NEST BOX CHECKS MAY 12TH TO 15TH

This has been a busy week in the nest boxes at home and at the lab.  A total of 12 young Eastern Bluebirds successfully flew out of their dark and protective nest boxes into a big bright new world.  Here is the recap.

LAB BOX #1

I checked on the nest in Lab Box #1 twice this week and found either the mother on the nest or one of the adults calling from the tall Loblolly pines nearby.  I am hoping to find hatchlings when I monitor the nest box on Monday (May 18th).

LAB BOX #2

Lab Box #2 had an eventful day on May 12th.  When I removed the plastic nesting cup from the box about 10 a.m. to check the 19 day old nestlings (16 to 21 days is typical age for fledging), one of the three young birds looked up at me and immediately flew strongly straight out from the nest and curved slightly to the left down the hill about 200 feet before landing in a 20 foot maple tree, one of a few young trees that line the drive leading to the lab parking lots.  Within just a few seconds one of its nest mates took off and followed almost an identical flight path. Not long later I could hear the parent birds calling to these first two fliers. The third young bluebird spent a minute or two tucking its head into the bottom of the nest in an effort to hide.  Here you can see the last nestling peeking at me with one of the two eggs from the clutch that did not hatch.  I placed the nesting cup back in the box and checked the box again that evening to find that the third young bluebird had fledged as well. These were my first three fledgling birds of 2015.  I removed the old nesting cup, washed out the inside of the nest box itself, and placed a fresh nesting cup inside in the event this bluebird pair decides to nest again this summer.  Later in the afternoon I opened the unhatched eggs and found nothing but yolk in one egg and just the tiniest amount of tissue in the other.  

LAB BOX #4

The Carolina Chickadees in Lab Box #4 have developed their characteristic black cap.  The five of them seem to be keeping the same arrangement in the nest as they did last week, looking a bit like wedges of pie.  Notice the feathers expanding from their feather sheaths on the nestling nearest my fingers.  They look rather like makeup brushes that I've seen in my wife's makeup kit.  This visit was on May 13th.

LAB BOX #6

The Carolina Chickadees in Lab Box #6 are just a day older than the chickadees in Lab Box #4.  You can see that their wing feathers have emerged even further from their feather sheaths.  This nest of five chickadees seem to arrange themselves in more of a disorganized pile than the orderly circle that their colleagues on the other side of the lab have chosen.

LAB BOX #7

The most recent nest at the lab also belongs to a pair of Carolina Chickadees and is located in Lab Box #7. On May 13th there were still five eggs being incubated.  This box is at the end of a section of parking lot near the lab and may offer a chance for me to share a view of the little chickadees to a few lab mates late next week.

HOME BOX #1

I checked on the Eastern Bluebirds in Home Box #1 on the morning of May 12th before heading to work.  All five young 18 day old birds looked healthy and fully feathered.  That evening, I put several live mealworms in the driveway and sat in my car hoping to get a few photos of parent birds taking food to their young charges. After sitting for a while and not seeing any activity, I got out of the car and checked the nest box.  It was EMPTY!!!  So these were bluebirds 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 to fledge on this day!

HOME BOX #2

In Home Box #2 the little 15 day old Brown-Headed Nuthatches are fully feathered on May 12th.  The characteristic white patch on the nape of their necks is quite evident.

I lifted one of the young nuthatches out of the nest for a closeup photo. It promptly made a deposit!  Its dagger-like beak will be put to good use in just a week or two as these tiny birds are fond of fishing out insects from behind bark as well as splitting open sunflower and safflower seeds.  I read somewhere recently that some nuthatches have been seen using a piece of bark to wedge behind the bark of trees to expose deeper insect hiding places.

(link to stanford.edu info on Tool-Using)

HOME BOX #5

On May 13th the elevated Home Box #5 still holds six little Tufted Titmice.  They are feathering out nicely and I've enjoyed watching from the window as both parent birds busily carry food to their young.

HOME BOX #6

I checked in on Home Box #6 on daily from May 13th (photo) through May 15th. The father bird nearly brushed my shoulder on one dive bombing run.  Early in the morning of May 15th these four nestlings became Bluebirds 9, 10, 11, and 12 to fledge from the nest boxes I've been monitoring.

HOME - RUBBERMAID TRASH CAN

In the late afternoon of May 12th as I began to ready the Moth Pit for luring in various nighttime visitors in the next week or so, I stumbled upon a mass of wheat straw, grasses, small twigs and thin pieces of plant roots in the bottom of a nearly empty light blue Rubbermaid trash can.  Upon closer inspection, I found four whitish eggs speckled with tiny flecks of reddish brown.  This is the nest of a Carolina Wren, but was it active?  I waited until after 9 p.m. and slipped out to take a peek.  I could no longer see the eggs, but could barely make out the beak of the mother wren.  The wrens are such a resourceful bunch!  The next evening there was a fifth egg and the mother bird seems to have set about incubating.

VISITORS TO THE BIRD ROOM AND DECK

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Last Saturday I spent a sometime watching birds from our bird room and the deck. Our first visitor was this male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.  Like all hummingbirds he was quite busy.  So far this is the best photo I've been able to get.  His gorget appears black in this photo because the sun's rays were obscured by the mature White Oak trees on the south side of the deck.

Eastern Bluebird

This male Eastern Bluebird was checking the terracotta saucer for live mealworms. His four young nestlings are just five days from fledging and he is as active as his mate in feeding them.

Back inside the bird room, I left the windows open again with a plastic tub of live mealworms on the table nearest one of the windows.  It wasn't long before the female of this pair showed up. She gave me a cautionary glance as I sat quietly with the camera on the other side of the room.  



She gave a few quick wing beats to balance herself as she picked out the one she wanted.  I just love the soft beauty of these female Bluebirds.

She secured the mealworm before flying back out of the window to the nest box that holds her four nestlings.

Carolina Wren

One of the bravest birds is the Carolina Wren.  For such a small bird they have a huge voice.  They creep and skulk around, often close to the ground before darting inside.   The wren's tail is characteristically held in a jaunty position and is rusty brown and marked with dark brown bars.  Their throats and bellies are buff in color and they have pink feet.



Two other characteristics of Carolina Wrens are the long white stripe over the eye and the longish, slightly downward curving beak.  I have been wondering where this bird might have nested.  The pair usually exits the window and then dives down under the deck to some remote location.  I had been looking around to see if I could find their nest, but was very surprised this week when I found a Carolina Wren nest in the bottom of a large Rubbermaid trashcan in the corner of the Moth Pit.  I could see four eggs in the nest around 6 pm that evening.  I returned after dark and peeked over the edge of the trashcan to see just the beak of the mother bird protruding form the nest's opening.  Two mornings later when she was away from the nest, I counted five eggs.  I have a new nest to monitor!

Carolina Chickadee

At least one Carolina Chickadee visited the indoor mealworm feeder.  These little birds are also brave around humans.  They have a soft gray back, a whitish belly and cheeks, and a black cap and throat patch.  We had a nest of chickadees in the yard last year, but this chickadee seems to fly into a neighbor's yard with its mealworms.  At the lab there are currently three active chickadee nests.

In this photo you can see how small the chickadee is using the mealworm for comparison.  They are probably two-thirds the size of the bluebirds.

Tufted Titmouse

The final visitor for the morning was this Tufted Titmouse.  This relative of the little chickadees has a soft gray back and head with a crest  that it sometimes lays close to its head.  Its undersides are whitish with a touch of orange under its wings.  

 Last May we had a nest of titmice that failed about a week after the babies hatched. Something apparently happened to the mother bird.  This year there is a nest of six babies that are now well feathered.  I watched today as both parent birds made frequent trips to the nest with food.

LAB NEST BOXES ON MAY 3RD

On Sunday May 4th I drove over to the lab to check the eight nest boxes there. Here's what I found.

LAB BOX #1

The Brown-headed Nuthatches in Lab Box #1 have filled out their nesting to a total of six eggs.  I look forward to seeing this bunch hatch.  It is in a location where I can invite a few folks to see the little ones when they hatch.

LAB BOX #2

The early nest of Eastern Bluebirds in Lab Box #2 holds three young birds that are about 10 days old.  Two of the eggs in this nest did not hatch. You can see slivers of those eggs at 12 o'clock and 4 o'clock. The nestlings' wings are covered with feather sheaths that are showing little puffs of feather at their tips.  This stage always reminds me of paint brushes.

LAB BOX #4

The mother Carolina Chickadee in Lab Box #4 stuck tight to her nest on May 3rd as I peeped in.   I closed the box promptly to give her the privacy she deserves

A day later on May 4th I checked again and found that five of the six babies had hatched.  I will go back in a few days to see if the sixth egg was viable.  Four of the five popped open their little beaks when I did a little "pishing".

LAB BOX #5

The Eastern Bluebird eggs in Lab Box #5 still have not hatched.  I am concerned that this nest has failed for some unknown reason.  I plan to contact a friend at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences about how to proceed.  Most likely, I will remove the entire nest and replace it with a new nesting container in the hopes that this pair will try again.  I may open one of the eggs to see if there is any evidence that the eggs were ever fertile.

LAB BOX #6

The Carolina Chickadees in Lab Box #6 near the loading dock hatched on May 3rd. All five babies are active and responded to my "pishing".  I like the green fibrous stuff that a parent bird added to the nest cup.

LAB BOX #7

Much to my surprise Lab Box #7, which has been empty for the past two seasons, suddenly has a complete nest in it. The nest cup was covered over, but I gently laid the camouflage back and was able to observe two speckled eggs.

I'm not sure yet what is nesting here, but I'd guess another chickadee nest or perhaps a Tufted Titmouse.  I'll keep an eye out as this is an easy box to check on my way home in the afternoons.

CONTENT OF BIRD NESTS ON APRIL 16TH AND 23TH

This year I am monitoring 8 nest boxes that I have mounted on poles at the lab where I work and another 12 boxes or pottery bird houses at home.  Currently at least nine boxes have active nests.  I have been recording my visits to the nests on NestWatch (http://nestwatch.org/), a citizen science program conducted through the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology.  I usually visit the nest two to three times a week to check for number of eggs or young birds, as well as insect infestations, broken eggs, cowbird eggs, etc.


So let's look at the nests I have found so far:

LAB BOX #2

Lab Box #2 had two nests of Eastern Bluebirds last summer with 5 young birds produced in each nesting.  This must be a preferable nesting site as it was home to the first nest of the year of the nest boxes that I monitored in 2014.  All five young birds from each clutch successfully flew from the nest. 

Lab Box #2 was the first of my nest boxes to have a nest this year, too. I found four eggs on April 8th and five on April 10th.  I suspect the first egg was laid April 5th and the fifth egg probably on April 9th. On April 16th there were still five eggs in the nest.

A week later on April 23rd I found the first two hatchlings with the remaining three eggs.



When I made a little squeaky noise with my lips, both hatchlings popped open their mouths to reveal the yellow linings that the parent bird target when delivering food items to the baby birds in the relative dark of the nest box cavity.  

LAB BOX #4

Lab Box #4 had a nest of five eggs of Carolina Chickadees last summer three of which hatched and successfully flew from the nest.  Later in the summer a paper wasp constructed her nest under the lid of the box.  Her colony grew to include several helpers, and I was not brave enough to remove it until winter was well underway.  I have bought a bar of Ivory Soap to rub on the underside of the roof.  I read that this will prevent future wasp nests from sticking to the wood surface.

On April 8th I found a mossy nest which looked to be fairly complete.  A bit of grassy material was added by April 10th.   On April 14th I got curious and "explored" the fluffy material in the center of the nest with my little finger and detected what felt like at least 2 eggs.  On April 16 there seemed to be 4 eggs.  Finally on April 20th the cup in the center of the nest had been fully exposed and I could plainly see 6 eggs. These are the 6 eggs as I found them on April 23rd.




This is a close-up of the same 6 eggs from April 23rd.

LAB BOX #5

Lab Box #5 had two nests of Eastern Bluebirds last summer with 5 young birds in the first nesting and four in the second. All nine young birds fledged successfully.

I found four eggs on April 14th and five on April 16th.  I suspect the first egg was laid April 11th and the fifth egg probably on April 15th. This is the photo from the 16th.

On April 23rd there were still five eggs in the nest.

LAB BOX #6

Lab Box #6 had two nests of Eastern Bluebirds last summer. The first nest consisted of five eggs of which only three hatched.  These three babies went on to fledge successfully. There were also five eggs in the second nesting last year. None of these eggs hatched and it is unclear why the nest was abandoned.   

On April 14th I found a Carolina Chickadee nest with 2 eggs buried in the soft material in the nesting cup.  Two days later there were at least three eggs present. On April 20th five eggs were plainly visible in the cup shaped part of the nest where the eggs are now being incubated.  My best guess is that the first egg was laid on April 13th and the fifth egg on the April 17th.  If I am able to visit the nest on the day of hatching, I'll be able to make a better estimate of what day the last egg was laid.  

This is the nest showing the soft grasses, fur, feathers, and unusual green fuzz that covered the eggs on April 16th.  Note a small amount of green moss at the lower left corner which makes up the bulk of the base of many Chickadee nests.  

These are the 5 Chickadee eggs as I found them on April 23rd.

HOME BOX #1

Home Box #1 had two nests of Eastern Bluebirds in the spring and summer of 2014.   The first nest held five eggs which all hatched and concluded with the successful fledging of all five young birds. The second nest had a rocky beginning as the first egg was pierced, probably by a House Wren.  I taped a cardboard flap to the front edge of the roof for a few days (supposed to keep wrens out, but not bluebirds).  The next day I found the pierced egg broken into pieces on the ground under the nest box and a fresh bluebird egg in the nest.  Eventually the Bluebirds laid four eggs.  All four eggs hatched and the four young birds fledged successfully.

On the morning of April 8th I found one Eastern Bluebird egg in Home Box #1.  That evening I found a second egg which means that the first egg was laid on April 7th. By April 11th there were 5 eggs in the nest.  These are the 5 Eastern Bluebird eggs as I found them on April 23rd.

HOME BOX #2

Home Box #2 held our first ever nest of Brown-headed Nuthatches in the spring of 2014 (see the earlier post at "Rubber Ducky, you're the one!").  Healthy little nuthatches emerged from the five eggs and successfully flew from the nest about three weeks later.

On the morning of April 8th I found the beginnings of a Brown-headed Nuthatch nest.   I was able to see three partially covered eggs on April 11th and four on April 12th. On April 16th and 20th six eggs were visible in the open nest cup.  It appears the first egg was laid on April 9th and the last probably on April 14th.  These are the six eggs as I found them in the beautifully decorated nest on April 23rd.

HOME BOX #3

Home Box #3 had a nest of Carolina Chickadees in the spring of 2014.  Six tiny eggs were laid and hatched into delightful little chickadees which all fledged successfully. 

On the morning of April 8th I found what appeared to be a complete Brown-headed Nuthatch nest.   I was able to find one partially covered egg on April 12th and four on April 16th. On April 20th five eggs were visible in the open nest cup.  It appears the first egg was laid on April 9th and the last probably on April 14th.  This is the nest on April 23rd.  The eggs were partially hidden again, but I was able to see them through the "wings" of pine seeds that covered them.

HOME BOX #5

Home Box #5 is a box that I actually built last spring, hoping to attract a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers.  A male flycatcher spent a week to ten days attacking his reflection in our kitchen window.  I suspected he might have a mate and that the pair might be influenced to nest in the yard if I provided an appropriate sized nest box.  The bluebird boxes have a 4" by 4" floor and a 1 1/2" entrance hole, while the flycatcher box has a much larger 6" by 6" floor with a 1 5/8" entrance hole.  I mounted the box on a telescoping pole that has the box at about 10 feet off the ground.  As luck would have it, or not, we had no occupants in this box at all last summer.

This spring there have been many cavity nesting birds checking out this box.  When I lowered the box on April 13th to monitor the nest, I was surprised to find a Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse nest which was composed of a 6" by 6" mat of green moss that was only about 3/4" thick with some soft grassed and fur packed in the back left hand corner of the box.  Still this seems to be a huge amount of moss, and the little chickadees titmice must have been making a huge number of flights to gather that much material. On April 16th I "felt" three eggs way in the back corner of the nest.  These are the 6 chickadee Tufted Titmouse (!) eggs as I found them on April 23rd in the brooding cup that the adult has fashioned in this roomy dwelling.  (It took me a while to figure this nest out.  Since it is an elevated box back in the trees from our house, I only got fleeting glimpses of the adult birds.  These were definitely Tufted Titmouse eggs!)

HOME BOX #6

Home Box #6 is a newly erected box this year.  The box was visited early on by Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and Carolina Wrens.  As the nest was being constructed, the materials had me convince that Carolina Wrens had staked a claim to this box.  A few days later, on April 11th I found one Eastern Bluebird egg in the nest.  By April 16th there were 4 Bluebird eggs.  I suspect the fourth egg was laid on April 14th.  When I monitor the nest box to confirm that no more eggs have been added, the male does its dive-bombing routine complete with clicking sounds made with his beak. These are the four eggs as I found them on April 23rd.

Late April to Early July 2014 - Wonders of Nature Outside My Door

The Earth abounds with natural treasures. 

 It doesn't take long to find a few of them if we are just a little observant.

The past couple months have zoomed by with only a lengthy post (Brown-headed Nuthatches) for my friend Judy who passed away last week after battling pancreatic cancer for several months.  But I was seeing lots of other things, too.  So here is my attempt to catch up.

4-26-2014 

In a nest box in the backyard I found these six newly hatched Carolina Chickadee babies in a nest of moist green moss that was lined with soft, soft fur from perhaps a neighborhood dog.

5-1-2014

This male Crane Fly (Tipula species) was hanging out on the back door of the lab, seemingly all leggy and clumsy like I was in junior high school.  Well, now, too, except a lot fatter!

5-2-2014

The baby Carolina Chickadees are about 7 days old and are starting to get their black caps.  Maybe they are dreaming of graduating from the nest  in 10 days or so and going on to flight school.

5-2-2014

A nest of five baby Eastern Bluebirds at the lab (Box #2) are piled on top of each other and just two days from flying.

5-4-2014

I found this dried out, flattened, and tailless Ground Skink in the Bluebird nest the day after the young birds had fledged.  Later in the month I found another skink in a second bluebird nest (Box #5) on the other side of the laboratory campus.  Never thought of sweet, gentle bluebirds as reptile hunters. 
 (see link)

5-7-2014

Peggy found this Copperhead hanging out beside the house late one afternoon.  It definitely blends in with its surroundings.  It got moved down the road to a more secluded area.  Many safety precautions were taken!
(see link)

5-9-2014

The six little Carolina Chickadees are looking like adults now.  They stayed in the nest a few more days and fledged on 5-12-2014.  They're off to flight school!

5-11-2014

This little Eastern Worm Snake turned up in a pile of wheat straw.  Notice its two tone brownish gray above and pink below.  This is quite a gentle snake and never offers to bite.

But it will drag the pointy end of its tail across your hand as a defense mechanism.  It rather tickles!
(see link)

5-14-2014

A pitcher plant's mouth reminds me of Kermit the Frog.  They both eat bugs!

5-15-2014

This very small long-horned beetle showed up this morning on the back door of the State Lab.  The body is about 1/4" long and the antennae are nearly twice that.  The species name is Hyperplatys aspersa. 
(see link)

5-16-2014

I found this male Yellow-bellied Pond Slider crossing the road between the Fairgrounds and Carter-Finley Stadium. Check out his very long toenails!  I like the beautiful yellow striping and his very pretty eye!

5-27-2014

A mud dauber decided to nest in one of the bluebird nest boxes I put up at the lab.  Above it a paper wasp started her nest which hangs from the ceiling.  The mud dauber builds one chamber at a time.  It catches and paralyzes a spider which it puts in the chamber.  It lays its egg on the spider and then closes up the chamber before beginning to shape another cylinder.   

5-27-2014

In another nest box at the lab a family of Carolina Chickadees built their mossy nest.  I provided many of the boxes with peat cups to make it easier to observe the growing babies.  The female Chickadee laid five eggs but only these three hatched.

5-30-2014

Another moth visitor to the back door of the State Lab is this delicate looking Banded Tussock Moth also known as the Pale Tiger Moth.
(see link)
and
(see link to caterpillar)

5-30-2014

This Virginian Tiger Moth is difficult to distinguish from the Agreeable Tiger Moth.  The third picture in this series shows the orange markings on the top of its abdomen that are characteristic of the Virginian.

This is a view of the Virginian Tiger Moth's underside.  It is also called the Yellow Woolybear Moth.
(see Yellow Woolybear)

This view of the Virginian Tiger Moth shows the yellow-orange markings on top of its abdomen.  

(see link)

6-2-2014
It took me a while to figure out this insect.  I searched through crickets and grasshoppers and their kin, and discovered that this is an American Shieldback Katydid.  The long ovipositor indicates that this is a female.
(see link)

6-3-2014
In Box #6 at the State Lab the first two of five Eastern Bluebirds hatched this morning.  Ultimately only one more would hatch.  The three young Bluebirds flew from the nest seventeen days later on 6-20-2014.  At the State Lab we have had five Eastern Bluebird nestings and a Carolina Chickadee nesting.  At home we've had two Eastern Bluebird nestings, a Carolina Chickadee nesting, a Carolina Wren nesting, a Brown-headed Nuthatch nesting, and a failed nest of Tufted Titmice.

6-5-2014

In State Lab Box # 2 Eastern Bluebirds have laid their second clutch of five eggs.

6-5-2014

Just behind Box #2 a Killdeer has laid her four eggs right on the ground in the mulch that was piled there after clearing the ground for the State Lab.

6-5-2014 

The third Eastern Bluebird nestling has hatched in Box #6.

6-9-2014

 The four Eastern Bluebird nestlings in Box #2 have hatched.

6-9-2014 

Back to Box #6 the three Eastern Bluebird nestlings are six days old and showing their wing feather sheaths.

6-12-2014

A female Eastern Box Turtle ambled across the area behind the State Lab's loading dock.  Angela Truelove pointed her out to me, and we admired her beautiful colors.

6-13-2014

After a light sprinkling of rain, the mother Killdeer's outline can be seen in the mulch where she had left her nest for a moment to distract me with her broken wing act.

(see video of "broken wing" act)

6-23-2014

A Killdeer egg with a very pointy end.

 6-24-2014

This male Common True Katydid sat for a picture on my dusty shoe this morning.

(see link)

6-25-2014

A young Tulip Poplar sapling has leaves made lacy by a horde of hungry Japanese Beetles.  A growing flock of juvenile Starlings that have fledged from the cavities in the security lights towering above the State Lab parking lot have been seen feasting on the beetles as they chase the metallic green morsels across the grassy areas and sidewalks.  Perhaps we will be audience to a murmuration of Starlings this autumn.

(watch video of a murmuration of Starlings)

6-26-2014

The four Eastern Bluebirds in Box #2 have been dining on Wild Black Cherries as evidenced by the numerous cherry pits in the nest.  Today is their last full day in the nest as they will fledge tomorrow.

6-26-2014

In Box #5 Eastern Bluebirds have made their second nest and three of their four eggs have hatched.  The two fuzzy chicks hatched on 6-25-2014 and the "wet" one hatched today.

6-27-2014

Randall helped me identify this flower that showed up in our front yard for the first time this year.  This is a Carolina Wild Petunia.  I had never seen or heard of it before.

6-29-2014

Peggy found another treasure today and called me to take pictures.  This is probably a Cork-lid Trapdoor Spider, or a Ummidia species per BugGuide.net

 (see link)

Trapdoor spiders build an underground burrow that is lined with silk.  The spiders fit the burrow with a cork-like "trapdoor" constructed of silk, soil, and vegetation.  They lie in wait for an insect to pass by.  Click the link below to see what happens.

(see video of a trapdoor spider catching its prey)

Also interesting is that though this spider appears to have five pairs of legs (ten), the front pair are actually modified mouth-parts called pedipalps.  The size of these pedipalps indicated that this is a male spider.  The male spider uses these structures to transfer sperm from himself to his mate.

The spider's cephalothorax is shaped a bit like Darth Vader's head.  I have read that these spiders are harmless (that is, not venomous), but others say they can deliver a painful bite if handled roughly.  Fortunately, I must have been gentle enough.

7-1-2014

A male Eastern Bluebird stands guard on top of Box #2 at the State Lab.  His four young fledged a few days ago and they are in the woods nearby.  This box was home to two nests of five eggs each.  All five babies fledged from the first nesting.  Only four eggs hatched of the second clutch and all four babies fledged.

7-2-2014

A Carolina Wren has recently built her nest in an old pottery birdhouse jug from Seagrove.  She has four eggs so far and lots of plastic lining the interior of the nest.

7-2-2014

This afternoon, I heard a couple birds behind the lab making fussy chipping sounds.  I went back to the lab for my binoculars so I could see what species of bird was in distress.  To my surprise (and delight) I found it was a male Blue Grosbeak with a juvenile male which was brown like an adult female, but had blue on its head.  As I investigated to see if their nest was nearby, I discovered the source of their agitation.  What appeared to be a Black Rat Snake or the Black Racer I'd seen in the area several weeks ago, turned out to be a convincing edge of an erosion control fabric that was mostly buried at the back edge of the lab's property.  If you look closely, you can see the frayed edge near the middle of the picture.  I'm sorry I didn't have a camera that could capture a picture of the Blue Grosbeaks.

7-2-2014

I have seen two species of Hairstreak Butterflies.  This one is the Red-banded Hairstreak that I found at home.  

 (see link)

7-2-2014

I bought this carnivorous Sundew plant at the State Farmer's Market a month ago and it appears to be adding baby plants already.  Watch out insects!

7-3-2014

Though not a great picture, this leaf-like creature was lying beside a refuse container behind the lab this morning.  It looks to be a Large Maple Spanworm Moth.  Its larva is one of the inchworms or measuring worms.

(see link of adult)

(see link of inch worm)