Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. There are now 6 bluebird eggs and 6 house wren nestlings occupying our nest boxes. The 6 bluebird eggs in the nest box at the Cow Pasture have yet to hatch. I saw no adults in the vicinity so I can’t determine whether the eggs are being incubated. If they are, we should see hatchlings by nest week’s inspection. As always, the nest in the box at Explore the Wild is unoccupied. There’s been noRead more
Nest Box Update 5.24.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We currently have 12 eggs in two active nests on our bluebird trail. One nest holds 6 bluebird eggs, the other 6 house wren eggs. I was surprised to find 3 additional eggs above last week’s 3 in the Cow Pasture nest on today’s inspection of nest boxes. As I mentioned last week, the second brood is usually smaller one than the first. This nest has as many eggs as the initial nest in thisRead more
Fake Eyes, a Lady with a White Spot, and a Skipper with a Silver Spot.
Top Photo: Eyed click beetle prepares to take flight. Fake Eyes Eyed click beetles (Alaus oculatus), or eyed elaters (elators), are large beetles in the click beetle family (Elateridae). Click beetles can launch themselves into the air via a spring-loaded latch and hinge mechanism between their abdomen and thorax. If you place the beetle on its back, and it still has plenty of energy stored in its body, it will flip several inches straight up into the air accompanied byRead more
Nest Box Update 5.19.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. A few days late, this report sees our bluebird trail with 9 eggs in two active nests. Three of those eggs are bluebird eggs, the rest belong to house wrens. The Cow Pasture nest now has 3 bluebird eggs. This nest box has already fledged 4 bluebirds. This, the second brood, is usually smaller in size than the first set of eggs. I don’t expect to see more eggs in this nest. The Explore theRead more
GBH
Top Photo: Great blue heron searching the wetlands. What is the great blue heron searching for when it slowly stalks through the belly deep water of our wetlands? The answer is, whatever it can catch? It eats whatever animal it can snag with its long pointed bill. What does the heron catch? Well, currently in our wetland there’s not that many choices. The resident mosquito fish are quite small. There’re some aquatic insects that might suit the tall, long-legged, wadingRead more
Nest Box Update 5.10.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We currently have two nests with at least some activity. One nest is definitely house wren occupied, the other seems to be bluebird. The four remaining nest boxes appear to be stalled with either “old” abandoned nests or are where nestlings have recently fledged and are waiting for new occupants. The Cow Pasture nest box had recently fledged 4 bluebirds, had been cleaned and looks to be over-going a rebuild. The rebuilders are most likelyRead more
It’s All About Procreation
Top Photo: Fledgling eastern phoebes huddle together as they await feeding from parent. Spring keeps chugging along, and with it the lives of many different creatures. Below are photos of some of our local residents rolling with the flow. A nestling blue-gray gnatcatcher waits for one of its parents to deliver protein. The lichen covered nest is in a maple tree on an island in our parking lot. It was spotted by sharp-eyed Ranger Dakota. Unlike gnatcatchers, brown-headed nuthatches nestRead more
Aquatic Turtle Nesting Season
Top Photo: Yellow-bellied slider returning from early morning egg laying near Butterfly House. It’s aquatic turtle nesting season. Our sliders, musk, painted, and snapping turtles all come ashore during this season to dig nests and lay eggs. They may travel quite a distance from water to do this, from Hideaway Woods to Earth Moves and all points in between. If you happen to see one of these turtles digging a nest, or hiking across one of our paths, give itRead more
Nest Box Update 5.3.22
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. Since last week we have seen twelve birds fledge, eight bluebirds (two different nests) and four chickadees (one nest). Two nest boxes are occupied by house wrens and one box still has three bluebird nestlings within. The Cow Pasture bluebird nestlings have fledged. The box was lightly cleaned and a new berry basket placed inside for potential future occupants. The Explore the Wild nest box remains untouched. The nest material in the box also remains,Read more