Last week while I was trying to remove ice and snow from the boardwalk in Explore the Wild I uncovered a familiar but still surprising sight. It was lichen growing between the cracks of the boardwalk, British Soldier lichen (Cladonia cristatella). These attractive lichen can be found just about anywhere that there is moisture and decaying wood. The red caps on the end of the thallus help the lichen stand out from others of its kind which results in makingRead more
Posts filed in: Winter
Mall Gulls
We don’t see many gulls here at the Museum. The place to look for gulls is Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Lake Crabtree, and mall and fast food restaurant parking lots. The vast majority of the gulls in our area are Ring-billed Gulls. Tens of Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of the medium sized gulls arrive from the north each year sometime in November and depart in April. A few arrive early and some linger in the spring, but forRead more
Another winter update, w/wolf on the side
Hazel Alder, which grows on the north side of the Wetlands, typically blooms in February. It looks as though it’ll be right on time. There are both male catkins and female flowers (small reddish spikes at top of photo) forming on the plants. The fertilized flowers will become tiny “cones” which look very much like miniature pine cones. Over at Bird Viewing (the feeders) I saw a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches after not seeing them for several weeks. And, aRead more
You snooze, you lose
Yona had the yard all to herself yesterday afternoon as Gus snored away in the cave, Mimi reluctantly slept outside the cave on her little bed of straw, and Virginia snoozed up on the cliff. She took advantage of the time alone to enjoy the bear chow offerings left by the Animal Keepers on one of the four stumps in front of the Bear House. Take your time and enjoy, Yona, everybody else is off stacking z’s.Read more
Sunset and thin ice!
As I was leaving for the day last night I couldn’t help but notice the incredible scene in the western sky. These high clouds moved in during the afternoon and made for a spectacular sunset. After so many days of cloudy, drizzly, rainy weather it was especially rewarding to witness this brilliant display. Soon after, the skies cleared and the cold set in. This morning there was a thin sheet of ice on much of the Wetlands. It’s supposed toRead more
Early Winter Update
According to the calendar we’re still in the early stages of winter. While there’s always much going on outside at this time of year, here’s just a handful of images of what you might encounter on your walk around the outdoor areas of the Museum. Stop by the and sit at the bird feeders at Bird Viewing and you might get a peek at a bluebird. This female was waiting her turn as the male was busily attacking the suetRead more
Shoulders Return
The headline above is a bit misleading. The Red-shouldered Hawks (shoulders) never left, they just haven’t been perch-hunting here at the Museum as they had in years past. I could pretty much count of seeing one of our resident shoulders at least every other day, if not every day, perched somewhere along the Trail either in Explore the Wild or just inside the woods along the path in Catch the Wind. Although I often hear them calling from above asRead more
What’s for dinner?
The small island that is directly off the boardwalk where that western red cedar structure makes a left hand turn on its way to the bear overlook is a hub of activity during at least part of each day. Fish are obviously congregated among the roots and tangle of branches under the water there. There are often mergansers fishing in this spot and it is easily viewed from the boardwalk as you descend. It’s also far enough away from the boardwalkRead more
A reason to sing!
We don’t often hear towhees sing in winter. I guess they need a reason to sing.Read more