Top photo: Mayapple patch in early April. It’s June and mayapples are ripe, or soon will be. Warning, the whole plant is toxic. Just touching the leaves may cause dermatitis. But, like many toxic native plants mayapple has medicinal uses. A topical treatment for certain skin conditions, as well as other ailments, is derived from the plant. Mayapples begin to emerge from the moist earth of alluvial woodlands and meadows in March. By April they’re obvious, a big patch ofRead more
Two Hoppers and Two Flies
Top photo: American bird grasshopper. Insects are with us throughout the year whether as eggs, pupa, or in some species, adults. But it’s spring and summer when we start seeing them in numbers. Many of the adults that you’re seeing now have spent the cooler months safely tucked away and are just emerging as adults after an entire season below ground, embedded in wood, or in eggs cases attached to last year’s plant growth. American bird grasshoppers (top photo) overwinterRead more
Nest Box Update 6.1.20
It’s been just about nine weeks since I last reported on the progress of the bluebird trail at the museum. I haven’t had access to the trail. I don’t know what transpired during that time period. A full tally of successful nestlings fledged won’t be possible this year. The Nest Box Update from nine weeks ago, March 31 I did, however, visit all of our six nest boxes on Monday, the first day of June. Here’s what I saw. When IRead more
Box Turtle
I don’t see many box turtles at the museum. The habitat’s right but I can remember seeing only one or two of these terrestrial turtles in the twelve plus years I’ve walked the outdoor loop at the museum. Perhaps their scarcity is due to the fact that our 84 acre campus is surrounded by suburbia and ever increasing traffic on the roads around and through the area. These turtles have a bad track record in face-to-face encounters with cars. BoxRead more
A Sphinx
Top Photo: Elm Sphinx caterpillar on elm. Each summer I come across a large green caterpillar in an elm tree overhanging the boardwalk in Explore the Wild, an elm sphinx moth caterpillar (Ceratomia amyntor). This species is also known as four-horned sphinx (tobacco and tomato hornworms are sphinx moths). The elm sphinx I see each year is always in the same elm tree, but I’ve never seen the adult, until this spring. Most adult sphinx moths are cryptically colored inRead more
Back In Action
Top Photo: Ranger Greg back in action. You may have noticed, it’s been nearly two months since I last posted on this blog. And now, I and Nature Watch are back and better than ever. I’ve a whole stack of photos and a journal full of sightings ready to report. I’ve been chomping at the bit, waiting to share those photos and adventures with you. So, keep a close eye on the blog for new postings. In the mean time,Read more
Turtle Logs
Top Photo: Three of five sets of new turtle perches in Wetlands. With our changing wetlands and growing turtle population, basking perches for our resident turtles are at a premium. As old snags and logs that used to be in the wetlands rotted and decayed it’s become tough for a turtle to find a place to sun itself. It’s sometimes a tight squeeze for our aquatic turtles. A half a dozen years ago, I tossed in a 10’ pine logRead more
A Toad and a Treefrog
Top Photo: Cope’s gray treefrog on cedar limb. March thru April is the peak breeding season for American toads here at the museum and they’ve been out calling and mating in numbers. American toads are one of two true toads found here on the Piedmont, the other is Fowler’s toad. I’ve only heard Fowler’s toad on one or two occasions on our campus. American toad is the one you’re most likely to see and hear. The warm weather of thisRead more
Dogwood and Other Flowering Plants
Top Photo: Flowering dogwood. Last month it was redbud. Now it’s dogwood’s turn, among other flowering shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants, to show off its color. We have a variety of flowering plants here at the museum, some native some not, but they all brighten up the landscape when they come into flower. Flowering dogwood is the state flower of North Carolina. It typically follows the blooming of the redbud’s magenta flowers, although sometimes they’re in bloom together. Currently, redbudRead more