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

Cold Changes

Top Photo: The wetlands after a brief snow event. Cold temperatures and snow bring about changes in bird behavior, directly and indirectly. Birds that typically stay north sustaining themselves on fruits and seeds don’t necessarily need to migrate south due to the cold. As long as they have food they can usually cope with the temperature. However, heavy snow burying food sources and frozen ponds will put most birds on the wing, song birds and waterfowl alike. Birds like purpleRead more

Winter Tolerant

Top Photo: Fatsia Japonica growing on Dinosaur Trail, Museum of Life and Science. Our two late fall and winter blooming plants on the Dinosaur Trail are flowering, Fatsia and Mahonia. Neither are native plants but have been planted on the trail as examples, or at least relatives, of plants that were common at the time dinosaurs may have populated the area. There are also ginkgo trees and several palms along the way. On mild winter days you may see honeyRead more

Grass, Passerines, Ducks, Hyla, Fungi, and Mammals (lemurs, red wolves, and w-t deer)

Top Photo: Grasses blow in the cool wind from the floating walkway in the wetlands in Explore the Wild. Seed production and dispersal is part of fall. The seed produced by the grasses in the wetlands will carry far and wide with the help of the wind. As of November 20, there were still a few green tree frogs hanging on in Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild. They were juveniles. Alder blooms in February. The male catkins andRead more

Leaf Crunch’n

Top Photo: Sycamore, ready to crunch. It’s that time of year to think about crunching leaves. Click on the link below to see a repeat of a post from 2021 that will, hopefully, get you in the mood. It’s Crunch Time! Ranger GregRead more

Slime Mold?

Top Photo: Apparent slime mold. The tiny gray specks (≤ 1mm) that make up the above and following photos were pointed out to me by Ranger Pen. The sharp-eyed and curious Pen spotted them in the leaf litter alongside the path near the Butterfly House. I initially thought them some kind of insect eggs or perhaps a fungi. A closer look, after taking photos of the mass, revealed that each tiny, gray, round blob was at the end of aRead more

Hibiscus In Bloom

Top Photo: Pink Hibiscus in wetlands. Hibiscus is in bloom in the wetlands. The large, pink, white or brilliant red flowers with five petals and long staminal tube with style, stamens and pistils exposed for all to see are well known to many. Its great, spectacular flowers grace wetland and woods. The wild variety has been called rose mallow, marsh mallow, swamp rose mallow, crimson-eyed rose-mallow and many other similar names, even wild cotton. It is most often encountered asRead more

Feeling the Heat?

Top Photos:  Green treefrog peeks out from frog pipe in Earth Moves. It may be hot out there, but at least their’s plenty to look at to get your mind off the temperature, somewhat. If you’re going to take a photo of a silver-spotted skipper, do it fast, they don’t sit still long. You never know what or who you’re going to run into. Yes, it’s hot, but you can’t see any of these things sitting inside with the A/CRead more