Monthly Archives: April 2009

Where are the Groundhogs?

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 30, 2009

Look for Groundhogs at the top of the boardwalk near the entrance to Explore the Wild, in the rocks at the bottom of the boardwalk as it levels out in the Wetlands, between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild on the back side of the loop, and at the Bird Feeder Exhibit. There’s no [...] Read more...

Posted in Mammals, Spring | Tagged groundhog | Leave a comment

Birds
Spring

Early Nesters, Arrivals, Delayed Departures

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 30, 2009

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 [...] Read more...

Posted in Birds, Spring | Tagged Baltimore Oriole, bird migration., bird song, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Carolina Chickadee, Cedar Waxwing, Chimney Swift, Common Grackle, Eastern Palm Warbler, Gray Catbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Green Heron, House Wren, Northern Parula, Pine Siskin, Prothonotary Warbler, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-throated Sparrow, Wood Thrush, Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow-rumped Warbler | Leave a comment

A Little Brown Snake, Calling Frogs, and Stewed Turtles

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 30, 2009

A small Brown Snake delighted a group of schoolchildren as it attempted to cross the paved path just below the Lemur House. The tiny snake, unable to gain traction on the relatively smooth macadam to propel itself forward, kept sliding sideways down the path as it wriggled along in high gear. With much effort, and [...] Read more...

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians, Spring | Tagged Brown Snake, Bullfrog, frog song, Gray Treefrog, Green Treefrog, Northern Cricket Frog, Red-shouldered Hawk, tadpole | Leave a comment

The Wheel, a Hopper, a Borer, and a Carpet Beetle

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 30, 2009

Dragonfly and damselfly species are picking up. Seen this period were (dates next to names indicate day in which that species was first observed this season) Fragile Forktail, Citrine Forktail (4/18), Orange Bluet (4/27), Skimming Bluet (4/28), Common Green Darner, Swamp Darner, Common Baskettail, Eastern Pondhawk (4/25), Blue Corporal (4/25), Blue Dasher (4/27), Common Whitetail, [...] Read more...

Posted in Insects and Other Arthropods, Spring | Tagged (Anthrenus verbasci), (Chalcophora virginiensis), (Schistocerca americana), American Bird Grasshoppers, American Lady, American Snout, Black Saddlebags, Blue Corporal, Blue Dasher, Citrine Forktail, Cloudless Sulphur, Common Baskettail, Common Green Darner, Common Whitetail, copulation wheel, Eastern Pondhawk, Fragile Forktail, Hummingbird Moth, Monarch, Mourning Cloak, Orange Bluet, Pearl Crescent, Powdered Dancer, Questionmark, Red-banded Hairstreak, Red-spotted Purple, Skimming Bluet, Southern Cloudywing, Swamp Darner, Varied Carpet Beetle, Virginia Pine Borer | Leave a comment

Flora
Spring

A Few Flowers and a Photo Quiz

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 30, 2009

Blue-eyed Grass, Buttercups and Ox-eye Daisy are in flower. Fringe Tree, or Old Man’s Beard, is also in bloom. You can see this small tree or shrub with its unusual, stringy, white flowers on the left side of the path just before entering the Red Wolf Exhibit and next to the path between Catch the [...] Read more...

Posted in Flora, Spring | Tagged American Sycamore, Black Locust, Blue-eyed Grass, Buttercups, Eastern Cottonwood, Flowering Dogwood, Fringe Tree, Loblolly Pine, Old Man’s Beard, Ox-eye Daisy, Poison Ivy, Red Maple, Redbud, tree photo quiz, Tulip or Yellow Poplar, Virginia Creeper | Leave a comment

Birds
Spring

Mergs depart, Early Arrivals, and the Dreaded Cowbirds

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 15, 2009

I hadn’t seen a Hooded Merganser in the Wetlands since March. On the clear, cool morning of the 10th, there was a lone female swimming circles in the open water of the Wetlands. By mid-morning the bird took flight, circled the Wetlands once and headed off in a northwesterly direction. Will the mergansers return? My [...] Read more...

Posted in Birds, Spring | Tagged Barn Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Broad-winged Hawk, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Hooded Merganser, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, spring migrants, Tree Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Worm-eating Warbler | 2 Comments

Snakes Mingle, Snappers Tumble, and Yellow-bellies Hatch

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 15, 2009

Each day that I visited the Wetlands during the first half of April I was able to locate from four to six different Northern Water Snakes. Towards afternoon of each day, there were at least four of these variably colored snakes on a near horizontal Black Willow trunk no more than a dozen feet from [...] Read more...

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians, Spring | Tagged Common Snapping Turtle, Gray Treefrogs, mating, Northern Cricket Frog, Northern Water Snake, Yellow-bellied Turtle | Leave a comment

Butterflies, Dragons, Tent Dwellers, a Forester, and a Tiger

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 15, 2009

Fragile Forktails continue to emerge from the Wetlands (see Fragile Forktail, Explore the Wild Journal, March 16-31, 2009), although I’m now seeing females as well as males. Among the other odes observed during the first half of April were Common Green Darner, Swamp Darner, Common Baskettail, and Common Whitetail. Butterflies seen this period were Eastern [...] Read more...

Posted in Insects and Other Arthropods, Spring | Tagged (Alypia octomaculata), (Cinindela sexgutata), and Juvenal’s Duskywing, April, Cabbage White, Common Baskettail, Common Green Darner, Common Whitetail, defoliating, dragonflies, Eastern Tent Caterpillar, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern-tailed Blue, Eight-spotted Forester, Fragile Forktail, labrum, Mourning Cloak, Olive Hairstreak, Orange Sulphur, Silver-spotted Skipper, Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, Swamp Darner | Leave a comment

Flora
Spring

Conspicuous, and not so Conspicuous, Bloomers

By Greg Dodge, Ranger | Published: April 15, 2009

Sycamores, sweetgums, hornbeams, mulberries, maples, and willows on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop are all well on their way to being fully leafed. Bald Cypress, the only southern conifer that loses its leaves in winter, is showing fresh new growth. The ashes are lagging behind and are just now starting to spring forth [...] Read more...

Posted in Flora, Spring | Tagged Bald Cypress, Black Willow, Bluets, Carolina Jessamine, Flowering Dogwood, hornbeams, maples, mulberries, southern conifer, sweetgums, Sycamores, Wax Myrtle, Wisteria | Leave a comment

Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.

Tags: Bald Cypress, Black Willow, Bluets, Carolina Jessamine, Flowering Dogwood, hornbeams, maples, mulberries, southern conifer, sweetgums, Sycamores, Wax Myrtle, Wisteria