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From Bluebirds to Turtles: January 2015
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Saturday, January 24, 2015. On the day after Christmas, I was surprised to find Bert Umber out ambling around the back yard. Bert is a male Eastern Box Turtle. Male box turtles usually have red or orange irises while female box turtles usually have brown irises. We first saw Bert Umber back in July 2014. He is named for his somewhat burnt umber coloration. Another feature that stands out is his particularly prominent growth rings on each scute. Eral of his scutes have an angular.
frombluebirdstoturtles.blogspot.com
From Bluebirds to Turtles: VISITORS TO THE BIRD ROOM AND DECK
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Saturday, May 16, 2015. VISITORS TO THE BIRD ROOM AND DECK. 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. As I sat quietly with the camera on the other side of the room.
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From Bluebirds to Turtles: NEST BOX CHECK - MAY 8TH AND A BOLD JUMPER!
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Sunday, May 10, 2015. NEST BOX CHECK - MAY 8TH AND A BOLD JUMPER! I made the rounds to the active nests on Friday afternoon. Here is what was going on. In Lab Box #1 the Brown-headed Nuthatches have a total of six eggs that are white with reddish brown splotches especially concentrated around the large end of the egg. They should be hatching in around a week. In Lab Box #4 there appears to be a chickadee pie, divided into 5 wedges! In Home Box #1 there are five well feathered E...
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From Bluebirds to Turtles: March 2015
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Over the past week we have had at least four deer visitors to the "deer block". Based on the education my deer hunter friends at work are giving, they all appear to be bucks to me due to the antler buttons in front of their ears. Several minutes later this button buck came to feed. It has some patchy markings on the left side of it neck that could be from shedding or some unknown injury. Early the next morning this antlered fellow showed up. My fr...
frombluebirdstoturtles.blogspot.com
From Bluebirds to Turtles: March 2014
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Two Bird Banding Demonstrations at Prairie Ridge. From our Feathered Friends. Over the past few years. Had two opportunities to observe the banding of song birds at Raleigh's Prairie Ridge EcoStation ( see link. A roughly 45 acre piece of nature that is home to a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants. Below is a Carolina Chickadee perching on a blackberry cane in a thicket along an old fence-line at Prairie Ridge. The wing...
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From Bluebirds to Turtles: July 2015
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Saturday, July 11, 2015. An American Lady, a Green Lacewing, a Crane Fly with "Guests", and a Scutigera. I have gotten way behind on the blogging side of life. I have to attribute much of that to falling under the spell of Facebook's two-toned notification alert telling me that someone is "liking" or "commenting on" some photo I posted there. Link to larva in Wikipedia). Another visitor to the porch light was this individual from a species of Large Crane Fly. As I zoomed in...
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The Birder's Conundrum: A Sad Realization amid March Meh-ness
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015. A Sad Realization amid March Meh-ness. The landfill gulls are still hanging around, but not for long. Kiss winter and gulling goodbye. The dates of April 29-May 7, when read aloud, conjure up images of Prothonotary Warblers, Veerys (Veeries? Ah, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, I may miss you this spring. But it's not my fault, I promise. I'll be locked in my dorm room, wishing I was outdoors. But I ask not for your sympathy. I dream of a day when bird-obsessed college students like...
frombluebirdstoturtles.blogspot.com
From Bluebirds to Turtles: An American Lady, a Green Lacewing, a Crane Fly with "Guests", and a Scutigera
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Saturday, July 11, 2015. An American Lady, a Green Lacewing, a Crane Fly with "Guests", and a Scutigera. I have gotten way behind on the blogging side of life. I have to attribute much of that to falling under the spell of Facebook's two-toned notification alert telling me that someone is "liking" or "commenting on" some photo I posted there. Link to larva in Wikipedia). Another visitor to the porch light was this individual from a species of Large Crane Fly. As I zoomed in...
frombluebirdstoturtles.blogspot.com
From Bluebirds to Turtles: October 2014
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From Bluebirds to Turtles. Wednesday, October 29, 2014. An Alien Visits a Freshman English Classroom - Juvenile Mediterranean House Gecko. Below is the little alien walking on the side of a Sonic drink cup. Link to MHG Virginia and United States range map). Link to MHG US range map). Http:/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko. Link to video of eye licking). Geckos are insectivores with exceptionally keen night vision. At times they can. Be found around outside lights where insects often gather. Geckos have uniqu...
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