Summer Posts

What happened to the eggs, the turtles? by , Ranger

September 26th, 2011

It was May. Aquatic turtles of various species were up and walking along the paths and woods of the Museum’s outdoor exhibits, in fact, they could be seen throughout the entire Museum grounds. They were looking for suitable nest sites. When looking for nest sites turtles most often choose sites alongside roads, paths or mulched planting [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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A flurry of activity by , Ranger

September 16th, 2011

It’s 58 degrees outside, about thirty degrees cooler than yesterday. It was bright and sunny yesterday, complete cloud cover today. But, along with the cold front, clouds and drizzle came some birds and a surprise herp. Nothing overwhelming, but a flurry of activity, just enough to keep the casual birder and herper happy. For the [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Sandpiper Solitaire by , Ranger

September 15th, 2011

After the rains of Tropical Storm Lee last week the water level in the Wetlands is back to normal. Prior to the rains the water had been quite low exposing much of the muddy bottom of the pond, great habitat for foraging migrant shorebirds. On September 1, a Solitary Sandpiper dropped in to take advantage of [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Fall by , Ranger

September 14th, 2011

There’s little doubt that fall is here. Warblers and other migrant birds are trickling through, the raccoons, groundhogs, and fox are feeding more heavily, and, as mentioned in a previous post, snakes are moving about more. Here’s just a few more signs of the season before us. And, not necessarily a sign of fall but [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Fox by , Ranger

September 10th, 2011

Can you find the fox in the photo? If you don’t see the Gray Fox in the photo, don’t worry, I’ll show you where it is in a few minutes. I catch glimpses of our resident Gray Fox about every other week. Sometimes it’s a quick look as one of them rushes across the path, [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Copperheads: Part II by , Ranger

September 8th, 2011

Not more than twenty minutes after seeing the first copperhead in Explore the Wild (8/26/11), another call came in from Rachael (Entomology Specialist) that a snake was on the path near the head of the Dinosaur Trail. Rushing off to that location, we discovered a larger Copperhead more accustomed to the presence of humans, it was [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Copperheads: Part I by , Ranger

September 7th, 2011

Prompted by a call over the radio about a Copperhead on the path on the far side of the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop, and after some deliberation as to whether or not I wanted to go all the way out to the site chasing something that could be long gone by the time [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Turtle Tracks by , Ranger

September 3rd, 2011

The low water in the Wetlands is making it more difficult for the resident turtles to make their way around their old stomping grounds. It also makes it easier to see where they’ve been and where they were going by those who observe such things.   Read the rest of this entry »

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A young Duck and a young Turtle by , Ranger

September 1st, 2011

First, click here, come back, and then we’ll talk about it. Photographer Bill Majoros captured the photo (linked to above) at Duke Gardens here in Durham, NC. The duck is a young male Wood Duck and the turtle looks to be a Red Ear Slider although I’m not positive about the turtle’s ID. According to [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Quiz Birds!! by , Ranger

August 31st, 2011

Once again it’s time for you to test your bird identification skills by answering the question in the caption on the photo. Clues to use: I am a bird of the marsh. I, my brethren and cousins, form huge flocks in winter. I am the name and mascot of a minor league baseball team whose major [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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