It was warm for the first week of February. Spring peepers and chorus frogs were calling and yellow-bellied sliders were out basking. There was very little sun, but the turtles were out just the same, occupying nearly every log, rock, or shoreline of the Wetlands. Somewhere around 3 PM the sky opened up and rain came pouring down. Chip, the turtle pictured above, wasn’t bothered by rain. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. After all, she’s an aquatic turtle. If you’reRead more
Posts filed in: Winter
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered hawks are common in our area. They vociferously proclaim their presence as they fly about the landscape or perch prominently atop one of our towering pines here at the Museum. But when they’re hunting from a perch along a favorite game trail or swamp, they are dead quiet, and deadly serious. I spotted the hawk, pictured here, in the swamp on the far side of the outdoor exhibits loop just as you leave Catch the Wind heading for ExploreRead more
Red Wolf Howl
We don’t often hear our red wolves howl. Since he arrived in the fall of 2014, I’ve heard the male howl perhaps three times. I’ve not heard our female howl. Previous wolves that have resided at the Museum, particularly the pair we had prior to our current residents, howled frequently. Nearly every ambulance or fire truck that passed by on their way to some emergency, or had been making the delivery of patients to the hospital just a 1/4 mile toRead more
Turtles?
With all of the snow and ice we’ve experienced recently, its difficult to believe that just a short while ago, January 16 to be exact, the two turtles in the above photo were out basking in the sun in our Wetlands. The eastern painted turtle (left and below) and yellow-bellied slider may yet again be seen hauled out on a log, and very soon. The temperatures are expected to be in the sixties this weekend, and may even get close toRead more
Ice and Snow
What will tomorrow bring? Here’s what it brought, more ice and snow! We hope the snow will be all gone by tomorrow. A few small patches may remain, where the sun doesn’t shine so brightly, but melt it will. Till next time, snow!Read more
The Late Cretaceous
It was still early, the Museum hadn’t opened its doors yet. As I rounded the corner and entered the Dinosaur Trail I was greeted by a large, resting, red-brown creature sitting in front of a wall of boulders. It was a Parasaurolophus. I’m not sure of the behavior of a Parasaurolophus during the Late Cretaceous Period, but this one was and is rather docile. In fact, it’s the only dinosaur on our Dino Trail that we let the public touch. OnRead more
Waterfowl
In contrast to the cormorant in the previous two posts, the hooded mergansers are doing well in our Wetlands. When the water is not frozen, we consistently have 6 – 7 mergs floating, preening, and feeding. The six in the photo above appear to be three mated pairs. I sometimes hear and see them reinforcing their pair bonds during the day, the drakes croaking, primping, and strutting for the ducks’ attention. It’s a peaceful scene to see these handsome birds out onRead more
Cormorant Update
Yesterday I posted about a double-crested cormorant that found its way into our Wetland here at the Museum. I speculated as to how the bird ended up here, whether it was ill or simply separated from the flock it may have been traveling with. Cormorants are commonly seen at local lakes and reservoirs but this was the first I had seen in our Wetland. As it turns out, the bird was probably ill. Ranger Rock spotted part of a wingRead more
A New Species, Kind of
A new bird species stopped in for a visit yesterday (Thurs. 1/7). I’d seen the species before here at the Museum, but always in flocks as a fly-over, never perched in a tree, on the ground, or in the water of the Wetlands. At the end of that chilly, overcast day, I noticed something out-of-place in one of the willow trees of the Wetlands. A large branch had suddenly sprung up, where there once was none, on a low slung willow trunk on the south sideRead more