Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. The last nest with birds has emptied, all the birds have fledged. There are new berry baskets in each of our six nest boxes in case a bluebird, chickadee or even a house wren decides to give it another go. But, it’s late in the season and though we’ve gone into August in years past, it doesn’t seem as though it will happen this year. I see no new nest under construction, though one nestRead more
Posts tagged: #nestling
Nest Box Update 6.11.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We now have only one active nest with three nestlings. One nest just fledged five bluebirds while all the remaining nest boxes are empty. — The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, Into the Mist, Parking Deck East and Parking Deck West boxes are all without occupants, the PKW nest having just fledged their five nestlings during the past week. The Butterfly House nest box, the last on the list of weekly inspections, has three bluebirdRead more
Little Bear and Some Late Spring Encounters
Top Photo: Little Bear by the waterfall. Little Bear’s pelage stands out among our three black bears occupying the Black Bear Enclosure. The following are subjects you might encounter on our Outdoor Loop Trail in late spring to early summer, now. Two very common and widespread dragonflies, common whitetail and eastern amberwing are sure to be seen on any sunny day. Not as frequently seen but still common are Carolina saddlebags. They spend much of their time on the wing.Read more
Nest Box Update 5.14.24
Top Photo: eastern bluebird eggs. Of our six nest boxes, three hold bluebird eggs, two, five, and three for a total of ten eggs. The other three nest boxes are empty. — The Cow Pasture nest box still contains two bluebird eggs. There have been two eggs in this nest since at least April 30’s inspection of the nest boxes, two weeks ago. These eggs should have hatched. I’ve not seen adult bluebirds in the area. Has this nest beenRead more
Nest Box Update 5.7.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs. We now have four newly fledged chickadees getting lessons in survival in the woods and airspace of the museum. There are seven eastern bluebird eggs being incubated. — The Cow Pasture nest is all bluebird. The nest looks clean and although the two eggs in the nest are a bit mismatched they’re being incubated by a female eastern bluebird. She hopped off the nest as we arrived. The more round of the two eggs inRead more
Nest Box Update 4.9.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebirds eggs. All six of our nest boxes are occupied. Two contain chickadee nests and four are bluebird made. There are 18 eggs (5 chickadee, 13 bluebird) and 6 nestlings (all bluebird). —- The female bluebird who sits in the nest box in the Cow Pasture is incubating 5 eggs. There are 5 Carolina chickadee eggs in the nest box at Explore the Wild. An incubating bird flushed as we approached the nest box. One of theRead more
Nest Box Update 3.27.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebirds eggs. We have four active nests. Three nests hold a total of nine eggs and one contains five nestlings. All are bluebirds. —— The Cow Pasture nest box held an empty bluebird nest last week. Today it contains two bluebird eggs. The Explore the Wild nest box is empty, only a 1/2 pint berry basket inside. With a complete bluebird nest in the box last week, we now have four bluebird eggs to monitor at theRead more
Nest Box Update 3.19.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs from previous season. We now have four active nests, all bluebirds. Two of our six nest boxes remain empty, one typically used by chickadees is vacant and the other perhaps due to disturbances by humans. —— The nest box at the Cow Pasture has a new and complete bluebird nest inside. No eggs yet. Over the years, the Explore the Wild nest box which has been a reliable location for Carolina chickadees to build nests.Read more
Nest Box Update 3.12.24
Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs from previous season. On the fourth week of nest box inspections there is one active nest and five empty nest boxes. The Cow Pasture, Explore the Wild, and Into the Mist nest boxes are empty. Last week the nest box on the east side of the parking deck held one bluebird egg. Today there were five eggs in the nest. There was no sign of an adult in the area so it’s not clear whetherRead more