Hungry Hatchlings!

Good news - the birdie eggs did NOT get cooked in the extreme heat. Four of the five eggs have hatched to reveal four hungry and active babies. Not sure if the 5th egg will hatch, but it's good news for the Bluebirds anyway. Aren't they cute?!

Updates on the Birdies

We've got lots of birdie goings-on in the yard! Take a look!

Here's the 5 brand new Eastern Bluebird eggs. The same pair is already raising this second family...

... and eating all the mealworms we give to them!

Another box has got a family started... not sure exactly what this is, though...

...and another Tree Swallow family is just about ready to fledge! Aren't they cute?

That's all on the birdies for now. Stay tuned!

Tree Swallow Babies!!

Well this morning I took a look at the two other boxes around our property - and found Tree Swallows nesting in BOTH! This is especially exciting as I had thought we only had House Sparrows. In fact, I DID see House Sparrow eggs a while back. The Tree Swallows must have thrown them out.

Here is Mama Tree Swallow peeking out at me from her box:







And here are the pure-white eggs (there are currently three) nestled within a lofty collection of duck and goose feathers:







The oversize feathers are a tell-tale sign of a Tree Swallow nest. Here are the two babies that have hatched in the other box (I'll call it Box B):







Well it looks like life is still moving right along! I will enjoy watching these aerial acrobats raise their families this summer.

:D

Empty Nest & Indian Pipe

Good news! This morning I left some mealworms in the Bluebirds' cup, and when Daddy came by, he stuffed 3 in his tiny beak and headed off to the forest - NOT the nest! So I went to check the box and, sure enough, all 5 babies were gone from the nest. Hopefully they're all doing well out there, and they'll grow up into strong and healthy Bluebirds.

On another note, I finally got to photograph some Indian Pipe wildflowers at Ashland Nature Center. Aren't they cool?



Indian Pipe is a plant (not a fungus) that contains no chlorophyll, so it's ghostly white instead of green. It gets its energy from decaying plant matter by way of help from a fungus. It's always found in shady, damp areas and usually near rotting logs. It's also called "corpse plant," which is sort of creepy because the first time I discovered it, it was growing just outside the cemetary by my house.

Have a happy Saturday!

12 Days Old!

Here are the babies again, 12 days old on Sunday. I may not get to photograph them again. I don't want to risk a premature fledge!

Here is the Daddy Bluebird, just after dive-bombing me and getting ready to do so again. :D

And here are the yummy mealworms I leave out for Mom and Dad. They usually just eat them, but they may be taking some to their babies by now.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!

Big Babies

You know, I really think the Eastern Bluebird is becoming a more agressive species. Daddy dive-bombed me as I was getting the picture below:




Aren't they cute?! These babies are 10 days old today. They are already getting their pin-feathers. Pretty soon they'll be ready to fledge (and I'll have to be more careful about getting photos)!

Tune in next time for the latest in April's naturosities.

Downy Nestlings!

Here's the latest photo of the 5 baby Bluebirds. They are growing quickly and already feathering out with down. I can't wait till they open their eyes!

This picture was taken yesterday, when the babies were only 5 days old!

Nature Updates

Alright, folks - here's the latest in cool animals since my last nature binge!

A cute little baby Common Snapping Turtle. I was teaching a program by by Wildflower Brook when one of the chaperones saw a turtle bury itself in a nearby muddy pool. She pointed to the spot and I reached into the goopy mud, felt around for a hard object, and pulled up with a mucky baby turtle! After rinsing him off the in the stream, I was able to get a few cool shots.













Here's an update photo of the baby Bluebirds - growing fast!













I found this awesome moth in my breezeway. He was really friendly and calm, so I was able to get some good photos. Isn't he neat?













Alrighty, that's all! Check back for more coming soon.

Snakey!

I found another snake!

This time, I was in the middle of teaching a program at Ashland. I was showing onion grass to the students when suddenly one girl noticed a snake slithering right around her friend's shoe! The girls screamed and backed off, but I jumped into the weeds and fished out a beautiful red-and-cream striped Eastern Milksnake! Its tummy was black-and-white checkered, and it tried to bite me several times. Needless to say, I did not allow the young students to hold it.

Below is a picture showing a Milksnake (thanks to John White, whoever you are). My snake was just as beautiful and I wish I'd thought to bring a camera!

Turtles and Tadpoles and Trails, Oh My!

Yesterday I went on another nature binge, finding among other things an exceptionally cute baby Painted Turtle! :D

Here are the toad and bullfrog tadpoles lying in wait for their adulthood - and hoping not to be caught in the little kids' nets!

And here are a few more wonders of nature that I found on my hike at Ashland.

Finally, here's a video of the little turtle being released back into the marsh. Very cute!!

A Bluebird Hatches, a Starling Dies

Well, unfortunately my foster baby Starling (Little Peep) didn't make it through the night. Sometimes the needs of those tiny little guys are just too much for a mere human to master.

But today is also a happy day because the Bluebirds have finally hatched! I took this photo of the babies just after the mother flew out and dropped a piece of eggshell on the grass.

Sorry it's blurry; they kept moving around. You can see a glimmer of light blue in there, indicating the last egg hasn't yet hatched. But it will today, because baby birds always hatch on the same day, no matter how far along they are. The fifth one to hatch is the fifth one to be laid, so it usually ends up being the runt. But, that's how Mother Nature works!

Come back in two days! I will plan to update every other day.

Mama Bluebird

Well, I wanted to see what was going on with the eggs in the bluebird box, but Mama Bluebird was sitting on her eggs. Here she is!

Froggy Friday

Look at the American Bullfrog I found sitting in the Marsh!

Five Eggs!!!!!

We now have five little eggs in the bluebird box! So I guess my one-a-day theory was correct.

Aren't they cute?!

Three Eggs!

Take a look! The Bluebirds now have 3 eggs in their nest. I suppose they have one every day. How many will they end up with ? Only time will tell.

Nesting Bluebirds

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds has decided to occupy our backyard birdhouse this year! And as of May 7th, they had laid their first light blue egg. Isn't it cute?

Here is the nest that they built with dry grasses from our lawn.




















Stay tuned for more on this special pair of birds!

Snaily!

April found this striped garden snail in Newark, Delaware this morning. Most garden snails are not so starkly colored - but this one is a real beauty!

Magical Mayapples

The Mayapples at Ashland are blooming! This is very exciting because the flowers that bloom on these "umbrella plants" actually bloom underneath the umbrella, making them hard to see.

See how well they hide? And they are so pretty!

When I was little I used to look into the Mayapple stands and wish I were a little mouse. Then I could run around in a cozy Mayapple forest!

Mayapples are an important part of a Eastern Box Turtle's diet. In fact, the Box Turtle plays a huge role in spreading Mayapples. It eats the fruits (or 'apples') and poops out the seeds. Other animals consume the seeds, or avoid the plant altogether because of its toxins.

And here are a few more pictures from last week's White Clay Creek State Park excursion. Enjoy!

Snakey!

April caught this cute little Garter Snake in White Clay Creek State Park today. It was very fast and hard to catch! April had to wash up in the Creek after the snake left foul-smelling musk all over her hands. :P