On the morning of September 26th, while walking along the boardwalk in Explore the Wild, I noticed a small brown, duck-like bird floating on the still, dark water. The bird was midway across the water but I knew almost immediately what it was. It was a grebe. A quick look through my binoculars verified that it was a Pied-billed Grebe. The bird was busily diving for fish, had something in its bill, and was thrashing it about in the water.Read more
Posts tagged: #House Wren
Early Nesters, Arrivals, Delayed Departures
It was a busy time for birds. Besides the Red-shouldered Hawks snatching frogs out of the Wetlands, Carolina Chickadees feeding their young in a nest in a Loblolly Pine between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild, and the Red-bellied Woodpeckers sitting on eggs in another loblolly in front of the Lemur House, many new seasonal arrivals and migrants have been observed. After a seven-month absence, a Green Heron was back on station on 28 April. As if it hadRead more
3 Bald Eagles!
A female Wood Duck was in the Wetlands on the 21st of September. Traditionally, the third week in September sees a push of migrating hawks through the region when the winds are from the north. More often than not, the winds were from the north during the third and fourth weeks in September. Unfortunately for those of us who like to watch hawks and also reside in the piedmont, most migrating hawks move along the ridges in the western partRead more
Broadwinged Hawk!
Finally, a Broad-winged Hawk! I had expected to see a Broad-winged Hawk in mid to late April when they first arrive back from their winters spent in South America. They usually slip into the nesting season with little fanfare so they can easily be missed. Broad-wings don’t make very much noise, usually vocalizing only during the early part of the nesting season. When they do call out, it sounds more like a Killdeer’s whistled song, or the song of anRead more