Top Photo: Brown creeper from (February 2015). Though they’re members of different families, brown creepers are often depicted in bird field guides on the same page as are the nuthatches. Let’s face it, their behavior is similar. While nuthatches, especially white-breasted nuthatches, work their way down tree limbs and trunks in search of insects and their larvae and eggs, creepers climb up and out on trunks and limbs doing pretty much the same thing. They’re gleaning food from under barkRead more
Posts filed in: Winter
Winter Flycatcher
Top Photo: Eastern phoebe sits atop finial on umbrella at Main Wetlands Overlook. It’s a common sight on the museum outdoor loop, a phoebe perched atop a twig, branch, light post, railing, or just about any other object which affords a clear view of passing airborne insects. Eastern phoebes eat insects and catch the vast majority of them on the wing. They’ve been observed eating fruit when available, like mulberries in spring and wax myrtle, holly, and even poison ivyRead more
Happy Holidays!
Top Photo: Great blue heron gets into the spirit.Read more
A Few Winter Sightings
Top Photo: Bullfrog tadpoles react to disturbance in the water. In our area, bullfrogs may take 9 to 12 months to mature and become frogs. It may take much longer, perhaps two or even three years, in areas with cooler temperatures and shorter growing seasons. But here, in central North Carolina the bullfrogs that hatched from eggs this summer will become frogs next summer. During winter the bullfrogs tend to congregate in the shallow, muddy water on the north sideRead more
It’s Crunch Time!
Top Photo: Fall color (Northwoods, Wisconsin). What does fall have to offer besides the spectacular annual changing of the leaves—the crunching of them under your feet, that’s what. Few things can compare to swishing around in the thick, fall, leaf liter. But, as much fun as that might be, seeking out and crunching individual leaves is even more pleasing. Not every leaf is equal though. I’ve found that certain leaves make a very satisfying crunch underfoot while others leave youRead more
You Had to Be There
Top Photo: Hermit thrush surveys its winter quarters near red wolf enclosure at museum. A hermit thrush can be difficult to spot when sitting motionless amongst branches, twigs, and leaves of trees. Even while it calls out with a chup…chup…chup or slowly repeats a slurry, whistled tone, it can be hard to pin down. Perseverance sometimes pays off when the bird switches perch, the movement catching your eye, and you got him. While walking along a service road out ofRead more
Ducks Heads
Top Photo: Male mallard swims away. Do you notice anything odd about this duck? Everyone has seen a mallard. To most people mallards are the duck. Let’s face it, they’re everywhere. They’re the most common duck across the northern hemisphere and part of the southern. They can be found in North and South America, Europe, Asia and parts of the African continent. They’re even in Greenland, Australia and New Zealand. If asked, what color is a mallard’s head? most peopleRead more
Foot
Top Photo: Can you identify the animal this skeletal foot was part of? As seen here it’s about 40mm in length. This foot was found on the path in Explore the Wild. If you look closely you can see attached fur, which makes this a mammal. It’s small, as the measurement above indicates, but there’s one other characteristic visible in the photo which is shared with much larger members of its family of animals. Look at the claws. They’re retractable.Read more
Look Up
Top Photo: Thin cirrocumulus clouds (you may have to look closely to see these very thin and high wispy clouds). It pays to look up. You can see some incredible sights by simply turning your gaze skyward. There’s always something going on up there. Clouds are classified in three major groups or genera: cirrus, stratus and cumulus. Each group has sub categories (alto, nimbus…) and there are combinations of each, e.g. cirrocumulus, stratocumulus, etc. There are low level (up toRead more