Hooded mergansers are back in the Wetlands. A handful of the fish eating waterfowl showed up over the weekend. I counted three males and a female this morning (11/7). While taking photos of the mergs, and just plain watching the birds swim about this morning, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small, dark duck come in for a landing. I assumed it was a female merg coming in to join the others and went back toRead more
Posts tagged: #merganser
Winter Visitors
I recently reported that at least two of our female mergansers have paired up with males. That’s certainly true, but there are still “singles” out there who have yet to make a commitment. And, the available males are not being shy about their intentions. One minute they’re swimming along peacefully, the next they shift into display mode. The mergansers are, for the most part, winter visitors here. And so are Hermit Thrushes. One of the best places to see aRead more
Photo Ops
There are many opportunities to capture interesting photogrpaphic images while on a walk around Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind. Timing and luck play their parts, and of course the amount of time one spends on the outdoor loop here at the Museum helps expose one to more opportunities, but one thing is for sure, you have to be there in person to photographic whatever it is that’s happening. Here’s some of the images I captured last week. TheRead more
The Pellet
Back from the weekend and on my first walk around the Outdoor Exhibit Loop I noticed three gray masses of debris on one of the copper-topped posts of the boardwalk in Explore the Wild. It was obviously a pellet. What’s a pellet? Basically it’s a regurgitated mass of animal parts, bones, fur, or feathers which can not be digested by whatever it was that ate the animal, typically a hawk, owl, or perhaps a heron. These birds swallow small preyRead more
Out and About
Among other creatures out and about this past week were a late season dragonfly, basking turtles, basking bullfrogs, and basking mergansers. And finally… There’s much going on out in the Wild, come on out and see what you can find. Read more
Early Winter Update
According to the calendar we’re still in the early stages of winter. While there’s always much going on outside at this time of year, here’s just a handful of images of what you might encounter on your walk around the outdoor areas of the Museum. Stop by the and sit at the bird feeders at Bird Viewing and you might get a peek at a bluebird. This female was waiting her turn as the male was busily attacking the suetRead more
What’s for dinner?
The small island that is directly off the boardwalk where that western red cedar structure makes a left hand turn on its way to the bear overlook is a hub of activity during at least part of each day. Fish are obviously congregated among the roots and tangle of branches under the water there. There are often mergansers fishing in this spot and it is easily viewed from the boardwalk as you descend. It’s also far enough away from the boardwalkRead more
The Rana Dilemma
Back in 2009, I noticed a large concentration of bullfrog tadpoles in the northwest corner of the Wetlands. The tadpoles were congregated around a pipe which drains the higher ground above, particularly the Red Wolf Enclosure. I didn’t know why the tadpoles were gathered in this location but speculated that it was due to either the concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water, higher temperature, algal growth (their main source of food), or a combination of those things. Something hadRead more
Hermit Thrush and Hooded Mergansers
While sitting at the bird feeders waiting for Evening Grosbeaks to show up (good luck), I heard a soft, almost flute-like whistle. The call was repeated again a half dozen times. Initially ignoring the call, it suddenly dawned on me that I should perhaps take a look. A gander to my right saw nothing but the shrubs and tangle of tree limbs of the woods that border the path leading to Catch the Wind. Then, there it was, a thrush,Read more