Top Photo: Three male hooded mergansers try to impress female, though she seems little interested. Anywhere from a single individual to 6 hooded mergansers have been seen cruising the wetlands during the last month or so. Keep an eye out for small groups as they may be performing a pair-bond display as in the photos posted here. The males vie for the female’s attention, each aiming to become the one she chooses to mate with. They dance around in theRead more
Top Photo: Fox sparrow.Read more
Juniper Berries Anyone?
Top Photo: American robin foraging on eastern red cedar. Had you visited the Red Wolf Enclosure’s overlook in the past few days you may have heard the chortle of robins above. You may have had juniper berries rain down on your head. You may have seen a dozen or more birds flitting about, knocking the small blue fruit off the tree limbs in their zeal to consume them. American robins, bluebirds, hermit thrushes, sapsuckers and yellow-rumped warblers have all beenRead more
A Ruby-crowned Display
Top Photo: Ruby-crowned kinglet in full display mode. Male ruby-crowned kinglets have a patch of red feathers on the top of their heads, the crown. The ruby-red crown of this tiny, frenetic bird is usually concealed by olive-green/gray feathers, except when the bird is excited. Excitement means, while the bird is in the presence of a potential mate, predator or rival. In the case here, the bird was stimulated by its own reflection in the passenger side mirror of aRead more
Adeyha Awakens, Red-shoulder Dries Out, Little Ascends
Top Photo: Adeyha makes an appearance. In a recent post I mentioned that our new resident male has taken to sleeping the day away in his enclosure’s man-made den. I’ve been hearing reports from various staff that he’s been seen out and about in the enclosure near the end of the day, four, four-thirtyish. I decided to follow the scuttlebutt and check it out for myself. Sure enough the first photo I shot of Adeyha, and the first time I’dRead more
Into the Mist
Top Photo: Just outside Into the Mist during summer. Into the Mist is a favorite exhibit for many members, and one-time out of town visitors too. But like all good things, maintenance is sometimes required to keep things going the way they should. Our Outdoor Landscape Environments (OLE) team is working hard to be out with the old and in with the new. As you can see in these photos the grass has been removed, old piping is on theRead more
Four Serendipitous Encounters
Top Photo: Centipede crosses path in front of me. At the end of the day while doing my routine walkabout to insure there was no one left behind as we closed for the day, a large centipede crossed the dimly lit path in front of me. The long, thin, multi-legged creature seemed in a hurry to get to the other side of the path. Then again, most centipedes discovered out in the open are in a hurry to get somewhere.Read more
Take a Few Steps
Top Photo: Northern cardinal suns itself on railing of Main Wetlands Overlook. I was about 15 feet or so from the cardinal in the photo above. You can sometimes sneak in closer to birds or other animals when they’re distracted, like the bird here, sunning itself. When the bird turns its head away, take a step forward, then stop, step and stop, each time the bird looks away take a quick and quiet step. Don’t rush it. Be patient. KeepRead more
New Bear, Rose Hips, and an At Home Mockingbird
Top Photo: A panoramic view of the wetlands from the boardwalk. We have a new black bear in our Black Bear Enclosure which brings the number of ursine occupants at the museum to four. That includes Mimi, Gus, Little, and now an approximately 9 month old male cub (not yet named) in residence. You may see him pacing back and forth in front of the overlook in Explore the Wild. Don’t fret, there’s always a period of anxiety when newRead more