Last week while walking along the path in Explore the Wild, I stepped off into the grass to have a closer look at the Wetlands, the water’s edge. As my foot hit the grass half a dozen tiny creatures leapt for their lives. Hmm. Looking closer I realized they were frogs, Pickerel Frogs and Spring Peepers. A day or two before, I had come across a miniature toad hopping across the path. During February, March, and into April, Spring Peepers, PickerelRead more
Posts filed in: Spring
Bluebird Update 6.18.13
While the drive to reproduced has slowed, there is still some activity in some of our bird nest boxes. Four of our six nest boxes are empty, but life is just beginning in two of those boxes. Three weeks ago the Cow Pasture nest was empty. Two weeks ago the nest had two bluebird eggs within. One week ago it held five eggs. When I opened the nest box this week (6/18) I expected to find five bobble-headed bluebird nestlings.Read more
New Bird Species
No, not in the Wild, but in the Butterfly House Conservatory. As you walk down the narrow path, pass through the tropical foliage, and gaze at the many colorful, fluttering butterflies inside the Conservatory, keep an eye out for a group of small brightly colored birds with large bright red bills, Zebra Finches. The birds are native to Australia and Indonesia and are a popular cage species. Obviously granivores (the bill shape) seed has been put out for them nearRead more
A Few More Sightings From the Wild
It’s been a while since I’ve come upon an adult Red Swamp Crawfish hiking across the path in Explore the Wild. I’d seen a bunch of the younger and smaller crawfish caught and used in Wetlands Teaching Programs, but hadn’t seen adults out and about for some time. The heavy rains of the past week brought them out of the water and on to the “road.” Last week I posted about a mourning dove building a nest in a willowRead more
Bluebird Update 6/11/13
I was a bit apprehensive as I started my nest box inspections this week. Last Friday we had a day of very heavy rain and thunderstorms and I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I opened the nest boxes. Some areas received five plus inches of rain! I had also been told by Ranger Rock that, out of curiosity, he had looked inside the nest box next to the Bungee Jump on Saturday morning and had found three deadRead more
What’s up in the Wild
Here’s a little of what’s going on in the Wild at the Museum…a caterpillar. A damselfly. An assassin bug. A nest-building bird. A morphing frog. A tree frog who thinks it can’t be seen. And, a bird with a frog. And that’s some of what I’ve been seeing. How about you?Read more
Bluebird Update 6/4/13
At this time last week this nest box (the Cow Pasture, above) was completely empty, no nest material and certainly no eggs. A new nest has been built and so far two eggs have been deposited in the box. Last week there were four eggs in the nest which is next to the Bungee Jump. I and Ranger Kristin peeked into the box Saturday (6/1) and there were only three eggs. What happen to the other egg? The egg had to be removed sometimeRead more
Green Heron
From April thru September Green Herons are in our Wetlands nearly every day, if not every day. However, they’re not always visible, they spend much of their time hidden from view silently perched just above the water’s surface or quietly stalking fish, tadpoles, or insects among the willow branches and roots. But, every once in a while I hear a loud squawky “skew” coming from the brush or catch a glimpse of one of these small herons out in theRead more
Catbird singing
Catbirds have been back for over a month but they’re more obvious now than they had been, they’re singing. Gray Catbirds are mimic thrushes. They’re in the same group of birds as Northern Mockingbirds and Brown Thrashers. They sometimes imitate other birds or sounds in their local area. One catbird here at the Museum does a very good job of imitating the “police” whistles used by the Animal Keepers to call in the bears. But what ever the catbird imitates,Read more