Author Archives: Greg Dodge, Ranger
Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates
Fish Crows continued to fly over on Tuesday (3/9). I searched my personal audio library that I keep for video soundtracks and found a file that contains the nasal calls of the Fish Crows as they wing by. Have a listen here: [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
The same day, Spring Peepers, Upland Chorus [...]
Posted in Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Spring Tagged American Toad, blimp, chorus frog, Fish Crow, Fragile Forktail, frog audio, herps, odes, Pickerel Frog, Spring Peeper 4 Comments
Fish Crow and Lep Update
Though Fish Crows have been seen and heard in our area (Piedmont) for several weeks, Saturday (3/6) was the first sighting for me at the Museum. If I hadn’t heard them first I would have passed them off as American Crows. Although Fish Crows are a bit smaller the two species look very much alike. [...]
Posted in Birds, Insects and Other Arthropods, Spring Tagged American Crow, crow calls, Fish Crow, Spring Leave a comment
Buds and Birds
Some pre-spring happenings at the Museum…
Get outdoors and have a look around for yourself, and let me know what you see!
Posted in Birds, Flora, Mammals, Spring, Winter Tagged Carolina Chickadee, Cooper's Hawk, elm buds, Red Maple, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Spring Leave a comment
Red tails, Red breasts, and a Nervous NOMO
As a follow-up to the Spring? posting of February 25th regarding the questions on the Red-tailed Hawks:
A few hours after posting the above, I was out in Catch the Wind and observed a pair of Red-tailed Hawks performing their aerial courtship flight. I didn’t get the whole sequence of events on film (digital), and the [...]
Posted in Birds, Winter Tagged American Robin, courtship display, nomo, Northern Mockingbird, Red-tailed Hawk Leave a comment
The Day of the Fox
Gray Fox are seen here at the Museum throughout the year. I sometimes see their tracks in the mud on service roads and there is a den in the woods near the Dinosaur Trail.
The frequency of sightings usually picks up in mid-winter. Over the past few weeks there have been numerous sightings by myself, Museum [...]
Very Old Rocks
If, before entering, you happen to read the signage at the Fossil Dig Site on the Dinosaur Trail, you will discover that the material through which you are about to search for fossils is of the coastal plain and not of the Piedmont. The gray, coarse material in the Dig Site was shipped in from [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged diabase, dinosaur trail, Fossil, geology, intrusive igneous, molten rock, quarry, triassic basin 2 Comments
Aloft at the Museum
If you look skyward while walking the trails through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind you’re likely to see one of five hawks or vultures which are regular visitors to the Museum.
Turkey Vultures are a daily sight as they soar, dip and bank across the Museum’s airspace.
The slightly smaller Black Vulture, while seen at [...]
Posted in Birds, Winter Tagged Black Vulture, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Cooper's Hawk, nest hole, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture Leave a comment
Snakes!