It’s February, and so far this winter we’ve skated by with very few cold days—no ice storms, only one brief snow, and minimal frigid NW winds. That could change at any time, but for now, I’m going to enjoy the mild fifty, sixty, and yes, even seventy degree weather. The bird feeders have seen steady, but not heavy, use. The local chickadees, titmice, cardinals, nuthatches, and others have been regular customers at the feeders at Bird Viewing, but I’ve not seen anyRead more
Posts filed in: Winter
Winter News
The temperatures have taken a nose dive. It’s a good twenty degrees colder today than it was yesterday—and will remain so for the next week or more. The high today will be near 50º which is average for this time of year. If you lived up north, close to the Canadian border, that’d be a shirtsleeve day for sure. But we’re here in North Carolina, and after a week or more of 60’s and 70’s (with lows around fifty), itRead more
The Pack That Howls Together…
If you’re lucky enough to be in Explore the Wild when our wolves begin to howl, you’re in for a treat. You’re heart will quicken. An element of wonderment, perhaps a tinge of fear, will stir in you. Adrenaline will pump through your veins, fight or flight. It’s a wild sound, an emotional sound. It’s a sound of the wilderness. When wolves howl, they’re communicating with one another. That communication may be an attempt to locate or socialize with members of theirRead more
A Familiar Face and a New Face
What is becoming an increasingly familiar face here at the Museum is that of the local barred owl. I’ve encountered this owl seven times since October, each time alerted to its presence through the harassing calls of crows, blue jays and various dickey birds. This time, the owl was in the swamp across from the Main Wetlands Overlook in Explore the Wild. The owl seemed to be resting, but apparently at least one eye and both ears were acutely tunedRead more
Quick Quiz
Take a look at the photo below and see if you can identify the subject. If you said “the tail of an eastern gray squirrel,” you’d be correct. Now that you know what it is, did you know that eastern gray squirrels grow little tufts of white fur on their ears in winter? Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are everywhere in the east. From east Texas to Saskatchewan and east to the Atlantic Coast gray squirrels are a familiar sight.Read more
What Happened Here?
Near the Wetlands, and next to an American holly loaded with berries, stands a sapling elm tree. There are many such trees here at the Museum. But, as I walked past this particular pair of arboreal specimens I noticed several clusters of passerine contour feathers stuck to the thin branches of the small, bare elm. Most of the feathers were white, some had rufus colored centers. What happened here? When I see a group of feathers clumped together as on theRead more
Red Wolf Forecast
If you’ve been following events here at the Museum you no doubt already know that we have a new female red wolf. She came to us from Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center in Chattanooga, TN back in November with the hopes of breeding with our male red wolf. Whether or not these two wolves come together is entirely up to the individuals involved, the wolves themselves. With cautious optimism, I will say that they seem to be getting alongRead more
What’s Going On Outside
If you’re walking the paths on a regular basis here at the Museum, you’re likely to see all manner of creature, winter, spring, summer, or fall. All of the creatures pictured below were photographed within the last few weeks. Brown snakes are common in this area. They attain lengths of approximately 12 inches, although the record is just over 19 inches. The individual in the photos above and below is a young one and is 6 to 7 inches. It wasRead more
A Glimpse of the Past
I was walking down the path that leads from Catch the Wind to Explore the Wild on the far side of that half mile exhibit loop. I glanced to my right and noticed a small tan-colored object dangling from a twig on a hornbeam, or ironwood, tree on the right side of the path, chrysalis. The tree is very close to a patch of partridge pea, which is host to cloudless sulphur butterflies in late summer and fall. I sawRead more