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 [...] Read more...
During the last week in November I noticed a group of tadpoles individually surfacing and then quickly submerging in the murky water in the northwest corner of the Wetlands. There’s a pipe in that corner of the Wetlands which drains the higher ground above it. I’m not sure why this area is popular with tadpoles [...] Read more...
On October 28, as I rounded the bend in the path where it enters Catch the Wind from Explore the Wild, I noticed two women with strollers looking intently down at the ground. I couldn’t see what they were looking at but I heard the word “snake” and immediately quickened my pace. The object of [...] Read more...
Green Treefrogs are still being seen in the vegetation along the north side for the Wetlands, and have now been spotted along the path going up towards Catch the Wind (between the Lemur House and Catch the Wind). Finally, after approximately 8 weeks, a Northern Water Snake made an appearance in the Wetlands on both the 14th and 20th [...] Read more...
More and more young Green Treefrogs are being seen each day in the tall grass on the north side of the Wetlands. Look for them resting on the long, wide blades of grass on the Wetalnds side of the path. The grass is quite tall (3-5 feet) so you don’t have to bend down to [...] Read more...
It was still raining on July 5 as I headed out to the Wetlands along the paved path on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind loop. As I walked along, I could see ahead of me small frogs hopping to the left and to the right, hopping to get out of the way as I [...] Read more...
Green Frogs seemed more vocal this period than in previous weeks. Northern Cricket Frogs can still be heard in the Wetlands, although with less frequency. Many Bullfrog tadpoles have morphed into adults during the past few weeks, evidenced by the dozens of miniature Bullfrogs poking their little heads above the water of the Wetlands. Yellow-bellied Turtles [...] Read more...
Snakes!
March 10th was the day! A little after noon I spotted the first-of-the-season Northern Water Snake coiled up under a Baldcypress at the bottom of the boardwalk in the Wetlands. The same day, Lead Animal Keeper Kristen spied a Copperhead along the path in Explore the Wild. And today, Lead Horticulturists Joe found several Rough Earth Snakes (Virginia [...] Read more...