More Cedar Berries

  The cedar trees which line the fence at the Red Wolf Overlook have been, and still are, prolific in berries. The birds have noticed. This is a good spot to stand by and watch the avian parade. The birds move around in loose, mixed flocks searching for forage. And here, they have found what they were looking for. Most of the birds are migrants who will most likely spend the winter with us, if they don’t move further south laterRead more

Seed Dispersal

Top Photo: Wind-borne seed dispersal groundsel tree. In my last post I mentioned at least one method in which plants manage to get from one place to another. “Perhaps a bird visiting the garden where the original plant was, or is still growing, ate one or several of the fruit. Passing by the Museum, the bird landed in one of the locust trees, depositing seeds in its droppings beneath the tree. The vine sprang up where the seed-laced droppings fell.” Indeed, IRead more

Bluebird Update 7.21.15

This morning’s (7/21) check of our six bluebird nest boxes indicated that the season is at an end. There will be no further nesting this season. The three nest boxes that had nesting material within have not been added to or manipulated in any manner. A paper wasp lives in the nest box at the Sailboat Pond and an orb weaver (spider) resides at the Picnic Dome nest box.         The Cow Pasture nest box produced fourRead more
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Bluebird Update 7.14.15

The last of the active nests has been vacated. The three bluebirds that have been fed and protected by their parents for the past several weeks in the nest box at the Butterfly House, have fledged. They are out in the real world learning how to secure food for themselves, find shelter, and hopefully avoid predators. The only activity in any of the nest boxes is that of spiders and wasps.     The paper wasp nest at the Sailboat PondRead more

Bluebird Update 7.7.15

There is currently one active bluebird nest here at the Museum. The nest at the Amphimeadow which held three nestlings last week is now empty, it’s occupants having fledged some time during the past week. The only remaining active nest is in the nest box at the Butterfly House. It contains three nestlings. They are likely to fledge by the next nest box inspection.     It’s difficult to say whether the other nest boxes will host other bluebird nests, butRead more

Bluebird Update 6.30.15

It’s the end of June. We have two active bluebird nests with three nestlings each. The bluebird nest in the Amphimeadow nest box has three nestlings. They are at least ten days old, appearing to have hatched just prior to last week’s inspection of their nest box (6/23/15).       Like the Amphimeadow nest, the Butterfly House nest contains three nestlings. One of its eggs did not hatch. The nest’s inhabitants appear to be six days old. They’re certainly no more than that since theyRead more

Bluebird Update 6.23.15

One of the two currently active nests here at the Museum has hatched its eggs (most of its eggs) and a bluebird female is incubating her clutch in another nest. Activity is slow to non-existent in the other four nest boxes. The bluebird nest at the Cow Pasture has seen some progress, but I’m afraid it ends there. It’s perhaps the heat, or maybe it’s the slow down of hormonal juices, but the bluebird that had been building this nest seems not atRead more

Bluebird Update 6.16.15

Since last week, there has been another bluebird nest started and one additional egg laid in an existing nest. A bluebird nest has been started in the nest box at the Cow Pasture. This nest box has already fledged four bluebirds. We’ll have to wait to see if the bluebirds finish the nest. Birds sometimes start a nest without completing them when the season is this far advanced.     The nest box next to the Bungee has not been worked on forRead more

Bluebird Update 5.26.15

  After the excitement of the last few months, all is quiet on the bluebird front. All six of our nest boxes are empty. We’ve had nests started by one species and finished off by another. Two nests were well on their way (with eggs) and subsequently destroyed by a competing species of bird. One nest was begun by one species (chickadee), completed by another (bluebird) and destroyed by yet another (house wren). That same nest was cleaned out of its 6 eggs by what wasRead more