It’s well known that late summer to early fall is the time of year when there are more insects about than perhaps at any other time of year. If you’ve been walking around outdoors lately you may have noticed many more grasshoppers than earlier in the season. Many of the grasshoppers and katydids that were hatched out this past spring and early summer have now grown into adults and are happily munching away at the grasses and tree leaves aroundRead more
Posts tagged: #migration
Monarchs
The other day, I was admiring the Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in Catch the Wind when a Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) lighted on the flowers and began to nectar. I photographed the butterfly and continued my walk down the path. When I got back to the office to download and catalogue the day’s photos I noticed something odd on several of the photos. There was a caterpillar just behind the butterfly’s right wing. It was a Monarch caterpillar. A few weeksRead more
Bald Eagles
Three Bald Eagles passed over our air space today (5/7/13). I was talking with Ranger Rock at the Bungee Jump about the chickadee and bluebird nests here at the Museum, when he looked up and saw one, then two, large birds soaring in the gray, overcast sky above. Both birds were Bald Eagles. And finally, almost fifteen minutes after the first two eagles passed, a third came into sight riding the beginnings of the same thermal as a Red-tailed Hawk. I’veRead more
Mall Gulls
We don’t see many gulls here at the Museum. The place to look for gulls is Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Lake Crabtree, and mall and fast food restaurant parking lots. The vast majority of the gulls in our area are Ring-billed Gulls. Tens of Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of the medium sized gulls arrive from the north each year sometime in November and depart in April. A few arrive early and some linger in the spring, but forRead more
Keep an eye out for…
Evening Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Purple Finches, and Pine Siskins. Those birds are all considered winter finches. Purple Finches and Pine Siskins usually show up in our area each winter. Evening Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls DO NOT. There have been reports of all of those birds on Carolinabirds ListServ during the past week. I haven’t seen an Evening Grosbeak in North Carolina in almost twenty years and that was a flyby of 7 or 8 birds over the field area of Few’sRead more
Merganser Numbers Increase
On November 1st, I reported that a male Hooded Merganser arrived in our Wetlands. That bird was by itself until Saturday, two days later, when a female showed up. On Tuesday (11/6) when I made my rounds through Explore the Wild I saw five birds. There are now eight. According to most range maps, Hooded Mergansers are permanent residents in our area. Perhaps they are, but I don’t see them here after mid-April, and that’s usually a non-breeding individual thatRead more
Cold Front Brings in More Birds
After reporting that Myrtle Warblers (A.K.A. Yellow-rumped Warblers and Butter Butts) had had been seen on October 6, many more have arrived. A truck load of them must have come in on the night of November 1-2, as there were plenty around the following day. Although the first bird that I saw on the morning of November 2nd as I pulled the Club Car into its parking spot down in Explore the Wild was a Dark-eyed Junco (first one ofRead more
Flash!
A single male Hooded Merganser has arrived in the Wetlands. This is the first merg of the season and a bit early. Typically, the second week of November is when I start to look for them. If I don’t see any by the third week of the month I start to worry. No need to worry, they’re here.Read more
Scenes from the Wild
On October 13, I reported that I had seen the first Myrtle Warbler of the season on October 6, the first Saturday of the month. Well, they’re here in numbers now and getting down to business munching on wax myrtle fruit. I also reported seeing turtles basking on a log just off the main Wetlands Overlook. The turtles are making good use of the narrow log a dozen or so feet off the platform. Make sure you stop and haveRead more