Bluebird Update 7/29/14

With only one active nest remaining in our six nest boxes, I feel confident in saying that there will be no further nest starts this season. The four bluebirds that are currently occupying the nest box at the Amphimeadow in Catch the Wind will most certainly be gone by next week’s inspection of the nest boxes. Although I am hopeful, and have little doubt, that the birds in the nest box in the Amphimeadow will successfully fledge within the nextRead more
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Beetles in our Midst

Top Photo: Passionflower flea beetle. Beetles are insects. They belong to an order of insects called Coleoptera which, translated from the Greek, means sheath wings. Beetles have two pairs of wings, the front of which are, in most species, hardened and serve to cover the hind wings, the flight wings, when not in use. When on foot, most beetles fold their flight wings and store them under the hardened forewings, the elytra. Beetles constitute about 40% of all insects on theRead more

Frogs Mature

If you’ve walked through the Wetlands lately you may have noticed amphibians floating on the water or perched on sticks, logs, or rocks in or next to the water. The amphibians are two inches or so from the tip of their noses to the end of their bodies. Some of them are trailing tails, vestiges of their days as tadpoles. Others have already absorbed their tails and appear as miniature adults. These amphibians are bullfrogs. They are, in fact, theRead more

Bluebird Update 7/22/14

We are most certainly coming to the end of the nesting season. There is only one active nest, the Amphimeadow (AM) nest, and it has four fresh bluebird nestlings within. The nestlings haven’t yet opened their eyes so they’ll still be there when I make the rounds next week. All of the other five nest boxes are empty, the Butterfly House nestlings having fledged during the past week. I expect the nest boxes will remain empty. There’s not much left to doRead more
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A Cuckoo and a Sphinx

  There are three cuckoos in the east, mangrove, black-billed, and yellow-billed. You’d be lucky to see a mangrove cuckoo in its restricted range in Florida, you will not see one here in Durham, NC. Some would say that the other two cuckoos might just as well be restricted to the mangroves of Florida, it’s tough getting a glimpse at either black-billed or yellow-billed here at the Museum. I’ve seen a black-billed here only once, and that was during migration.Read more

QUIZ ANSWERS

Answers to QUIZ TIME. And here’s why. We only have a front view of this bird. The light source is filtering through from behind, not great light. The bird in the photo is a buteo, not an accipiter (Cooper’s hawk). There are three buteos in our area at this time of year, Broad-winged, Red-shouldered, and Red-tailed Hawks. They are all a different size, the broad-winged the smallest, red-tailed the largest. But there’s nothing to compare this bird to, to judge itsRead more
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A Most Interesting Encounter

I was standing in the vending area of Catch the Wind talking to some of the Adventure On Summer Campers here at the Museum. One of the benches had tan and gray stains on the back rest of the bench and I was explaining how this residue was the result of Carpenter Bees digging holes in the lumber above our heads. I also mentioned how the males, which have a yellow-white rectangular mark on their faces, do not possess stingersRead more