Tag Archives: wetlands
I’ve been working on a couple of new entries to the blog and had hoped to have them posted by now. The recent snow which came to town on January 30 closed the Museum for a few days and I haven’t had the time to complete my work. I did, however, manage to get a [...]
Two bird species that have become regular fixtures in the Wetlands, at least during the winter, are Red-shouldered Hawk and Hooded Merganser. Both species can be seen daily, or nearly so, depending on the weather conditions. The Red-shouldered Hawk is present year-round and is the most common hawk species seen at the Museum, often hunting [...]
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 [...]
The first couple of weeks in October were rather cloudy and wet. Whenever the sun did show itself, the turtles of the Wetlands took advantage of it by hauling out and basking in its warm rays. Young and old alike were out on all available perches. Mostly Yellow-bellied Turtles, but even a large snapper was [...]
Posted in Fall, Reptiles and Amphibians | Also tagged basking, Bullfrog, explore the wild, Fall, Gray Treefrog, Green Treefrog, Red-shouldered Hawk, slider, Snapping Turtle, Yellow-bellied Turtle
On the morning of September 26th, while walking along the boardwalk in Explore the Wild, I noticed a small brown, duck-like bird floating on the still, dark water. The bird was midway across the water but I knew almost immediately what it was. It was a grebe. A quick look through my binoculars verified that [...]
Posted in Birds, Fall | Also tagged Black-billed Cuckoo, duck, eagle, explore the wild, flicker, House Wren, migration, ncmls, Osprey, pied-billed grebe, Red-shouldered Hawk, sapsucker, thrush, warbler
Sycamore’s white upper bark stands out against the clear blue skies of fall. This tall hardwood does especially well near water. Look up and enjoy the view as you stroll the outdoor exhibit areas of the Museum. The deep purple berries of Pokeweed are quickly disappearing, leaving only the magenta stems of the plant to [...]
Posted in Fall, Flora | Also tagged American Sycamore, black tupelo, flowering dogwood fruit, golderod, Horsemint, Lotus, Morning Glory, pokewedd, qwarf sumac, smartweed, tickseed sunflower, Tupelo Honey, water tupelo, white tupelo, winged sumac
Another Snow Day in the Wild