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 the rest of this entry »
Archive for April, 2009
Early Nesters, Arrivals, Delayed Departures
April 30th, 2009It 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 the rest of this entry »
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A Little Brown Snake, Calling Frogs, and Stewed Turtles
April 30th, 2009A 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 the rest of this entry »
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The Wheel, a Hopper, a Borer, and a Carpet Beetle
April 30th, 2009Dragonfly 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 the rest of this entry »
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A Few Flowers and a Photo Quiz
April 30th, 2009Blue-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 the rest of this entry »
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Snakes Mingle, Snappers Tumble, and Yellow-bellies Hatch
April 15th, 2009Each 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 the rest of this entry »
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Butterflies, Dragons, Tent Dwellers, a Forester, and a Tiger
April 15th, 2009Fragile 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 the rest of this entry »
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Conspicuous, and not so Conspicuous, Bloomers
April 15th, 2009Sycamores, 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 the rest of this entry »
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