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Spring Happenings

Happenings over the past few weeks have been a bit overwhelming. Insects that have been held back from emergence by cooler than normal temperatures are doing so now, snakes and other reptiles have been performing their springtime rituals, neotropical migrants are moving through, and local nesters are doing just that, nesting. Some have already fledged their first broods. It’s been difficult for me to keep up with all of the biological happenings in terms of posting them to this Journal. That beingRead more
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Red Wolf

If you’re standing in front of the Red Wolf Enclosure when any of the Animal Keepers are in the vicinity, you may be lucky enough to get a close view of the wolves as they walk, or run, around the enclosure trying to get a glimpse of what the keepers are up to. You may witness one of the wolves climb the small dirt mound directly in front of the overlook, stop and stare out in your direction long enoughRead more
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A Field Guide to Whatever it is You’re Looking at

There seems to be a guide to just about anything and everything. Whatever it is you happen to be looking at someone has put together a guide to help you figure out what it is, and often, how it relates to the world. There are field guides to birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians, plants and trees. Bird guides are further broken down into eastern birds, western birds, and even groups of birds: sparrows, shorebirds, raptors, warblers, owls. There areRead more

Sleepy Fox

Yesterday (1/4), with the temps in the low thirties (and wind chills in the twenties), one of our resident wild gray foxes found a cozy, sunny spot to lie down and rest. Only feet from the main path through Explore the Wild, the fox apparently felt that its cryptic coloration would conceal its location. I was lucky enough to spot the little canid. It’s always a thrill to see one of these little guys, don’t you agree? I suppose, though,Read more
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Sleeping Wolves

While the wolves sleep, the birds reap. Animal keepers enter the Red Wolf Enclosure daily to both clean up and to drop off fresh meat in the form of meatballs. The meat is placed in various locations around the enclosure. Much of it’s picked up and wolfed down before the keepers leave the enclosure, but there’s often small tidbits left behind. I’ve often seen cardinals drop in to sample the raw meat. And Carolina Wrens sometimes fly in to pickRead more

Afternoon Reflections on the Wetlands, and a Sleepy Wolf

After I took the following four photographs I realized that they are all of the same subject but at different levels of zoom. They were not shot in the same sequence as they appear here but minutes apart with other photos in between. There was obviously something that drew my eye to that spot. And, a sleepy wolf. What do you think this wolf is dreaming about, the breeding season to come? a rawhide chew? a run through the woods?Read more
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Warm and Wet

The past few days have been rather warm and humid, if not rainy. That will all change soon, there’s colder air moving our way. But until that cold front rolls over us, enjoy the warmth as some of our wildlife has been. I don’t think the warmer weather matters very much to the mergansers, as long as the water doesn’t freeze and they can get at the fish and tadpoles beneath the surface, they’re happy. The mergansers above seem toRead more