Out and about now, are a diverse group of fauna and flora. In no particular order, here’s some of the collection. Nettle is most often listed as the host plant for red admirals. The presence of nettle greatly increases your chances of seeing these colorful brush-footed butterflies. But, you may also see them at various locations during vernal and autumnal migrations. Not as noticeable and certainly not as well known as the monarch butterfly’s migrations, these butterflies do move northRead more
Posts filed in: Herps
A Couple More Snakes
Here are photos of two snakes that are common to our area, one venomous the other non-venomous. I’ve discussed the difference between these two species in this blog on several occasions but this is simply a series of photos of the two, a copperhead and a northern water snake. Notice how variable northern water snakes are (below). Know what you’re looking at and watch your step as you go along.Read more
Two Snakes
It can sometimes (often) be confusing as to what species of snake you’re looking at when you come across one on a trek along your favorite hiking trail, your backyard, or here at the Museum. I’ve often stated on this blog the clear difference between copperheads and other non-venomous snakes here at the Museum. But there are two species which even confuse me at times. The black rat snake and black racer are both common snakes here at the Museum.Read more
All Is As It Should Be
It is now May. Insects that we haven’t seen for months are back among us. Reptiles and amphibians are active as if winter had never happened. Many birds that have been far away in Central and South America have returned to the Museum grounds to make nests and raise families. It’s as if they never left. Keep your eyes and ears open for these creatures as you walk the paths and trails here at the Museum. I’ve gathered more thanRead more
Spring!
I personally go with March first as the official arrival of spring, the so-called meteorological spring. Even so, some things are happening a bit ahead of time due to the unusually high temperatures we’ve been experiencing. Just this past Monday I saw an eastern tiger swallowtail flying about. Around these parts, tiger swallowtails are butterflies of April, not March. The seventy and eighty degree weather accelerated the emergence of that butterfly, for sure. I thought I’d post a handful ofRead more
Spring, Almost
During the past week and a half, spring has been sneaking up on us. In my book, once we turn the page on February, it’s spring. There’s no going back. It’s here. And, over the past week and a half I’ve taken the photos you see here as evidence. The blooming red maple above and the sprouting elderberry below offer the best proof of spring’s imminent arrival. I’ve already mentioned, here in this blog, the arrival of our two Canada geese (theyRead more
More Cold Weather Snake ID
In the previous post, I mentioned that some herpetological references state that venomous snakes in our area have broad, arrowhead-shaped heads and that non-venomous snakes do not. I also mentioned that some species of non-venomous snake “flatten themselves, the head included, to appear more threatening when disturbed.” Here are a handful of examples of that behavior. All are non-venomous garter snakes found at various locations here at the Museum. First, the typical head of an eastern garter snake. Now, several snakesRead more
Copperhead vs Northern Water Snake
A slightly different version of this was posted in May of 2013. I know, it’s cold outside. Temps are in the mid-20s as I write and snakes are nowhere to be seen. Most of you are probably not going to spend a whole lot of time outdoors during the next few days, so why not sit back, grab a cup of joe (or cocoa), and brush up on your snake identification skills. Besides, we start seeing water snakes in our WetlandsRead more
Basking in the Rain
It was warm for the first week of February. Spring peepers and chorus frogs were calling and yellow-bellied sliders were out basking. There was very little sun, but the turtles were out just the same, occupying nearly every log, rock, or shoreline of the Wetlands. Somewhere around 3 PM the sky opened up and rain came pouring down. Chip, the turtle pictured above, wasn’t bothered by rain. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. After all, she’s an aquatic turtle. If you’reRead more