I may have missed some nest box activity. Birds don’t wait for me to arrive at the Museum each day before they start their daily routines, and they continue their chores long after I leave, so I’m sure there’s quite a bit of these bird’s lives that I’ve not witnessed. With that said, I find it strange that I’ve not seen any young actually fledge from those boxes, or parent birds feeding young in the vicinity of those boxes, until now!

The mother bluebird tries to entice the two fledglings to come down to the suet feeder. The two youngsters apparently would prefer the suet brought to them. (8/19/10)

This young bluebird begs, no insists, that it be fed.

I don’t believe that all of the birds that used the boxes were successful in fledging young. I would’ve expected to see family groups of the birds in question, which I did not. Some of the attempted nests were abandoned for reasons that I can only guess at. I’ve not witnessed predation on the nest boxes, but as I’ve said, I’m not on-site all day, every day.

I’m glad, though, that I finally was able to see a bluebird family at the Bird Feeders in Catch the Wind, the same bluebird family that had been using the nest box just behind the feeders. At least we can be sure that this bluebird family made it through the egg to fledgling process in good order.

Good for them!

I hadn’t seen any activity around the nest for several weeks and had written it off. A House Wren is now putting the box to use.

A House Wren brings in a small twig to add to its nest just behind the Sailboat Pond in Catch the Wind.

Male House Wrens arrive on the breeding grounds first. They may construct several nests, but it’s the female that chooses which one to use for raising young. So, although there is certainly some nest building going on in the box, we’ll have to wait till the females arrive to see if this particular nest will be used, I’m betting it will!

The female Belted Kingfisher has once again made herself scarce, presumably sitting on eggs. I briefly saw the male on Friday, 23 April.

Black Locust.

Black Locust is in bloom as is Old Man’s Beard (not the guy on the left, but the tree, Fringetree). The former can be seen on the opposite side of the water from the Wetlands Overlook and from Flying Birds (bird feeders).

A stand of Black Locust can be seen beyond the bird feeders and young pines in Catch the Wind.

Fringetree grows along the path as you leave Catch the Wind heading towards the Lemur House and across from the Red Wolf Exhibit.

Fringetree is an understory shrub or small tree in our area.

Also called Old Man's Beard, this small tree is currently showing its fringe-like flowers.

Red Clover and Buttercup are in bloom and while some of the flowers are open, most of the daisies in Catch the Wind are still waiting for that to happen. In just a few days Catch the Wind will be white with daisies (I know it’s tempting to pick the flowers, but please leave them for all to appreciate).

Red Clover is a favorite of many butterflies.

Buttercup with it's shiny petals.

Daisies are about to burst open throughout Catch the Wind.

Lotus peaks in June. It’ll be well into May before this watery plant sets forth its first flowers.

The Lotus is obvious but not yet in flower in the Wetlands.

Mahonia is showing the fruits of its winter blooms.

Mahonia is showing berries where, over the fall and winter, there were spikes of yellow flowers.

This is just the beginning, so come on out to see for yourself what birds are singing and what’s blooming in Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild. I’ll be there, for sure.

Male Eastern Bluebird inspecting one of the new nest boxes.

The female inspects the box while the male (out of the picture) sits on a branch just above and behind the box.

Immediately after posting “Bluebird Boxes” I went out to Catch the Wind and this is what I saw!

Both the male and female had several peeks inside the boxes. It’s still uncertain, however, whether or not they will choose to use this particular box. But, two of the other boxes are being very carefully inspected by chickadees, it may be too late for the bluebirds to move into those. Wait till the House Wrens arrive!

As before, I will keep you posted as things develop.

Not mentioned previously was a male Belted Kingfisher which has been seen in the Wetlands for the past week. The female is seen nearly daily, the male only during spring and occasionally during the summer. It looks as though there may be another attempt at nesting by our resident female kingfisher.

The first Pied-billed Grebe in the Wetlands since March 2008.

The grebe flipping around tadpole for a head-first swallow.

I hadn’t seen one of these little grebes in the Wetlands since March of 2008 when one, then two, showed up and stayed for about five weeks, leaving sometime during the first half of April. At the time, I had hoped that the pair would attempt to nest in the Wetlands.

Our new visitor to the Wetlands is unlike the previous grebe guests, which stayed clear of the boardwalk while people were present. This one apparently has no fear of people and swims right up to the boardwalk, diving, preening, and resting within feet of whoever may be standing there.

Preening is an important part of a bird's daily routine.

Pied-billed Grebes feed on fish, tadpoles, crayfish, and aquatic insects, diving and swimming underwater in pursuit of those items.

Happy grebe with a Wetlands shiner.

An unlucky crayfish in the bill of the grebe.

Grebes propel themselves underwater with their feet. Unlike ducks, which have webbed feet, grebes have lobes on their toes. They can put on quite a show while chasing fish about the water.

Grebe scooting along underwater in pursuit of fish (swimming towards viewer).

These little grebes (which are more closely related to loons than ducks) have the ability to both dive and “sink” beneath the water creating little, if any, splash in doing so.

Grebe in the process of "sinking." They sometimes use the sinking behavior to silently slip away, unseen, from potential predators

A grebe’s feet are positioned well back on its body. This rear placement of the feet is great for swimming but not so good for walking. Ducks too, have feet situated close to the rear of their bodies, although not quite as far back as in grebes.

The feet of grebes are situated well to the rear.

You’ve no doubt seen a duck waddling along on land. Well, imagine the duck’s waddle amplified several times; something between a duck and a penguin. You’re not likley to see a grebe on land except while nesting (which, technically, is not on land at all but usually on a floating matt of vegetation) or during a heavy storm when they are sometimes literally grounded by the weather. Grebes need to run some distance along the water to take flight. With the feet so far back on their bodies they can’t get up enough speed on land to get airborne. A grounded grebe is a very vulnerable grebe indeed.

A wise grebe keeps one eye on the sky.

While watching the grebe dive for fish just off the boardwalk leading down into the Wetlands, I noticed the bird glance skyward. I too looked up, just as an Osprey cruised by overhead. I doubt that an Osprey would attempt to take a grebe (stranger things have happened), but it’s a good idea for a bird like a grebe to keep an eye skyward; a passing eagle, or even the local Red-shouldered Hawk, would probably give it a go.

And then, there were two!

The second grebe arrived 10 days after the first.

The two grebes appear to be inseperable, diving and fishing together in the Wetlands and putting on a show for all who care to view it.

Elsewhere on the Outdoor Exhibit Area, birds have been moving through in fairly good numbers. Both Northern Flickers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (10/2) arrived during the first half of October along with House Wren (10/1), Wood, Gray-cheeked, and Swainson’s Thrushes, many American Robins, Scarlet Tanagers, and even a Black-billed Cuckoo made a quick appearance, flying within feet of me before fading into the thick vegetation to the right of the Red Wolf Enclosure on 7 October. The thrushes, tanagers, and sapsuckers have been gobbling up the Flowering Dogwood berries which seem to be so abundant this year here at the Museum.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets have arrived (10/2), or at least have been seen in passing and warblers too, have been moving through, including a Nashville Warbler (10/7). Yellow-rumped Warblers are on the scene (10/2). Their arrival traditionally marks the beginning-of-the-end for warbler migration in the fall.

We should expect to see White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos very soon.

After a seven-month absence, a Green Heron was back on station on 28 April. As if it had never left the Wetlands, this colorful little heron (it’s very likely the same heron that was here last year) was trying to snag fish and tadpoles from the water while perched on one of the stumps just off the boardwalk in front of the Black Bear Exhibit. Welcome back!

The first Chimney Swifts of the year were seen foraging over Catch the Wind on the 26th of the month. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were seen, first at the Butterfly House April 22nd and in Explore the Wild a few days later.

A Great-crested Flycatcher was heard on 4/23 and thereafter. The first Red-eyed Vireos were seen on 4/27 and, although seen earlier in the month, two Rough-winged Swallows were seen perched on a snag in the Wetlands on the same day.

The first singing House Wren of the season was heard on 25 April. Ruby-crowned Kinglets have been heard singing their rapid, buzzy, whistly songs around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. They often begin singing before departing for points north and their breeding grounds. Wood Thrushes are back (4/25) as are Gray Catbirds, the first squeaky notes of a catbird being heard on April 22nd in the swamp adjacent to the Wetlands Overlook. If you want to see and hear what a Gray catbird looks and sounds like, check out this YouTube video.

Cedar Waxwings are still being seen. A group of 60 or so were seen in the trees above the main entrance to Explore the Wild.

Several singing Northern Parulas, a Black-throated Blue Warbler, and breeding plumaged Yellow-rumped Warblers were all seen on 26 April. Yellow-throated Warblers were first spied on 4/18 along with a single singing Prothonotary Warbler. Although at least one Yellow-throated Warbler remains in the area, the Prothonotary was not heard from again. An Eastern Palm Warbler showed up on the 22nd and a Yellow-breasted Chat was briefly heard on the 26th behind the Ornithopter.

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was heard and then seen feeding high in the canopy on 26 April.

Like the Ruby-crowned Kinglets above, White-throated Sparrows are tuning up their vocals before leaving our area for their nesting grounds further north. Their sweet, plaintive, whistled songs can be heard from the underbrush or along wooded edges. They often get only half their song out before starting over again or quitting altogether, as if practicing so as to get it just right for their debuts on the breeding grounds. It is a pleasant song.

Common Grackles have been observed flying back and forth from the Wetlands to some uknown location behind the Ornithopter. Their bills are empty on the trip to the Wetlands, full on the way back. A Baltimore Oriole was seen on the same day and in the same tree as the grosbeak above (4/26). The grosbeak and oriole no doubt came in on the same winds.

Pine Siskins are still being seen at the Bird Feeder Exhibit in Catch the Wind.

Traditionally, the third week in September sees a push of migrating hawks through the region when the winds are from the north. More often than not, the winds were from the north during the third and fourth weeks in September. Unfortunately for those of us who like to watch hawks and also reside in the piedmont, most migrating hawks move along the ridges in the western part of the Carolinas. On 20 September, one observation site in the mountains saw over 3,000 hawks pass by on their way south with another 6,000 or so the following day, most of those being Broad-winged Hawks.

Here at the Museum the numbers were not quite as impressive. However, three Bald Eagles were observed during the period. An adult and a sub-adult were seen soaring overhead, slowly moving in a westerly direction on the 19th of September. Another adult Bald Eagle was seen in a glide to the southwest on 24 September. Besides the eagles, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk and several Red-shouldered Hawks (our local Red-shouldereds) were seen on the 19th of September. The eagle in the image at left is not one of the birds that flew over, but it’s a good illustration of what a sub-adult Bald Eagle looks like.

I’ve not seen a Green Heron in the Wetlands since the first two weeks of September. Have they moved on? A Great Blue Heron is still making frequent visits to the area.

Chimney Swifts continue to forage above the Wetlands. They’re often quite high so you have to strain a bit to see them, or you can use binoculars (recommended, but not required, for wildlife observation on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop).

I saw three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds during the period. Neither was at the feeders in Catch the Wind. I think that they were migrants.

The local Belted Kingfisher is showing up in the Wetlands daily and staying longer. Its visits had been sporadic during the summer, but now she seems to be settling in for the duration.

A handful of Northern Flickers and a Red-headed Woodpecker were seen on the 24th of September.

Twenty or so Fish Crows were observed flying off to the west on 18 September.

Two House Wrens were seen during the period, flitting about in the underbrush that lines the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. These birds were probably locals, one was a juvenile.

Several White-eyed Vireos were seen on September 24th & 28th as were a Magnolia Warbler, American Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat, with a Wilson’s Warbler making an appearance on the 28th of the month only. Also seen on the 24th were a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Scarlet Tanager.

Great-crested Flycatchers have been very vocal lately. I most often hear them between the Lemur House and Catch the Wind. I saw a family of House Wrens out for a forage in the low shrubs along the path in that same area. I hadn’t seen or heard a House Wren in over a month. Juvenal plumaged Eastern Bluebirds and Catbirds have also been seen. This is a good time to sit by the Bird Feeders to see what fledglings show up; many parents bring their young to this “free” food source at this time of year.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity has picked up. Young hummers that were previously still in the nest have now fledged and are taking advantage of the several hummingbird feeders at the Bird Feeder Exhibit. The vast majority of hummers at the feeders will be young male and female hummers, all without the ruby throat of the adult males. Adult females will probably look a bit ragged this time of year due to molt, and of course, the adult males will have iridescent, red feathers on their chins and throats.