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by , Ranger
Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.
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Spring, er, Winter Update

February 3rd, 2012

I saw two butterfly species on this second day of February, several Sleepy Oranges and a Mourning Cloak. Spring Peepers have been calling, as mentioned in an earlier post. Today, I actually saw one.

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) in Explore the Wild.

Same cloak with partially open wings.

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer).

This peeper was in Catch the Wind (same frog as above).

Besides the snake being captured by a Red-shouldered Hawk last Friday, Kent (Animal Department) reported seeing what was probably the same hawk catch one in the Lemur Yard on Sunday (1/29/12). From the descriptions given it doesn’t seem as though they were Brown Snakes so, although I can’t be sure, I’m assuming that both were garter snakes. Both Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi) and Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) have been known to be out and about in both late fall and late winter/early spring. Of course, this is mid-winter. I saw a garter snake along the Eno River, just half a dozen miles or so from the Museum, on New Years Day this year!

 

Join the conversation:

  1. I heard Spring Peepers out in force in the pond behind my house this morning. Are they out earlier than usual or is their normal time?

    Posted by leslie
    9:41 am on February 3, 2012
  2. Ranger Comment :

    Hey Leslie.
    You can hear peepers at any time during the winter here in the Piedmont of NC, especially when we have a few night time temps in the fifties. Freezing temps can shut them down quickly though. Although then can breed at any time the weather is suitable, the end of January into February seems to be their peek breeding time in these parts.
    Thanks,

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    10:23 am on February 3, 2012

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by , Ranger
Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.
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Wetlands are Wonderful!

December 27th, 2011

A few weeks ago I received an email from Ashley Johnson telling me that she had placed in the top ten out of a field of 825 entrants in the Friends of Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District’s poster contest, “Wetlands are Wonderful.” Here’s Ashley accepting her Top Ten Award at the Friends of the District Banquet held earlier this month.

Ashley is a 5th grader at Alston Ridge Elementary School in Cary. I remember meeting her in Explore the Wild a while back when she was first planning her poster design. Ashley and her mother came down to the Wetlands and I walked around with them answering questions regarding our Wetlands here at the Museum. We had a pleasant walk and conversation, I wished her luck and they were off.

This past week I got another email from Ashley. She placed second in the overall standings.

Congratulations Ashley!

The contest was open to 5th grade students in Wake County, NC. As you may have guessed, the theme of the posters was “Wetlands are Wonderful.” The posters were required to highlight the ecological benefits of wetlands and specify what it is that makes them “special” places in our world.

Here is a link to photographs of the final award presentations and more information on the who, what, and where of the contest from the Wake County Public School System’s web site.

Again, congratulations to you Ashley, and to all of the other students who took part in this program!

Join the conversation:

  1. Yes, at my school they are doing the same project.

    Posted by Cathrine Eusebio
    10:50 am on December 28, 2011

  2. I love this story! You just never know when you are going to inspire someone or help them achieve a special goal. Good job Gregorio!

    Posted by Lauren
    10:27 am on December 29, 2011
  3. Ranger Comment :

    Good luck Cathrine!

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    11:32 am on December 29, 2011
  4. Ranger Comment :

    I guess that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it.
    Thanks Lauren,

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    11:35 am on December 29, 2011

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by , Ranger
Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.
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What’s the last thing a fish sees…

January 25th, 2012

before it’s snatched up by a heron?

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.

Join the conversation:

  1. That top picture is an award-winner, for sure! Looks like the eyes are dilated differently. Is that normal?

    I’d guess that the heron allows for refraction in the water by attacking his prey with an open beak.

    Posted by Wendy
    10:05 am on January 25, 2012
  2. Ranger Comment :

    Yes, I first noticed the different pupil dilation in the eyes of birds as a bird bander. You get real close looks when you have a bird in the hand. While holding one such bird in hand I noticed that the pupil of one of the bird’s eyes, in sunshine, was constricted while the pupil in the other eye, in shadow, was almost wide open, dilated. As the bird moved its head the light hitting the eyes changed and the pupils reacted to the changing light independently, and very quickly.

    I thought that this ability of the bird’s pupils to react independently to changes in light was unique to birds, and maybe it is, but I think that it may actually be present in other animals as well, certainly fish. After all, in most fish, as in many birds, the eyes are often positioned on completely different sides of the head. The eyes are always looking at two separate scenes; one could be brightly lit while the other is in deep shadow.

    Do people’s eyes dilate independently?

    I just did an experiment using Bobbi Jo (Butterfly House) as my Guinea Pig. I asked her to cover one of her eyes with her hand to block out the light. When she covered one eye, the pupil in the other eye dilated, meaning we, humans, do NOT posses eyes that react independently to light changes, both pupils dilate and constrict together.

    I think that the pupils’ ability to react independently to light in birds is an adaptation to their lifestyle. Flying in and out of shadow, as through the woods, around objects, and just trying to make a living in a high contrast world would definitely be aided by eyes that can handle light in the way that a bird’s eye can handle it, with eyes that can act independently of one another.

    By the way, most birds’ eyes can be moved independently as well, unlike us humans who, when we move one eye the other one goes with it. Owls however, cannot move each eye independently. In fact, the eyes don’t move at all, but their head can spin around about 270 degrees.

    As far as the refraction problem with catching fish, herons have had millions of years to evolve into what they are. They probably have some sort of mechanism built into their make-up which allows them to compensate for the refraction. What that mechanism is is the question. The ones that don’t have this ability don’t catch fish, and probably don’t live long enough to create more herons.

    Herons do indeed jab at fish with an open bill. They do not spear them as is sometimes thought.

    Thanks,

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    3:10 pm on January 25, 2012

  3. Awesome shot!!

    Posted by Ranger Kristin
    10:27 pm on January 25, 2012
  4. Ranger Comment :

    Thanks, Ranger Kristin!

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    10:12 am on January 26, 2012

  5. Sounds like we should see the harrying while it lasts. I’ve seen it twice and it’s impressive! GBH eyes are great – you must have been close to “splat” range to get that shot. Way to go!
    Julie

    Posted by julie
    4:32 pm on January 26, 2012
  6. Ranger Comment :

    Heck yeah, splat range for sure. But hey, nobody said it’d be easy. There’re certain risks you just gotta take!
    Thanks,

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    7:05 am on January 27, 2012

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by , Ranger
Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.
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Let’s not forget the others

January 30th, 2012

With so much talk about herons lately I don’t want to forget the other residents of the Museum’s wild parts. Here’s what some of them have been up to.

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!

 

Join the conversation:

  1. Hi Greg! When will start seeing the dragonflies? Are there some that come out earlier than others?

    Posted by shawntell
    2:22 pm on January 30, 2012
  2. Ranger Comment :

    I’ve seen damselflies here at the Museum as early as mid-February. Fragile Forktails are one of the earliest odes that I see here, but typically March is when we start seeing most of the early odes emerge like Common Baskettail, Blue Corporal, and Lancet Clubtail. We might also see some early Common Green Darners from the south of us.
    I’m anxious to see what will happen this year though. First, it’s been so mild. Will the mild weather bring out odes earlier than normal, and more of them? And second, the Wetlands has changed so much due to the crayfish that now reside there. Will the changes in the Wetlands have an impact on the number of dragons and damsels we see this year?
    We’ll have to wait and see.
    Thanks,

    Posted by Greg Dodge
    11:01 am on January 31, 2012

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by , Ranger
Greg Dodge is a professional naturalist as well as a writer, videographer and producer of natural history DVDs. His images have been used in various TV productions, museum displays, and corporate videos. Above all, he has a fascination and passion for all things natural.
Stop by and say hello Tuesday thru Saturday in Explore the Wild, Catch the Wind, or on the Dino Trail.
Tags: , ,

Eagle Cam Update 2012

January 10th, 2012

Last year around this time I posted about a web cam with a live view of a Bald Eagle’s nest at Jordan Lake here in central North Carolina. The nest is once again active. Two eggs were deposited in the nest sometime between December 2-8 and are being incubated at this time.

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!

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