Top Photo: Red-bellied woodpecker peeks out from behind suet. If you happen to be passing Bird Viewing while on your way to or from Catch the Wind on the Museum’s outdoor loop trail, stop and sit down for a few minutes. Grab one of the very comfortable Adirondack chairs (you won’t want to get up again) and set a while. You’re very likely to see Carolina chickadee, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, Carolina wren, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, mourningRead more
Posts filed in: Winter
Four Birds and Who They Are
Top Photo: December 2022, what bird is this? The photo above depicts a hermit thrush. The clues are there. You should be able to tell from the shape of the bill that the bird is a thrush, at the very least, not a sparrow. Though you’re viewing the bird from behind and below, and mostly see the belly and undertail coverts, you can also see, at minimum, half of the tail. Along the outer edges of the tail you canRead more
Moon (just a phase its going through)
Top Photo: Nearly full waxing gibbous moon with “V” of double-crested cormorants passing over various lunar mares.* You can’t see it now, it’s heavily overcast and raining, but as I write this, the moon is nearly full, waxing gibbous. On December 7 it will be full and thereafter begins the waning side of its phases until the new moon on the 23rd of the month. Here’s a handful of shots of various phases. Enjoy! *Both cormorants and eagle were photoshoppedRead more
Late Season Hyla*
Top Photo: Juvenile green treefrogs (2) huddle safe and secure inside unfurling leaves during late summer (look carefully). Both young and adult green treefrogs rely heavily on their color and posture to “hide” themselves from possible predation. They often, though, squeeze down into tight nooks or recesses for added protection, as the juveniles in the above photo illustrate. We installed three artificial “hides” around the outdoor exhibits for our resident treefrogs. And, believe it or not, there are still frogsRead more
Who’s Who (Niko and Oak)
Top Photo: Oak (front) and Niko. On November 12, I posted about the arrival of our two red wolves, Niko and Oak. In that post I also mentioned a bit about how to differentiate the two, tell them apart from one another. Besides the white cheek patch (very small and barely noticeable) and white area surrounding the base of her tail (quite evident), Oak has a much narrower face than Niko. The broader snout and forehead of Niko is discernibleRead more
The Hermit at the Wolves
Top Photo: Looking down at wintering thrush. Of all the spot-breasted, brown-backed thrushes in North America, the hermit thrush is the one that winters furthest north. If you see a spot-breasted thrush at the museum in winter it most surely is a hermit thrush. Hermit thrushes can switch their diet from insects and small invertebrates to berries in winter, which allows them to spend their winters further north than their relatives. The other thrushes spend their winters in Central andRead more
Woodpecker Holes
Top Photo: Male downy woodpecker jets out of hole it’s been working on (2/19/22). On January 12 of this year I reported on a downy woodpecker that had been excavating two, three, maybe even four holes within inches of each other in a black willow tree on the north side of the wetlands. He’s at it again. Link to last month’s excavations. The current hole he’s drilling is in the same tree. This time the single hole is about fourRead more
A Few Things To Look For
Top Photo: Hermit thrush inspects sumac seeds for possible consumption. While walking the outdoor loop through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind, it’d be worth your while to keep an eye out for what’s around you. Winter residents, hermit thrushes eat fruit, seeds, and invertebrates when available. Some trees retain the seeds they produced during the growing season until well into the winter, even within the same species. Most white ash trees typically disperse their seeds in fall. SomeRead more
New Arrivals in Wetlands
Top Photo: Paddling out in the wetlands (new wetlands structure coming). If you’ve been out in Explore the Wild lately you may have noticed several new arrivals in and around the Wetlands, a floating walkway, geese, ducks, and a snake. First, the walkway. A new floating walkway across at least part of our wetlands has arrived in sections and is now in the process of being bolted together in Explore the Wild. If you stroll through the area, you mostRead more