The Mallards which had so discreetly nested in the Wetlands (Explore the Wild Journal, June 16-30) are being seen daily in front of the Wetlands Overlook. It appears that all 7 ducklings survived to adulthood. Canada Geese have returned to the Wetlands after a two-month absence. On August 23 I saw a Northern Waterthrush walking [...] Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for August, 2008
Is that a Moccasin?
August 31st, 2008I’ve said this before, snakes have been putting on a show in the Wetlands. The one pictured at right sat out in the open for quite a while at the foot of the boardwalk near the main Black Bear Overlook while many Museum guests got great looks at it. Understandably, upon first viewing this snake [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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Some Most Unusual Beetles and other Goodies
August 31st, 2008While watching a small Northern Water Snake stalk frogs from the Wetlands Overlook, I happened to see something wiggling amongst the dense plants in the water. A quick look through my binoculars revealed two large Predaceous Diving Beetle larvae locked in mortal combat, one had a death grip on the other. These larvae were quite [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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Two Yellow Flowers
August 31st, 2008Partridge Pea is blooming, most notably, just as you enter Catch the Wind from Explore the Wild on the back side of the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Note the fern-like compound leaves and the five yellow, different-sized petals on the flowers (image here). The flowers often appear as if they’re not quite fully [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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A Wood Duck and a Cuckoo
August 15th, 2008A Wood Duck flew into the Wetlands at dusk during the Museum’s Black Light Insect Hunt (read about the Black Light Insect Hunt). Yellow-billed Cuckoos spend much of their time lurking about high up in the trees. I most often see them when they’re flying from one tree to another, and it appears that they’re [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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Tree-climbing Turtle, Snakes vs. Frogs
August 15th, 2008In a previous Journal entry (Explore the Wild Journal, July 1-15) I mentioned having seen a Stinkpot, or Eastern Musk Turtle, in the Wetlands. I also mentioned that they’ve been known to climb trees, as high as 6 feet up. On August 3rd I saw one in a Willow about 50 feet off the Wetlands [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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The Cryptic and The Conspicuous
August 15th, 2008All grasshoppers are well camouflaged, usually for life, in the grass or on leaves. Pinetree Spurthroated Grasshoppers (Melanoplus punctulatus) look a bit like lichen-covered tree bark. I found one on the trunk of an Oak Tree. As you can see from the two images below (#1 and #2), they blend in quite well. Treehoppers are [...] Read the rest of this entry »
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Two Late Bloomers
August 15th, 2008Morning Glory is blooming at the small Wetlands Overlook near the Lemur House, and Goldenrod is in bloom at various locations around the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop. There should be more Goldenrod flowers as the season progresses. Goldenrod attracts many insects to its tiny, clustered flowers. Read the rest of this entry »
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