Archive for December, 2008

Looking Back: Birds by , Ranger

December 31st, 2008

With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Below, in the appropriate segments, I give totals for some of the species seen since January of last year. There were 101 species of bird observed during 2008 at the [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Looking back: Herps by , Ranger

December 31st, 2008

With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Below, in the appropriate segments, I give totals for some of the species seen since January of last year. Following a week of relatively warm, cloudy, misty, and drizzly weather, [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Looking Back: Insects by , Ranger

December 31st, 2008

With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Below, in the appropriate segments, I give totals for some of the species seen since January of last year. This past year I’ve tallied 27 species of odonates (dragonflies and [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Looking Back: Flora by , Ranger

December 31st, 2008

With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. With plenty of rain and no deep freezes during spring, it was a fairly good year for the berry, seed, and nut crop. Many people in the Triangle area are [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Season’s Greetings by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

It appears that at least one of the Hooded Mergansers of the Wetlands has caught the Holiday Spirit. Read the rest of this entry »

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Castor canadensis by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

Coming soon, the Wetlands Beaver (image at left). Read the rest of this entry »

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Gulls and Warblers by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

On the 3rd of December three Ring-billed Gulls flew over the Museum. In the grand scheme, this is really not a standout moment. Ring-billed Gulls are common in the area during late fall to mid spring and abundant during the winter months at local reservoirs and, during periods of bad weather, mall parking lots. I [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Tadpole Activity? by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

I, and several Museum Staff and Guests, noticed a swarm of Bullfrog tadpoles at the northwest corner of the Wetlands during the first part of December. Water is flowing through a pipe and emptying into the water at that corner of the Wetlands. Tadpoles had collected around the pipe in large numbers. I can’t say [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Where Are the Insects? by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

Few insects have been reported over the past several weeks — it’s cold outside! But, even with the colder weather there are still insects among us. If you look hard enough you can find a few crickets under the grass alongside the path on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop, perhaps a grasshopper, or [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Gum Balls and Mistletoe by , Ranger

December 15th, 2008

This is a good time of year to look up among the bare branches of the trees for what couldn’t be seen when they were covered with leaves. The seeds of Sweetgums are enclosed in ball-shaped “fruits” or husks. The seeds are eaten by many birds and animals. In the two images at the top [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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