Fall Arrivals

  Most of our winter staples have arrived here at the Museum. There are a handful of birds that arrive each fall at about the same time; yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, yellow-bellied sapsucker, hermit thrush, white-throated sparrow, and dark-eyed junco. There are other land birds that come in each year but those six are the main characters in our winter troop of feathered players. I haven’t seen a junco or a hermit thrush yet, but they’ve been observed in the local area outside ofRead more

Nothing But Cape May

At the end of the day Wednesday (10/12/11), a handful of Cape May Warblers were again foraging in the elms and willows of Explore the Wild. Are they the same warblers as reported last week? I don’t know, but they very well could be, seems to be the same number of birds. There was a Magnolia and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in with the group. But here, are photos of the Cape Mays only as theyRead more
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The Butter-Butt

This year’s “Butter-Butt” goes to Ranger Kristin who saw the first Yellow-rumped Warbler (a.k.a. Butter-butt) of the season – beat me by about two minutes (10/5/11). However, she’s the one that pointed out the Butter Butt that I saw, so I probably wouldn’t have seen it if she hadn’t pointed it out. Congratulations Ranger Kristin! There are still more seasonal firsts to be had so don’t despair. The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and White-throated Sparrow, among others, have yetRead more

Mergs and other Birds

On Wednesday (11/3) there were four Hooded Mergansers in the Wetlands, two males and two females. A group of 8-9 Canada Geese dropped in for a few hours on Wednesday as well. Although these geese are of a non-migratory population, they’re usually absent during the summer months, returning in November. And, speaking of mutt ducks… There were many Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets working over the Mimosas next to the mid-way landing on the boardwalk Wednesday (11/3). Seen this pastRead more
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SAPSUCKER!

Just last month, Nathan Swick (Reservations and Memberships) walked away with the RCKI Award for spotting the first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season here at the Museum. Well, Nathan’s done it again. This time it’s the coveted Sapsucker Award for seeing the first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the season (10/8/10). Congrats Nathan! Nathan and I, along with Insectarium Manager, Leon Bradford, were standing near the trail-head of the Dinosaur Trail talking about the paucity of migrant birds here at the MuseumRead more

RCKI Award

And the RCKI* (pronounced, rick´e) goes to…Nathan Swick for spotting the first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season on 21 September, a day before the first official day of fall. The kinglet was seen by Nathan while he was birding out on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Trail during Senior Day here at the Museum. Congratulations Nathan! Who will receive the much coveted “Sapsucker” this year? Not to diminish Nathan’s accomplishment, but the Sapsucker’s arrival is the one that catchesRead more

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

There’s Always the Birds…

With the low temperatures of the 15th-18th of this month, the Wetlands iced over enough to force the Hooded Mergansers to take flight and seek bigger water where they could swim and dive for fish. One merganser returned on January 24 and four were in attendance on the 29th of the month. Canada Geese remained as long as there were small pockets of open water. They too finally departed as snow and more cold weather moved in on the 21stRead more