I wish the best of luck all of those birds represented on the map as purple dots (above link), we still have plenty of winter remaining. The temperature drops as I sit here typing. It will be in the twenties tonight and we’ll be lucky to reach 40 tomorrow, not weather conducive to flying insect (martin food) activity.

Not long after this tranquil scene the egret flew off over the pines to the north.

GBH-2 on a familiar perch, a Loblolly Pine waiting for GBH-1 to go to sleep.

The bounty of fish is gone. The shiners that once lay within easy reach of all who munch fish in our little Wetlands have either dispersed or been dispatched. No more can the egret and herons pick off shiners at their leisure at the edge of the Wetlands. They now have to work for every fish, tadpole, frog, or crayfish that they catch, which is probably why egret and heron are nowhere to be seen.

It’s been just about a week since I’ve seen the egret in the above photo, longer since the last time I laid eyes on GBH-2, our visiting blue heron.

Even the number of mergansers is down. In fact, I saw no mergansers this morning as I made my rounds in Explore the Wild (2/7/12). The Wetlands is very quiet.

Now that I think about it, it wasn’t all that quiet out there this morning. The Red-shouldered Hawks were up soaring, stooping, calling out and just plain showing off for their potential mates. Very noisy, they are.

Cardinals were singing, the Eastern Phoebe was vigorously calling out to any females in the area (I don’t think there’s any other Phoebes on site though), and the bluebirds have been seen investigating their nest boxes. Even the titmice and nuthatches are vocalizing.

I didn’t hear any frogs (peepers) though. The cold nights must have put them back in their places.

Have a good one!

A few birds…

A Downy Woodpecker works on gaining entry to a Trumpet Vine seed pod.

A resident Northern Mockingbird hangs out in a holly, one of the trees under the bird's guardianship in Explore the Wild.

Several turtles…

Crawling out on a boulder in the Wetlands, this Yellow-bellied Slider is responding to unseasonably warm weather (12/22/11).

Another yellow-bellied enjoys the sun several weeks later (1/12/12).

And the heat goes on…

This slider catches some late afternoon warmth at the base of a willow (1/24/12).

What looks to be the same turtle as above was out the very next day (1/25/12).

And something left over from summer…

An Eastern Tent Caterpillar egg mass on a small cherry tree along the Dinosaur Trail.

The other side of the egg mass reveals what seems to be an attempt by a bird to get at the eggs within. Or did some of the caterpillars hatch thinking it spring? The black-topped eggs are empty eggs.

It wouldn’t be out of the question for those eggs to have hatched. It is very much like spring on this last week of January. The Red-shouldered Hawks were up performing their aerial courtship displays, I saw a spider wasp carrying a spider along one of the service roads here at the Museum, Spring Peepers have been heard calling (on my drive home Saturday I heard chorus frogs!), the male Belted Kingfisher was in town trying to impress our female with his fish catching prowess (she was having none of it and chased him off), and Jennifer Armstrong (Exhibits) reported seeing a red-shouldered with a snake!

And there’s much more, but you have to be there to see it. So, get out and have a look around!

Great Blue Heron.

Great Egret peering into the water.

The heron in the above photo is actually looking down at me, not a fish, but you get the idea. The heron was in a pine tree above the path in Explore the Wild.

What’s interesting about the photo is that it clearly illustrates the fact that herons have binocular vision and can see objects beyond and below their bills, helpful if you make your living plucking fish out of the water. Among land or air based predators binocular vision is the norm.

While herons’ eyes are placed on the sides of their heads allowing them to see potential trouble heading their way from the side, they are far enough forward that both eyes can be used to peer down into the water at their prey. Two eyes are better than one when trying to gauge position and distance.

Herons are able to detect trouble approaching from the sides as well as watch for prey below.

Birds such as mallards, and mammals like rabbits, have their eyes placed high and laterally dead center on their heads allowing them a 360 degree view of the world. It’s tough to sneak up on either. Although herons can’t see directly behind themselves, a simple turn of that long flexible neck lets them quickly checkout who’s sneaking up from behind. They give up some of their ability to see potential predators approaching from the rear in order to have bino vision, but you still have be be on you tippy toes to sneak up on them.

OK, so a heron can see with binocular vision helping it gauge the distance and location of the object of its attention (fish in water), but how does it deal with refraction? You know, when you put a stick into the water it looks like it’s bent. The light is bent by the different (relative to the air) refractive properties of the water. Unless the fish is on the surface, say it’s 6 inches or so under the water, it isn’t actually where it looks like it is. How does the heron allow for refraction when jabbing at a fish in water?

I’ll leave that one to you.

Red-shouldered Hawk in Explore the Wild.

People who are not familiar with the species often look at me with confused eyes when I tell them that the hawk perched in the trees before them in the swamp here at the Museum is a Red-shouldered Hawk. Why would they name this hawk “red-shouldered,” and where are the red shoulders?

A Red-tailed Hawk has a brick-red tail. That name makes sense. The Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) has a reddish belly and chest. Why not name the hawk Red-bellied, or Red-breasted Hawk? Even the Latin name for this hawk doesn’t give a clue as to why it’s named red-shouldered, Buteo lineatus means lined or striped hawk.

RSHAs have a reddish patch of feathers, which comprise most of the secondary upper wing coverts, that stretch from the actual shoulder of the wing to the wrist. The red “shoulder” is not always visible on perched birds.

The red patch is not always obvious when the bird is perched (same bird as above).

It’s a different story when the birds take flight or have their wings stretched out to preen, or when dealing with prey.

The reddish colored upper wing coverts (so-called shoulder) are obvious in flight (photo - 10/09).

This RSHA has just dropped in on a frog in the Wetlands. Note the red wing patches (photo - 4/10).

So, now you know why the Red-shouldered Hawk is called a “Red-shouldered” Hawk. But wait, what are secondary wing coverts?

Coverts are relatively small feathers that overlap and cover the bases of the larger flight feathers on a bird’s wing, the primaries and secondaries. The coverts that cover the bases of the primary feathers are called primary coverts. You can probably guess what the coverts that cover the bases of the secondaries are, that’s right, secondary coverts.

There are coverts on both upper and lower surfaces of the wing to cover both sides of the flight feather bases. The coverts are further divided into groups as the greater primary covers, median primary coverts, lesser primary coverts, marginal primary coverts…there are also coverts that cover the bases of the tail feathers…their purpose is to create a continuous, smooth surface across the wing, or tail, which aids considerably in the act of flying, less drag.

GBH-1 on the far side of the Wetlands.

For the past several years we’ve had a Great Blue Heron (GBH) in the Wetlands on nearly a daily basis. It seems to be the same blue heron, or at least it behaves in the same manner each time that I see it, it’s people shy and stays on the far side of the Wetlands when people are present. Other GBHs come into our Wetlands from time to time, I’ve seen as many as three at a time foraging amongst the willows, but most of them do not exhibit the same wariness as the “local” GBH (we’ll call our heron GBH-1).

For the most part, other than the mergansers and kingfisher who compete with the heron for food, the Wetlands belongs to GBH-1 and he, or she, has it all to itself, especially during the winter months. Lately though we’ve had a Great Egret staying with us and another GBH (GBH-2) has been drawn to our little oasis for the many tadpoles and shiners swimming about in the shallows. The word is out!

The egret jabs at a fish just feet from the boardwalk.

and comes up a winner.

The new arrivals are not quite as reluctant as GBH-1 to take advantage of the abundant shiner population along the edges of the Wetlands during peak visitor hours. You can often see the egret feeding a few feet from shore while GBH-1 sits over on the far side of the Wetlands resting, preening, or just waiting out the crowd of human visitors.

GBH-1 escorts egret from the area (the size difference is exaggerated here, the heron is closer to the camera).

Of late, the competition has apparently become too much for GBH-1 to bear, he’s taken to harrying the intruders at every chance. In the past few weeks I’ve seen GBH-1 repeatedly chase the other heron and egret off into the woods or out beyond my line of sight up and over the pines. They always seem to come back though, or sit it out among the dense branches of the willows or pines or even on the boardwalk railing until GBH-1 is not watching.

It's amazing to watch these large birds maneuver through the trees (wingspan about two meters).

GBH-2 waits for the all-clear before heading down to the water.

Stepping lightly, GBH-2 heads towards the abundant fish in the smartweed just a few short yards away.

Too late, GBH-1 has spotted GBH-2 and is on the way to roust the intruder.

All of these herons know that there is a rich supply of shiners and tadpoles in one little corner of the Wetlands. That supply is dwindling as the fish and tadpoles get eaten by the birds. But while it lasts, is it worth protecting?

GBH-1 spends much time and energy chasing after the two newcomers. But although GBH-2 and the egret spend more time than they’d like fleeing GBH-1, they also sneak quite a bit of time eating while GBH-1 is sitting on a rock, afraid to approach the edge of the Wetlands because of the human traffic going by.

I watched the egret for about fifteen minutes while it stood in the smartweed and saw it catch five fish and a tadpole. Every fish or tadpole that egret eats is potentially one less for GBH-1. GBH-1 relies on this Wetlands for its daily sustenance. It’s a matter of life and death for these birds, all of them. Although we’ve had a very mild winter so far, that could change at any time. Cold weather means more fuel needed to feed the engine that powers these birds. GBH-1 obviously feels that this Wetlands is a resource it will fight for.

Although it’s not fun and games for the herons, I’ve haven’t seen any of the birds make contact, actually strike one another. Too risky, even a minor injury could be fatal in the long run for these birds. A sprained limb, or worse, a broken limb, would almost certainly bring eventual death to a heron. It’s better to chase-and-run than do actual combat.

As I said, it’s not fun and games for the birds, but it’s certainly fun, and interesting, for us humans to watch the birds jostle for position in the Wetlands. I just hope that GBH-1 can maintain the pace. I have a feeling, though, that there will be fewer harrying sallies as the season progresses. I think that GBH-1 will give in to the other birds’ presence. GBH-2 and the egret don’t seem to be taking the hint, and GBH-1 can’t keep it up forever.

———————————

What’s the difference between an egret and a heron? Not much. Along with bitterns, herons and egrets comprise the family Ardeidae. The term egret is generally used to describe the white plumaged members of that family, although the Reddish Egret has both a white and dark form, the dark form having a blue-gray body and reddish neck feathers.

There is also a white form of the Great Blue Heron and the Little Blue Heron is white for the first year of its life, turning blue the following spring after hatching. Confused? Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be totally wrong if you called an egret a heron.

The word egret comes from a French word, aigrette, meaning a fluff or plume of feathers worn as a hair or head ornament, or jewels depicting such. The pretty, long legged, long necked white birds that we now called egrets got their name from the fact that they wear long elegant looking plumes, mostly on their backs, during the breeding season. At one time the birds were harvested for those feathers which were most often used in the millinery trade, the birds were killed and their feathers put on headwear.

I had seen a sharp-shinned earlier in the day as it skillfully maneuvered through the trees behind the Lemur House chasing song birds. Sharp-shinneds eat song birds. The bird that I was looking at perched up by the wolves appeared to be the same bird as I had seen earlier. It missed catching the object of its pursuit through the wolf yard as it had that morning.

Just as quickly as it had arrived, the hawk was gone, off through the woods behind the wolf enclosure.

I noticed the female wolf, the huntress, pawing at something near the bottom of the fence at the top of the ridge. All of the wolf’s attention seemed concentrated on that one spot. Because of the angle, I couldn’t see what she was doing, although it appeared as though she had caught something.

The animal department had placed a few “cardboard sheep” in the enclosure earlier in the day as enrichment for the wolves. The boxes are made to look somewhat like sheep with legs, head, tail, and have sheep’s wool attached to give it some authenticity. The wolves typically tear them apart and you can see pieces of wool throughout the enclosure soon after the “sheep” are placed in the enclosure. Perhaps the wolf was playing with a piece of “cardboard sheep.”

After a few minutes of pawing, female 1287 turned around and I could see what looked like red feathers hanging from her lips. She turned again, this time a male cardinal dangled from her lips. She had captured a cardinal!

When the sharp-shinned hawk came zipping through the trees a few minutes earlier, all of the birds that had been peacefully feeding on the ground and shrubs inside the enclosure scattered. Apparently the cardinal had either slammed into the fence in the panic, or had sought shelter behind a rock up at the top of the wolf enclosure, which turned out to be not a rock, but a wolf, and was quickly pounced upon.

Once again, I did not have my camera with me, this time because it was raining (poor excuse, I know).

However, this little event demonstrates that what may be a tranquil, peaceful, even boring, scene at the time can turn into something very exciting, very quickly.

The link to the camera has changed and is now:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jordan-lake-eaglecam

You’ll have to watch a brief ad before you can see the nest, but it doesn’t last long so hang in there for 20-30 seconds and you’ll be able watch the adults incubate. You may even get a glimpse of the adults turn the eggs and readjust the nest a bit (I know, incubation is not very exciting, but it’s an eagle’s nest!).

Enjoy!

The first ice of the season on the Wetlands.

The ice will soon be history, all gone. I, or we, know that the ice will be gone within a day or two since the TV, internet, and radio tells us these things ahead of time. But for some of the creatures that live in and depend on the Wetlands for food, ice is not a good thing and it can’t be predicted when it will go away. The kingfisher who needs to dive into water to catch fish, the heron, egret, mergansers, and others don’t know when the ice will melt. Should they move on, or wait it out?

The birds can afford to hang out for a few days to see what will happen, after all, they have wings and can move to bigger water if things don’t improve. They can be at Falls Lake in minutes and there are many other local ponds that are a bit deeper than our Wetlands and which may not freeze as quickly.

A frozen shiner.

The photos that you see here were taken on January 4th and show some of the birds who decided to stick it out long enough to see if the water would open up for them.

But first, some of the shiners which have been huddled up in a shallow corner of the Wetlands for nearly a month now did not fare well. However, most of them, the ones not yet eaten by the birds that you see in the photos, are still splashing around in the water and have actually kept a small bit of water open because of their thrashing about.

The Great Egret (below) is probably the same bird seen in the Wetlands on the 22nd of December (it was also seen on the 24th).

The new addition to the Wetlands, a Great Egret, rests while the ice melts.

This egret is more people tolerant than its larger relative, the Great Blue Heron, and allows for a closer approach.

A closer look at our new friend.

Kingfisher and GBH decide to stay and see what happens.

The hawk looks over its shoulder at some, unheard by me, noise coming from behind.

One of the local Red-shouldered Hawks has resumed its hunting strategy of sitting quietly in the willows watching for the slightest movement to pounce on any unsuspecting frog, tadpole, shrew, or rat.

Despite the cold, it was a good day to be outside.

By the way, it may reach sixty degrees by the end of the week! Are you going to be sitting inside reading blogs about nature, or outside experiencing some of the things those blogs speak about?

A Hermit Thrush just off the Boardwalk in Explore the Wild (12/16/11).

Besides the familiar American Robin and Eastern Bluebird, the Hermit Thrush is the only other thrush that you’re likely to encounter in our area during winter. If you have a desire to see a Hermit Thrush during this time of year it’s best to look in low lying areas and riparian woodlands. More importantly, your chances of finding one increase dramatically when there’s a supply of berries nearby. Although Hermit Thrushes eat mainly insects in summer, they switch over to fruit in winter. Still, they won’t turn up their noses, or bills, at a juicy beetle larva or butterfly in winter.

Hermit Thrushes spend the summer several states to the north of us, except along the Appalachians. In North Carolina they may be found above 5,000 feet in spruce-fir forests during the breeding season.

I can’t guarantee it, but you may be able to see one here at the Museum by walking the paths through the Dino Trail, Explore the Wild, or Catch the Wind. They’re definitely here, just can’t guarantee that you’ll see one.

Two Field Sparrows feed along the path in Catch the Wind (12/16/11).

Field Sparrows are common, year-round residents throughout North Carolina. Their preferred habitat is fallow or overgrown fields or edges. There’s not much habitat here at the Museum for Field Sparrows so I usually only see them during spring and fall as they move around in search of suitable terrain for foraging and or nesting. Field Sparrows feed on the ground taking insects and seeds.

Visit an overgrown field with plenty of tall herbaceous growth (tall grasses, etc.) during spring and listen to this sparrow’s rolling trill of a song, it’s one of my favorites.