Red, White, and Blue, sort of

The red I heard the call of the hawk before I saw it. As I turned, the bird came in to a Loblolly Pine over the Train Station here at the Museum. It was carrying something of weight and bulk in its talons though I couldn’t make out what it was. The bird began to call out, keee-eeeer, keee-eeeer, keee-eeeer! I could hear another bird calling as well, a whiny and slower keeeear…keeear…keear. As I looked up the other hawkRead more

Another winter update, w/wolf on the side

Hazel Alder, which grows on the north side of the Wetlands, typically blooms in February. It looks as though it’ll be right on time. There are both male catkins and female flowers (small reddish spikes at top of photo) forming on the plants. The fertilized flowers will become tiny “cones” which look very much like miniature pine cones. Over at Bird Viewing (the feeders) I saw a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches after not seeing them for several weeks. And, aRead more

Just a tad ahead of schedule

At least two Red Maples here at the Museum are in bloom. The trees are located in Explore the Wild on the north side of the Wetlands. Being out of the wind at the bottom of a former quarry, and on the north side of that quarry where they get direct sun the year-round, it’s typically warmer where these trees grow. In my opinion, they’re slightly ahead of schedule. But according to the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association the treesRead more