Morphing Frogs

Top Photo: Bullfrogs at edge of wetlands. The numerous bullfrogs that are currently morphing from tadpole to frog in our wetlands were eggs last summer. The eggs hatched approximately five days from deposition. Nine months to perhaps a year later they’re transitioning from tadpole to frog. That may seem a long time, but consider the bullfrog in more northern climates. A bullfrog tadpole hatched in a Massachusetts pond may take three years to become a frog. These frogs are approximatelyRead more

Snake Mate

Top Photo: Northern water snake among rushes in wetlands. I’ve been monitoring a female northern water snake since first discovering it in our wetlands in late May. There’s nothing unusual about water snakes in the wetland but this snake’s had a problem either with it respiration or jaw alignment. It keeps opening and closing its mouth and moving the mandible from side to side. This is abnormal behavior. Today (6.9.23) I witnessed a smaller male water snake attempt to mateRead more

Snake Jaws

Top Photo: Northern water snake. Northern water snake (nerodia sipedon) is the water snake of the North Carolina Piedmont. The banded and brown water snake look-a-likes are more closely tied to the coastal plain. The water snake shown here was basking on a wax myrtle branch next to the floating walkway in our wetlands. Curiously, this snake kept opening and closing it’s mouth. This is probably the same snake I reported seeing on May 26 which also kept opening andRead more

More May Sightings

Top Photo: Common snapping turtle contemplates its next move. The snapping turtle pictured here was heading towards our wetlands. It may be a new arrival, having come up the creek which lies a dozen or so meters behind it. The creek is where our wetland drains. There’s a substantial drop where a large pipe delivers our wetland’s overflow into the creek. The drop keeps creatures like this snapping turtle from continuing their journeys via a direct route to our wetlandsRead more

Dazzling Sights on the MLS Outdoor Loop

Top Photo: Rat snake crosses path in front of me. A walk around our outdoor loop through the Dinosaur Trail, Explore the Wild, and Catch the Wind can be relaxing and rewarding. You never know what you’re going to run into. Anything from snakes to folded-wing skippers is possible, and frankly, expected. Here’s some of the things I bumped into this past week. The photos above and below are of a common local resident, rat snake. The individual above isRead more

Mimics and Other Amazing Springtime Sights

Top Photo: Brown thrasher belts out his best imitation of other local birds and sounds. Like mockingbirds, thrashers (above) mimic other birds and sounds that occur in their immediate area. While mockingbirds often repeat the same phrase over and over again, thrashers tend to repeat each mimicked phrase or sound twice, then move on to the next one. Physical mimicry is fairly common in invertebrates. Whether to avoid being eaten by predators or as a predator seeking to hunt otherRead more

Spring Heats Up for Plants, Animals, and Staff

Top Photo: Tent caterpillar hustling across path. The caterpillar pictured above has made it’s way down out of its secure, communal silken tent in a nearby cherry tree. It’s in search of an even more secure location to pupate, under siding, tree bark, crevice or other hidden location. By late spring to summer it will become an adult moth and deposit eggs on a twig of another cherry tree, or perhaps the very same tree it crawled out of. TinyRead more

Toad Time, Skink, first Slider Hatchling, and a Goose!

Top Photo: American toad calls out from wetlands. Like magic, American toads were out breeding in numbers on 24 March. It looked to me, though, most of the toads I witnessed splashing about, calling out, and attempting to mount one another were unsuccessful in finding suitable mates. It seemed most of the toads, if not all, were males. Females are larger than males. All the couplings I saw were short-lived and consisted of rather small individuals. Males will mount otherRead more