Top Photo: Yellow-rumped warbler in black willow. With many species, you don’t have to see much of a bird to identify it. The yellow-rumped warbler in the photo above is but one of several species of warbler with a patch of yellow feathers in the same location as this bird; magnolia, palm, and Cape May warblers are three others. The yellow-rumped is the only one you’re likely to see here in central North Carolina at this time of year. CapeRead more
Busy Time for Squirrels
Top Photo: Eastern gray squirrel sits on boulder chomping on nuts. Squirrel activity is high at this time. There’s lots of nest building and renovating, digging up of old buried seeds and nuts, and frequent munching. The weather has turned slightly colder and the squirrels are paying attention. Here’s some shots of resident gray squirrels doing what squirrels do while prepping for and reacting to the cold of winter. So, if you notice the squirrels seeming to be busier thanRead more
Misty Morning
Top Photo: Misty morning over wetlands. On a cool morning last week as I walked through the wetlands there was a fog or mist hovering over the water. The fog was already “burning off” as I could imagine it must have been much more dense just an hour earlier. It was a still and quiet morning, as foggy mornings tend to be. Among other things, fog brings to mind the low bellow of distant foghorns, the clang of buoy bells,Read more
Annual Creeper, Brooke, and Feeders
Top Photo: Annual out-of-focus brown creeper photo. Each winter here at the museum I get the opportunity to photograph at least one brown creeper. I don’t see them that often, once, twice, maybe three times per winter season. They’re listed as “fairly common” here on the piedmont but they are, however, small, inconspicuous, and easily overlooked. As the name implies, they’re largely brown in color with white and black markings and nearly all white undersides. They creep up the sidesRead more
Ilex
Top Photo: The red fruit and evergreen leaves of Ilex. Ilex is a genus of largely evergreen flowering plants which are very familiar to most people. Some Ilex have spiked leaves but, surprisingly, most varieties do not. After spring and summer pollination of their tiny white flowers, the plants produce red berries, more correctly called drupes, which persist throughout the fall and winter. The plants in the genus Ilex are more commonly known as hollies. The native holly, American hollyRead more
Feeder Wishes
Top Photo: Pine siskins at an older feeder here at museum, February 2013. I’ve been waiting patiently for winter birds to show up at the feeders here at the museum. Oh, I’ve seen red-breasted nuthatches, white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, (it’s always good to see them each year) and of course, all the local characters, like chickadees, titmice, white-breasted and brown-headed nuthatches, and so on. What I’m waiting to see is pine siskins and evening grosbeaks. Those two birds are irregularRead more
Eight Lobe-leaved Plant of Japan
Top Photo: Fatsia japonica on Dinosaur Trail. An evergreen shrub, Fatsia japonica is native to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Here, it’s a common and popular landscape plant which does well in full and partial shade. At the museum, its white umbel flowers bloom in November when it attracts many late season insects. Everything from ants to butterflies come to the flowers for their nectar. But there are other posts about the insects that are attracted to the fall blooming flowerRead more
A Hooded Surprise
Top Photo: A whir of wings and slap, slap, slap of webbed feet on the water as the birds take off. If you’re the first person of the day to descend the boardwalk leading to Explore the Wild you may see the mergansers in close to or under the boardwalk rousting out any mosquitofish, aquatic insects or crayfish that may be hanging out in the shadows. The birds are shy. If the birds see you coming they may simply swimRead more