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!!