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Can Groundhogs Swim?

You already know that groundhogs climb trees, right? If you didn’t know that, now you do, they can climb trees. But can they swim? I believe that every animal has the ability to swim. Cats don’t like to swim, but if you throw one, or should I say, if one falls into the water, you will most certainly see a cat swim. The question then, should be, do they want to, do they like to, or do they voluntarily swim? As farRead more
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Green Heron

From April thru September Green Herons are in our Wetlands nearly every day, if not every day. However, they’re not always visible, they spend much of their time hidden from view silently perched just above the water’s surface or quietly stalking fish, tadpoles, or insects among the willow branches and roots. But, every once in a while I hear a loud squawky “skew” coming from the brush or catch a glimpse of one of these small herons out in theRead more
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Turtles and, Oh Yeah, Spring!

Keep an eye out for turtles on the rocks and tree stumps in the Wetlands as you stroll through Explore the Wild. Yes, even in winter we see turtles out basking here at the Museum, especially on bright sunny days in the high fifties, sixties and above. It’s mostly sliders, but this past Tuesday (2/12) I even saw a painted turtle taking advantage of the relatively warm winter sunshine. This weekend is forecast to be quite chilly, so you mayRead 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

More goings on

If you’ve been walking through Explore the Wild over the past several weeks you may have seen what looks like snow blowing along on the breeze. Of course, it’s been too warm to snow, so what is that white fluffy stuff floating through the air down by the Wetlands? It’s seed dispersal in action. Groundsel Tree has been spreading its seeds across the landscape via the wind. Like willow in the spring, milkweed in the late summer, and of courseRead 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
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Bullfrogs and Meadowhawks

The unseasonably warm weather last week brought out more than a few bullfrogs. I see these frogs throughout the winter so they won’t completely disappear when the temperature drops again, as it’s already doing as I write. The warmer weather of last week also brought out the meadowhawks. Although I saw the first of the season meadowhawk on October 12, it had been a few weeks since I’d seen another. The meadowhawk above was only feet from a chalk drawingRead more
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Last Week

The photos shown here are from last week, before Sandy rolled by bringing with her damp easterly, northeasterly, northerly, northwesterly and now still wet and nasty westerly winds. It will again be sunny and relatively warm, but until then have a look at a handful of pre-Sandy photos (just be glad you don’t live in New Jersey, or West Virginia, or….). And finally… What will turn up this week?  Read more