One haul of the net from the brown water of the Wetlands yielded two Giant Waterbugs, insects in the family Belostomatidae. These insects are predators to be sure. They’ll go after a variety of prey which includes other aquatic insects, tadpoles, fish and just about anything else that crosses their path.

Some members of the family can reach 4.5 cm in length. The ones that I netted were more like 2.5 cm in length.

A peculiar behavior of some of the giant waterbug species is that the female will lay eggs on the back of the male and he is charged with the protection and nurturing of the eggs as they develop.

This is a male Giant Waterbug carrying eggs on its back.

Besides eggs, these insects also carry with them a reputation for biting, they’ll give you a good nip on your finger if you mishandle them. And, they have earned the nickname “toe-biter” but I have never been bitten on the toe by one of these bugs.

Top view of a Giant Waterbug with eggs attached.

These insects are good fliers and are sometimes attracted to lights at night. The males, however, sacrifice flight while carrying the eggs and are waterbound during the 1-3 weeks it takes the eggs to hatch.

How did this behavior of laying eggs on the back of the male waterbug evolve? I don’t know, but I do know that the process leading up to the male allowing the eggs to be deposited on his back is a long drawn out affair involving the pair mating up to 50 times before the process is complete! Check out what The Dragonfly Woman has to say about it, she’s studied these very common but strange insects for her dissertation and has seen it all.

Along with the waterbugs, I also netted a Water Scorpion, water striders, backswimmers, a crayfish, various other aquatic invertebrates, and a Golden Shiner. There was a good variety of creatures in the little aquarium at Nancy’s table for folks to gaze upon, but on this particular day the waterbugs were my favorites.

The female of the house watches me as I approach her nest box (Train Tunnel - 5/8/12).

Another week gone by and more changes. Things move along quickly in the bird world and our little Bluebird Trail is a good illustration of that rapid change.

The bluebirds that nested in the box near the Train Tunnel, which lost most of its nestlings, have started to rebuild. I observed both the male and female tending to the nest on Tuesday (5/8) and again the following day. I want to keep a close eye on this nest so that the same thing doesn’t occur as did during the birds’ last attempt at nesting where they lost all but one of five nestlings due to, I believe, hypothermia.

There is fresh pine straw in the box, the nest is dry, and the adults seem to be busily working at starting a second brood.

The nest box next to the Bung, or Take Off, in Catch the Wind (5/8/12).

The House Wrens that have decided to nest in the nest box next to Take Off have so far laid three eggs. There will probably be more.

Three eggs are clearly visible in the bottom of the wren's stick nest (5/8/12).

The nest behind the Sail Boat Pond is still empty, there were only a few ants in the box this week so it looks as though they’ve decided to move out after several urgings by me.

The nestlings in the Amphimeadow nest box have all fledged, the nest is empty.

The nest box which is located near the Picnic Dome is also empty. Presumably all nestlings fledged and are well on their way to fending for themselves.

The Butterfly House box has the makings of a new nest. If you remember, the nestlings that occupied that box fledged during the last week of April. It’s time to start a new brood.

Just a few pine needles in the nest so far, but it's a start (BFH - 5/8/12).

So, as of May 8, we have three empty nest boxes, one each at the Sail Boat Pond, the Amphimeadow, and the Picnic Dome. Two new bluebird nests have started, one at the Train Tunnel and the other at the Butterfly House (nest material only), and a House Wren nest is in one box which contains 3 tiny eggs.

What will these nests look like next week? You, we, will all have to wait and see!

At this moment (1:10 PM 5/3/12) the winds in our area are coming from the southwest after sweeping NW across Florida, turning north across Georgia and South Carolina, and finally curving around towards the northeast in North Carolina. That same wind passes right over top of us here in Durham. The wind carries with it hot moist air and probably tons of pollen from the three states that it has crossed to get here.

So, if you were wondering why you felt so uncomfortable outside today, that’s one reason!

But, if you had been in Explore the Wild you may have seen…

A Viceroy perched on a branch overhanging the Wetlands.

or…

Two Common Snapping Turtles attempting to mate within a dozen feet of the boardwalk in Explore the Wild.

…and forgotten about the heat and allergies for a while.

One of the unfortunate nestlings in a drenched nest (5/1/12).

The nest, and in fact most of the interior of the box, was wet. There doesn’t seem to be a clear reason for the nest to still be wet, it hasn’t rained for several days. A mystery.

Elsewhere, the nest box at the Bung (Take Off) now has House Wrens attending to it. I suspected that wrens would build here although I didn’t think it would take them so long to realize it. The nest is not complete but is a work in progress. I saw, and was scolded by, one of the wrens while inspecting the box.

The incomplete wren nest (5/3/12).

The Sailboat Pond nest, after housing chickadees, now has ants. There were ants in the nest the whole time that the chickadees occupied it, but now they have it all to themselves. A cleaning will be performed.

The ants have taken over (5/3/12).

The ants immediately began to move out their belongings as I opened the box, so it wouldn’t be too cruel of me to help them move, would it?

The Amphimeadow nest seems to be doing well. In fact, it looks as if half the birds have already fledged. I count three birds in residence. The remaining three may have already fledged as I write.

Waiting for the big moment, these three nestlings should be gone within a day or two at most (Amphimeadow - 5/3/12).

And now to the nest box near the Picnic Dome. The nest looks very crowded, which means that they are all healthy and just about ready to fledge.

I can't tell whether there are four or five nestlings in this box (Picnic Dome - 5/3/12). What's that on the left side of the nest?

A Ground Skink in the nest.

When I first opened the nest box at the Picnic Dome I didn’t notice the object on the left side of the photo. A closer look revealed that it was a skink, a Ground Skink. The skink was apparently brought into the nest by a parent but doesn’t seem to be a desirable food item for the nestlings.

I did a quick search of the internet and found that in a study in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma a skink tail was found in a bluebird nest, “In this study, we had one instance of a ground skink (Scincella lateralis) tail delivered to nestlings; however, it was not swallowed.” There are other similar reports of whole skinks being delivered to and refused by bluebird nestlings. Skinks must be the peas of the bluebird world, the parents keep trying to feed them to the kids but the kids won’t eat them.

As of Tuesday (5/1/12) there were 10 nestling bluebirds in our six nest boxes. Four birds had perished apparently due to hypothermia or pneumonia, one box is being used by House Wrens (still building the nest – no eggs), and two boxes are empty, awaiting occupants. Besides the four birds that fledged last week from the Butterfly House nest box, It appears that three have fledged from the nest box in the Amphimeadow with 3 remaining in the box (at time of inspection).

Update on the Train Tunnel nest: I went back up to the nest box located near the Train Tunnel to see if I could get any insight into why this nest was so wet. It was suggested that there may be irrigation at the site and automatic sprinklers may have doused the nest. There are no sprinklers at the site. My inspection found no evidence or reason for the excessive dampness inside the nest box. Any ideas?

A male Blue Dasher perched on Smartweed.

Most of the early season dragonflies have come and gone, or are on their way out, and the more widespread (in respect to flight season) of the order are starting to appear. These two dragons will be seen throughout the spring and summer, and into fall.

An immature male Eastern Pondhawk on a blade of grass on the Dino Trail (males turn blue with age).

What’s a skimmer? A skimmer is a member of perhaps the most familiar family of dragonflies. Most skimmers are fairly large, colorful, and frequent places where people can see them.

I was up at the Sailboat Pond watching Exhibits Tech, Jerry put the final touches on the repair work being done on the pond’s interior walls. I decided to head off in the direction of the crows to see if I could spot what it was that had them in a such a tizzy.

As I turned the corner near the Take Off in Catch the Wind a small, long-legged canid came trotting up the path towards me. It was a fox!

This Gray Fox had come out of the service road which leads to the Outdoor Classrooms and was heading my way.

I assumed that the fox was heading towards the large mulberry tree which stands alongside the path midway between the fox and where I stood. The mulberries are ripe and some of them have fallen to the ground, easy pickins.

And what a handsome fox it is!

I’m not sure that the fox was aware of me, it was probably still thinking about those bothersome crows back in the woods, but it just kept coming up the path.

The fox crosses the path heading towards the mulberries.

Just as the fox neared the mulberry tree it must have realized that I was not a tree or post in the middle of the path ahead of it, but a person. I didn’t move, but perhaps an odor from me (don’t say it!) made the fox pause.

It's here where the fox seems to have caught a wif of me.

A few seconds later the fox turned and struck out for the woods.

I'm outta here! How do you like my tail?

If I were to have a tail, I’d like to have one just like that fox!

A Water Scorpion slowly swims below the surface. Can you see it (right side of photo)?

The breathing tube can be seen trailing behind insect (top).

Water Scorpions are not scorpions, they’re aquatic insects. They’re called scorpions because of a whip-like projection at the rear of their bodies. The projection, which is nearly the length of the insect’s body, is actually two halves of a breathing tube or snorkel that, when pulled together is raised to the surface of the water enabling the insect to breath while lying in wait for prey beneath the surface. The insect looks more like a cross between a walking stick and preying mantis than it does a scorpion.

As I watched the insect in the water below me, it began to emerge from the water. Very slowly, it inched out of the water exposing its long slender body to the air. I know that these insects have wings (that’s how they arrived in the Wetlands) but I’ve never seen one fly before. The insect that I was watching was preparing to take flight. What else could it be doing, slowly raising itself above the water presumably to dry out before taking off.

The Water Scorpion slowly surfaces.

Just then, a call came over the radio, I was needed somewhere else. I wasn’t going to see this water bug take off into the wild blue yonder after all. Oh well. This behavior must happen everyday in wetlands across the country, I’ll probably see it again. I’ve been here at the Museum for over four years (nearly five) and gaze down into the water of the Wetlands every day, so I’m bound to come across another water scorpion making flight preps, sooner or later.

The male parent sitting on a lamp post waiting for the nestlings to come out to join him (4/26/12).

I’ve seen them do this many times, the parent usually with a juicy caterpillar or other food item in its bill, sitting outside the box some distance away coaxing the nestlings out.

The nestling, or should I say fledgling, calls out to its parent, "I'm hungry!" (BFH - 4/26/12)

In this case the parents were some 20 and 30 feet away on a fence and lamp post watching to see if the youngsters would exit the box. I was called away on other duties, but a check later in the day revealed an empty nest box.

Good Luck!!!

We’ve had several days of cold rain which adds to the negative factors detracting from the birds’ ability to survive. The parents have a more difficult time in finding food to feed the nestlings, and the cold, wet chill creates a greater need in the birds for food to maintain their body temperature and to fuel their growth. I’ll check on them later in the week, although there’s not much that I can do about it.

I counted four birds in the nest where last week I could see five nestlings.

I can only see four birds in this wet, clammy nest at the Train Tunnel (4/24/12).

Here’s what the birds looked like last week.

I was wrong about the nest next to Take Off. I had predicted that it would be full of twigs placed there by a House Wren, not so. I still heard a wren singing, as I did last week, off in the woods behind the nest box as I made my rounds Tuesday, but the nest box was empty. At least it didn’t have a wasp nest as it did during the first two nest box inspections!

The Carolina Chickadees that had nested in the box behind the Sailboat Pond are gone. I saw no evidence of foul play so I assume that the birds had all fledged and are now following the parents around the woods learning how to feed themselves.

Last week the Amphimeadow nest box held 6 beautiful blue eggs. It now houses six tiny little chicks!

Six tiny bluebirds huddle together. This nest was dry (Amphimeadow - 4/24/12).

As with the Amphimeadow nest box, the nest next to the Picnic Dome now has chicks residing within its cedar walls.

The nest near the Picnic Dome appears to be doing well. How many nestlings do you see? (4/24/12)

And now we come to the nest near Gate 3, the Butterfly House nest box. I had expected these birds to be gone, fledged by now. I was wrong, The parents were bringing in food to the nest so there had to be nestlings inside.

I was hesitant to check this box because of the possibility of premature fledging by the birds. Bluebirds fledge in approximately 18 days. I know from my records that these birds hatched at least 14 days ago. On April 10, when I checked inside the box there were at least three nestlings.

The male, after serving up a beetle to the chicks inside (4/24/12).

Why does it matter when the birds hatched? If you open the nest box when the birds are nearly ready to fledge, but not actually ready, they may shoot out of the nest box when you go in to have a look. If they leave the box before they’re ready to fly it could mean death, a flightless bird on the ground is easy prey for most any predator, never mind the chilly weather with no siblings to cuddle up with. But I looked inside the box anyway, and I’m glad that I did.

These birds look like they are READY TO GO! (4/24/12)

The birds appeared to be well on their way to fledging, but behaved themselves and didn’t attempt to take an early leap out into the real world.

I checked on the birds Wednesday (4/26) and the parents were still bringing in food to them, maybe tomorrow.

In summary, there are now (4/24/12) two empty nest boxes, one has been empty throughout, the other had recently fledged 7 new chickadees to help brighten up gray winter days here at the Museum. There are (as of 4/24/12) 18 nestling Eastern Bluebirds in the four remaining nest boxes.

How about that!!

Last month, elm seeds (3/28/12).

The Museum’s gray squirrels have shifted their diet from elm to mulberry. The dark succulent berries of the mulberry trees are ripening as I write and the squirrels have found them. I found them too, and they are delicious!

I don’t know a mammal or bird that would pass up a big juicy mulberry. It’s a good thing that the trees produce copious amount of the berries, too many if you talk to homeowners that have them next to their driveways or backyard decks.

….

This month, mulberries (4/17/12).

Keep an eye out for Gray Fox and Groundhog as you leave Catch the Wind on your way to see the Lemurs. There’s a very prolific mulberry (they’re all prolific) across from the Catch the Wind map on the outdoor loop, and I’ve seen both those animals lapping up mulberries from the path there. Both Gray Fox and Groundhog can and do climb mulberry trees for the berries, but why climb when so many of the delectable fruit fall to the ground.

So, as you stroll through Catch the Wind and you begin to notice purple stains on the ground beneath your feet, look up, there may be a big juicy mulberry within your reach. It’s almost a sure thing that there’ll be a catbird, thrasher, waxwing, or squirrel up there gulping them down!