A Stranger in Our Midst?

  The tracks above were found on the pavement on the north side of the Wetlands here at the Museum. The tracks came from the edge of the muddy water, onto the pavement and continued directly across the path and into another wet area on the other side of the path. The animal had apparently been walking along the mud at the edge of the water and decided to cross the path. It looks to me like a coyote’s tracks.Read more

Duck Dance and Snowy Owl Update

  If you haven’t been down to the Museum’s Wetlands lately you should make a point of doing so. As I’ve mentioned several times in the last few weeks, the merganser numbers have increased. I’ve not seen as many of these magnificently plumaged birds in our Wetlands in the past 7 years. And, they’re putting on quite a show.     Pair bond displays are taking center stage out on the water. Sounds of splashing water and the rolling, croaking,Read more

A nice day to be out in the Wetlands

  With daytime air temps reaching fifty-nine degrees on Wednesday (12/17), at least one of our resident turtles made it out for a little sunbathing. A male yellow-bellied slider was awakened by the intense sunshine of the day. The sun’s warm penetrating rays apparently reaching and warming the bottom of the pond sufficiently to stimulate the turtle into crawling out on a log and bask away the afternoon.     It’s in no way unusual to see a turtle outRead more

Sleep. Very important.

  We all need sleep and red wolves are no exception. Our female red wolf’s favorite sleeping spot is behind the mound of dirt directly in front of the Red Wolf Overlook. Occasionally, she’ll rest slightly to the right of the backside of the mound. That’s where I found her for the photo above. Her sleep, as with most wild creatures, is rarely so deep as to not be alert to what’s going on around her. Her ears are perkedRead more

Hooded Merganser Follow-up

  Last week I posted about our visiting hooded mergansers and their pair bond displays out on the Wetlands. There’s another dance, or display, which I also sometimes see here at the Museum. It involves the male swimming zig-zag circles around the female with quick turns to the left, to the right, and back again. The display also includes frequent side to side head shakes, and what I can best describe as nervous twitching, stretching, preening, and other distraction-type behaviors.Read more

Opportunist

The Animal Keepers cleaned the bear pool this week. The pools of water at the base of the Main Black Bear Overlook need to be cleaned every six months. The ponds collect much debris and algae and need cleaning. The cleaning often exposes all sorts of creatures, from crayfish to frogs. This exposition sometimes attracts opportunistic predators. It’s well known here at the Museum that red-shouldered hawks wait silently on perches along the edges of the Wetlands or in the swampRead more
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Making the Pair Bond

  Yes, it’s that time of year again when the male mergansers that call our Wetlands their winter home, strut their stuff in an effort to win the hearts of the females. The males perform pair bond displays in the fall and winter, pumping out their chests, shaking their black and white crested heads, rearing back and emitting rolling, croaking sounds. It’s much more efficient for these ducks to form pairs during the winter. Time is critical during the breedingRead more