We have three nest boxes which contain house wren nests. One of those three nests shows no activity. The other two have six eggs each. The remaining three nest boxes of the six we have here at the Museum, are empty. The house wren nest at the Cow Pasture, which held 3 eggs last week, now has six. A wren flew out of the nest box as I approached indicating the eggs are being incubated. The nest box on theRead more
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Out of the Rain
On Friday, May 5, I spied our male red wolf (1784) utilizing a hollow log to get out of a late morning rain.Read 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
Ravens!
At about 1 PM today (9/15) I heard what sounded like a raven calling. The sound was distant and I couldn’t pin down a direction. Finally, I looked straight up. There, directly overhead, were two ravens soaring, at times kiting, in the light air far above. Ravens are seen here at the Museum about once per year, usually in fall or winter. I didn’t see one last year, but I do recall hearing one at one point during the past winter. It’s usually theirRead more
Go Outside and Look Up
Top Photo: Osprey. If you happen to peek out of your window today you may see some birds migrating by. For example: Have a look outside yourself. Let me know what you see. Enjoy! Read more
Bluebird Update 4.16.13
Although absent from the Museum for several days, I managed to stop by and check the bluebird nest boxes while in town on Tuesday morning (4/16/13). Here’s what I found. The “Cow Pasture” nest has two additional eggs since the last nest inspection for a total of five. The Chickadee in the nest next to the Take Off in Catch the Wind is incubating her five tiny eggs. It appears that there has been some activity in the nest boxRead more
Very Old Rocks
If, before entering, you happen to read the signage at the Fossil Dig Site on the Dinosaur Trail, you will discover that the material through which you are about to search for fossils is of the coastal plain and not of the Piedmont. The gray, coarse material in the Dig Site was shipped in from a phosphate mine near Aurora, NC and at one time was on the bottom of the ocean when that part of North Carolina was underRead more
Tracks
It doesn’t snow very often here in central North Carolina. When it does snow, it usually doesn’t last long, melting within a day or two, sometimes disappearing the same day. I try to get out as early as possible when there’s a covering of snow to have a look around and see what creatures have been stirring. A dusting of snow often reveals the comings and goings of many creatures that may be easily overlooked otherwise; a squirrel hopping alongRead more