Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, male. All but one nest box is empty. There are three bluebird nestlings in one nest box. —————————— The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and Parking Deck East (PKE) nest boxes are all empty. While the Parking Deck West (PKW) nest box held three bluebird eggs last week, today it contained three very fresh bluebird nestlings. ———————————— So, it looks as though the final nest of the season will be theRead more
Posts tagged: #life and science
Nest Box Update 6.20.26
To Photo: Eastern bluebird, male. The one active nest we had last week, is still the only active nest. The Parking Deck West (PKW) nest box has three bluebird eggs inside its pine needle cup. ———————————— The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist and Parking Deck East (PKE) nest boxes are all empty, no activity. There are three bluebird eggs in the nest at the nest box on the west side of the parking deck. Read more
Nest Box Update 6/6/2026 – 6/13/2026
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, male. We have only one active nest. There’s minimal nest material in two of the nest boxes, but it hasn’t been worked for weeks. One nest box which was started by bluebirds in early May, became a project in progress by house wrens, has now switched back to bluebirds and is ready for action. —————————— The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and Parking Deck East nest boxes are all empty andRead more
Spring to Summer and Little Water
Top Photo: Wetlands losing water to evaporation. As spring rolls into summer, meteorologically speaking, drought hangs over us, the wetlands are drying up exposing more and more of its muddy substrate. But life goes on. Here are some photos of the past few week’s sights and more. As you can see above and below the wetlands is becoming a mud flat. If rain doesn’t appear soon it’ll become a meadow. You can see numerous tracks in the mud of turtlesRead more
Nest Box Update 5.30.26
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, male. There has been only one change since last week, the house wrens that were bickering over the nest in one of the boxes (PKW) have added to their nest. ——————————— The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Sailboat Pond, Into the Mist, and Parking Deck East boxes are all inactive. They all have been left alone for weeks. The only nest box that has seen progress is the Parking Deck West (PKW) box. As I walkedRead more
Fox, and a lot More
Top Photo: Gray fox pup. Things are moving fast out on the outdoor loop through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind. New life, travelers, and old friends are all making the scene. A gray fox has decided to den in a rocky depression between the Red Wolf Overlook and the Lemur House (the red wolves themselves have put out 5 young this spring). I’ve counted 3 fox pups but may have missed one, confirmation on the three. A coupleRead more
Nest Box Update 4.11.26
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird, male. Five birds have fledged (bluebirds), five eggs have hatched (chickadees), and ten eggs are being incubated (chickadees). One nest box has a partial nest (chickadees) and one is empty. The nest box at the Cow Pasture remains empty. The adult chickadee sat tight as the nest box in Explore the Wild was opened for inspection, it flew out at the last second to reveal six eggs. The sailboat Pond nest box, as it did lastRead more
Redbud, Swallows, and Elm
Top Photo: Redbud lights up the spring forest. It’s when the redbud trees bloom that you realize just how many of the small trees there actually are in and along the forest edge. It blooms well before many other flowering trees, even before it sends out its own leaves. The tree’s leguminous magenta flowers brighten up the spring, and are so much more pleasing than the white, and stinky, Bradford pear blossoms. The pears are planted everywhere you look alongRead more
Finally!
Top Photo: A pair of hooded mergansers in the museum’s wetlands. Finally, a pair of hooded mergansers dropped into the wetlands. This is the latest arrival date in my time here at the museum (I spotted the pair on Tuesday, December 2, but they may have been here Sunday [11/30] or Monday [12/1] and not reported. I was present neither day). I traditionally get a peek at them by mid-November. I’m anxious to see how long they stick around. RangerRead more