Top Photo: River otter latrine. Our roughly three acre wetland drains into a small creek which connects with Ellerbee Creek. Ellerbee eventually flows into the Eno River and from there Falls Lake, all part of the Neuse River watershed. These creeks, rivers and lake are the trails, roadways and highways in which river otters and other aquatic animals move across the countryside. I occasionally see one or two otters in our wetland, but their visits are usually marked only byRead more
Posts filed in: Flora
Swallows and Flowers
Top Photo: Family of geese pass behind recently fledged family of northern rough-winged swallows The young swallows are watching their parents fly overhead, and begging for food. Each year a family of northern rough-winged swallows brings their newly fledged young into our wetlands for training. The adults want the young birds to hit the skies and catch their own insects on the wing. The fledglings seem more interested in begging for handouts than learning how to hawk insects. But eventuallyRead more
First Half of May and How to Tell Murray Bear from Little Bear
Top Photo: Canada geese defend goslings. Note aquatic turtles and spotted sandpiper on float behind geese. The second week of May was warm with little humidity. It was a pleasant time to be outside. Here’s a handful of sights that were witnessed during that period. The six goslings which have been following their parents around the wetlands for the past week (first seen on May 2) still number six. Butterflies are becoming easier to find as spring rolls along. ARead more
What “I” Saw Last Week (swallows, goslings, spring leaves, herps…)
Top Photo: Tree swallow delivers grass stems to nest in wetlands. Nothing but photos of a handful of sightings from the previous week. What did you see? Ranger GregRead more
April Is Big
Top Photo: Just out of nest, this yellow bellied slider was headed for the water when it was noticed and picked up by visitors. April has arrived, a big month in the Carolina Piedmont, a transitional month. Turtles that have spent the winter in the ground where their mothers deposited them as eggs last summer are making their way to water to begin the next phase of their lives. If they make it past this first summer they stand aRead more
Awakenings
Top Photo: Mystery bird (See bottom of page for identification). We’re approaching the end of March and spring is moving along quickly. Here’s a few sights you might see on your walk around the outdoor loop here at the museum. Redbud is in bloom. Elm is another early bloomer. Its winged fruit is developing now. Buckeye’s palmate leaves are opening and its red-flowered racemes are ready to pop. Birds like this eastern phoebe are nesting. They nest each year underRead more
Middle March Sightings
Top Photo: Pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris, formerly Rana palustris). Pickerel frogs are calling from the wetlands. I saw several on the path in Catch the Wind, Explore the Wild, and on the service roads after the chilled rain during the second week of March. A few were flattened by vehicles. Some apparently survived and made it to the water. More frogs have joined the chorus this week. One of the two larger trees in the following photo has been struck byRead more
The Beginning of March (Spring)
Top Photo: Groundhog (Marmota monax). Groundhogs, or woodchucks, are members of the squirrel family, a ground squirrel. The one shown here lives under a large oak stump that lays on its side in Wander Away opposite the Sailboat Pond in Catch the Wind. If you’re quiet while passing through Wander Away you might get a glimpse of the large rodent. Can you spot the Canada Geese in the photo below? We currently have three pairs vying for territory in theRead more
Keep An Eye Out For…
Top Photo: Male catkins of hazel alder are in bloom and spreading their pollen. February is the time for alder to reproduce. The yellow-green male catkins fertilize the red female flowers via airborne pollen. This stand of alder is on the north side of the museum’s wetlands. Most woodpeckers make a living pounding their heads, via their long pointed bills, against wood. The activity is multi functional. They could be excavating a nest hole in spring, a winter roost, drummingRead more