Nest Box Update 4.3.18

There’s been a few additions and changes made to our 6 nest boxes.  While last week we had three bluebird nests and two chickadee nests, we now have the reverse. One nest which was started by bluebirds has been topped off by chickadees, with the deposition of two eggs! There’s a total of 5 eggs on the trail, and the one nest that had remained untouched for several weeks has seen activity. Last week the nest box in the CowRead more

Winter Turtles

While most of the wetland’s water remained frozen-over on Thursday (1/11), there were many areas of open water. It was through one of these open areas of water that I spotted a roundish, dark object on the muddy bottom of the foot-and-a-half-deep water. The object was a mere 10 feet from the boardwalk so it was easy to determine that it was a turtle, a yellow-bellied slider. The slider remained motionless while I watched. Of the five species of aquaticRead more

Sand, Dust, Florescence, and Waxy Larvae

A hole in the sand. That’s what I was looking at, a hole in the sand. Ranger Ian had spotted a bee or wasp hovering around and entering a 1/2” hole near the “sandbox” in Gateway Park. I was there to put a name on the bee or wasp and to help determine if the nest would put any children in harm’s way. It’s a large sandbox where kids use mini backhoes to fill up Tonka trucks with sand andRead more
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Bluebird Update 5.23.17

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

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

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