Comments for Greg Dodge Journal

Comment on Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates by Greg Dodge, Ranger

Greg Dodge, Ranger — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:10:54 +0000

I didn’t hear of the snake that Kristen saw, but there was a Northern Water Snake next to the boardwalk in the Wetlands. Pictures to follow (Thursday).
A few other new arrivals will be reported as well.

Comment on Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates by Greg Dodge, Ranger

Greg Dodge, Ranger — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:04:14 +0000

Thanks, you should have heard the peepers calling out at closing time today (3/10)!

Comment on The Big White Tree with the Peeling Bark by Greg Dodge, Ranger

Greg Dodge, Ranger — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:55:31 +0000

That’s right, the seeds are ready to disperse. The balls break apart and the seeds are cast to the wind. In fact, with the steady SW winds today (Wednesday, 3/10) I saw many of the seeds floating by me like little paratroopers as I stood on the boardwalk and elsewhere in Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind.

Comment on Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates by Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:49:23 +0000

I heard report of the first snake on the path of the season today from Keeper Kristen!

Comment on Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates by Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:08:13 +0000

Great post! Love the sounds (and the blimp – ha ha!)

Comment on The Big White Tree with the Peeling Bark by Leslie A

Leslie A — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:46:21 +0000

Thanks for the post!! Very informative, if not totally conclusive. I was looking at the sycamores again yesterday and noticed that, along with their fruit balls, there were what looked like some little balls of fluff hanging from the branches. I guess the seeds are about ready to disperse? Has the warmer weather awakened them?

Comment on The Big White Tree with the Peeling Bark by Joseph Caswell

Joseph Caswell — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:52:03 +0000

We have a tree like that in our yard and we never knew what kind of a tree it was. Know we know…

Comment on Spring? by Greg Dodge, Ranger

Greg Dodge, Ranger — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:13:23 +0000

Red-tailed Hawks may mate for life. Last month I noticed some aerial displays over the Museum by Red-tails. This swooping, diving, and talon-locking behavior was the hawk’s getting acquainted, or getting re-acquainted, period. The hawks then settle into nest building, or re-building if the same nest is used from the previous year, which may very likely be the case.
I don’t know the exact dates for egg laying but I suspect that there will be eggs in the nest in March. Incubation is about a month, so sometime in April there will be little Red-tailed Hawks peeking over the edges of nests throughout our area loudly sqauwking for food. It will probably be another month or more before they fly.
I can’t say for sure what you heard in your yard. It’s possible that they were Cooper’s Hawks. However, Cooper’s Hawks are the least vocal of the other three locally nesting hawks that could be heard at this time of year. Red-shouldered Hawks are the most vocal and can be heard throughout the year. They too are gearing up for the nesting season. The calls of those two species are quite different.
By the way, we’ve had Cooper’s Hawks nesting here at the Museum for at least the past two years. Both nests successfully reared young.
Enjoy.

Comment on Spring? by Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:12:24 +0000

You mention the hawks carrying nesting materials. Is this the time of year they mate? I heard two hawks (which I think were actually Cooper’s hawks) calling back and forth to each other in my backyard last Saturday. I usually only hear one at a time so I was wondering if it was because of mating/rearing. When would the babies hatch?

Comment on Winter Break by Greg Dodge, Ranger

Greg Dodge, Ranger — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:06:11 +0000

The small holes made by the sapsucker usually heal with little or no effect on the tree.
However, as you suggest, many other birds as well as the sapsucker who made the drillings, visit the holes and lap up the insects that are attracted to the sap. So, the sapsucker, by pecking the small holes in the tree not only reaps the rewards itself but also opens up a whole new food source for a variety of other creatures, both insect and avian.