeting. Let’sRead more
Turtle Time
Top photo: Courtship display by male (foreground) yellow-bellied slider. By this time of year I should have seen six, eight, even a dozen female turtles walking along the paths here at the Museum. Each spring, our aquatic turtles leave the water in search of safe places to dig a nest and lay eggs. I’ve only seen three turtles out and about this season. Two of those were relayed to me by Animal Keepers Autumn and Sarah. One was an eastern musk turtle, theRead more
Bluebird Update 5.19.15
Top photo: Nest box at Cow pasture. All of our six nest boxes are empty! The bluebird nestlings that were in the Cow Pasture, Amphimeadow, and Butterfly House nests have all fledged, an additional twelve bluebirds (4 in each nest) have joined the local avifauna. One nest box has been relieved of it occupants, and two others are waiting new residents. The nest boxes at both the Bungee Jump and the Sailboat Pond are empty and waiting for occupants. The Bungee nestRead more
The Lemur Boys
As you probably already know, our ring-tailed lemurs have been released to the outdoor viewing area at the Lemur House. Our five male ringtails, up until very recently, have been indoor lemurs. I’ll leave it to others to tell you about their lineage, their family ties, and where they came from. I’m here to show you images of our lemurs and what you may see if you decide to take the short hike out to the Lemur House and have aRead more
Bluebird Update 5.12.15
One nest has fledged its young, one nest will probably fledge its inhabitants this week, two nests may have to wait another week before fledging its occupants, one nest still has unhatched eggs, and one nest remains empty with no activity. The nest box at the Cow Pasture has four growing bluebirds. I’d been told a black rat snake had been seen the day before, moving in the direction of the nest box. I was apprehensive, yet confident the birdsRead more
Bluebird Update 5.5.15
We’re into the eighth week of nest box inspections and we now have sixteen nestlings, twelve bluebirds and four chickadees. We also have six house wren eggs cooking. I haven’t been able to get an accurate count of eggs in the nest at the Cow Pasture over the past few weeks due to the female’s insistence at sitting tight on those eggs when I opened the nest box for a quick look inside. Likewise, she was reluctant to leave theRead more
It Just Keeps Rolling Along
More springtime happenings. Although there is some habitat available here on our 84 acres at the Museum, eastern kingbirds are annual stopovers, I’ve yet to see them nest here. In actuality, they prefer somewhat more in the way of open spaces for their nesting. There’s is so much for you to see outdoors. The one requirement, you have to be there to see it!Read more