Handful of Herons

I’m sometimes asked how many species of bird I’ve seen here at the Museum. Currently, the list is over 130 species. Of those, five species have been herons, great blue heron, great egret, green heron, and black-crowned and yellow-crowned night-herons. A great blue heron, or two, can be seen in our wetlands year-round. Although some great blue herons migrate, they can be found in our area in any season. Great egrets are widespread in North Carolina but are essentially aRead more
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Green Heron Retrospection

On June 24, I noticed a pair of green herons carrying twigs to a small black willow tree forty feet or so from the Main Wetlands Overlook in Explore the Wild. Four days later there was an egg in the nest. A second egg could be seen in the nest two days after the first. By July 2, there were three eggs. Two eggs hatched on 19 July. A third hatchling’s fuzzy head appeared above the rim of the nest twoRead more

Nesting Season Continues

Nesting season is still going strong. A pair of green herons has taken up residence in a willow tree in the wetlands, great-crested flycatchers seem to be using a wood duck nest box for what is probably their second brood of the season, and many other bird species are proceeding with their annual attempts at increasing the bird population. Green herons have built a nest in a black willow within easy view of the main Wetlands Overlook. In fact, in 2013,Read more

All Is As It Should Be

It is now May. Insects that we haven’t seen for months are back among us. Reptiles and amphibians are active as if winter had never happened. Many birds that have been far away in Central and South America have returned to the Museum grounds to make nests and raise families. It’s as if they never left. Keep your eyes and ears open for these creatures as you walk the paths and trails here at the Museum. I’ve gathered more thanRead more

Fall Goings On

Top Photo: Bald-faced hornet hive. It’s been drizzling, raining, and downright pouring over the past week or more here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. But, life goes on, herons gotta eat, snakes too, and wasps have to keep building additions to their hives as their numbers increase, you can’t stop progress. If, over the last week or so, you’ve happened to make it out past Hideaway Woods, our new outdoor playscape full of tree houses, woodland stream, nature trails, stick built “castles” and hammocks hungRead more

Things To Look For

If you’ve been out strolling the outdoor areas of the Museum you may or may not have noticed some of the many creatures we have living here alongside our exhibits. Here’s some suggestions as to what to look for. If you’re down by the Wetlands in Explore the Wild or up near the Bungee in Catch the Wind you could possibly hear what may sound like the bleating of a lamb. Rather than a lamb, it’s probably a small amphibian that you’reRead more
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Great Blue in the Sun

  It has been hot, very hot! So why is this great blue heron (GBH) sunning? At the time the photos here were taken (about 4:40 PM) the sun was still fairly high in the sky. The temperature was in the 90s. The rock the heron was standing on had been in the sun approximately 7 hours (had to be very warm!), and the sun was bouncing off the water’s surface like it was a giant suntan reflector. The heron was panting,Read more