Nest Who?

OK, no more rain for a while…but the HEAT! I don’t feel so bad, though, when I look out over the water of the Wetlands and into one of the heron nests. The birds steadfastly hold their positions shielding their eggs from the blaring sun, getting up only to change position or move the eggs around bit. Eggs not only need to be protected from the cold, heat can actually cook the eggs in their shells. The birds have toRead more
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Green Heron Nests Discovered in Wetlands!

Green herons are in no way rare or even uncommon in our area. Here at the Museum they arrive in our Wetlands sometime in mid April and usually depart for points south sometime around the end of September. I’ve suspected they’ve nesting here at the Museum for some time but hadn’t found a nest. They can be very secretive about their nests. But, they can also be very conspicuous in their nesting activities. Tuesday (6/25) as I was walking down theRead more
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What’s up in the Wild

Here’s a little of what’s going on in the Wild at the Museum…a caterpillar. A damselfly. An assassin bug. A nest-building bird. A morphing frog. A tree frog who thinks it can’t be seen. And, a bird with a frog. And that’s some of what I’ve been seeing. How about you?Read more
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Green Heron

From April thru September Green Herons are in our Wetlands nearly every day, if not every day. However, they’re not always visible, they spend much of their time hidden from view silently perched just above the water’s surface or quietly stalking fish, tadpoles, or insects among the willow branches and roots. But, every once in a while I hear a loud squawky “skew” coming from the brush or catch a glimpse of one of these small herons out in theRead more

Green Heron Update

Yesterday I noticed a young Green Heron fishing just feet from the Main Wetlands Overlook. I assumed it was the same heron that has been seen in our Wetlands all summer long. I’m not so sure. I saw three different Green Herons yesterday, two immatures and an unknown aged bird (I only saw the latter bird’s back amongst some dense foliage). We may have had all three birds throughout the summer but were unable to see them all at once dueRead more
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Yellow-crowned hangs around!

Last week, Ranger Kristin mentioned to me that she had again seen the immature Yellow-crowned Night-heron that was first discovered in the Wetlands on the stormy 27th on May. Night herons tend to spend most of the day sleeping away in the dense cover of trees or shrubbery, doing most of their foraging at night, so it’s reasonable that no one had seen it since then. We often only get brief glimpses of the diurnal foraging Green Heron as itRead more

Juvenile Green Heron Works the Wetlands!

Several days ago I noticed a young Green Heron in the Wetlands. It was in juvenal plumage. When I first saw the bird it still had some downy feathers wildly protruding from its crown. It’s “do” has settled down some but it still maintains the sure signs of a recently fledged bird. We’ve had a Green Heron or two visit the Wetlands daily since mid April. Since early May I’ve seen one of these little herons fly off in the directionRead more
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While we’re all waiting…

…for 1287 (the wolf) to have her liter, a Green Heron dropped into the swamp across from the wolf exhibit. It’s good to see one of these little herons back in our midst from wherever it was for the past six months, presumably someplace warmer and with more fish, insects, and tadpoles to eat. Also in our midst yesterday (4/13) was a Great Crested Flycatcher. I heard the loud WEEP call of the bird but couldn’t locate it visually. Unlike theRead more