Cedar Waxwings at Carpenter Nature Center

Each Friday morning they band song birds at Carpenter Nature Center so whenever I have some time off on a Friday I try to stop over and check out what kind of birds that they are banding. Since today was a paid holiday at work I headed on over to Carpenter.

It just so happened that today was the forth Friday in November and on the forth Friday of each month the public is invited to come in and watch the banding and learn a little about the process. Since many other people had the day off because of the holiday it was a pretty busy morning. So instead of taking pictures I spent most of my time helping out doing interpretation on the nature center raptors for new visitors. Even so I do have these pictures of cedar waxwings that I took back at the end of October.

Often in the fall wherever you find fruit that is still on the trees you know that the cedar waxwing are probably not too far away. They are one of only a few birds in North America that can survive by eating only fruit for months at a time. They do have to be a bit careful though because sometimes the fruit will begin to ferment later in the year and they can become intoxicated from the alcohol. This last photo is an immature waxwing. You can tell by the streaking on the breast.

Today's Flowers: Monarchs on Flowers

I am looking forward to the weather here getting warm enough for the flowers to begin to grow again so, at some point, I can take a picture of a flower just for the sake of capturing the flower. Oh I am sure that I will still take pics of insects and flowers together but at some point I will take some pics of just flowers.

This weeks pics were taken at the Carpenter Nature Center back in July. CNC has some great open grassland that is filled with wild flowers, and of course insects, during the summer.
The first two pics are monarchs on some sort of goldenrod. It appears that it is probably Canada goldenrod which grows pretty much any where, often crowding out other plants.
I believe that this last shot was taken in one of the butterfly gardens. I am not sure what type of flower it is but it is brighter then the monarch that is sitting on it.

First Day of Spring

Today was the official first day of spring for 2009 and in typical Minnesota fashion when I woke up this morning it was snowing. At first the snow was not accumulating, I guess that the ground was still warm from temps that got up into the 50s and 60s most of the week, but as the snow continued it began to build up a bit. Fortunately it did not last too long, as the sun came up the temps rose, the high was around 50 degrees, and the snow turned to light rain. When I got off of work the rain had stopped but it was still overcast so I decided not to go out and shoot. Tomorrow, however is supposed to be sunny with temps in the mid 50s again so I will probably try and get out for much of the day since Sunday and Monday look as though they may be wet.
Here are some pics that should help everyone to get in the mood for spring. These were all taken at the Carpenter Nature Center back in August of last year. I am sure that most of you probably already know what type of butterfly is featured in this first pic.
The giant swallowtail is a rare visitor to Minnesota but last year we had a sort of eruption, similar to the eruptions that we sometimes see with northern birds during the winter, that began in the late summer and covered quite a bit of the south eastern portion of the state.
I was very excited when I was able to photograph this dragonfly at CNC. I could tell that it was a clubtail but it was one that I had never photographed before. I thought that it might be one of the rare types of clubtails that are often found around the St Croix River, like the St Croix snaketail or the sand snaketail.
With a little help from BugGuide.net I was able to identify it as a russet tipped clubtail. The reason I was so unfamiliar with this type of dragon is because the only record of this species in Minnesota that they have at Odonata Central is in Houston County which is in the far south eastern corner of the state. I will be looking for these again in 2009 and if I am able to get some more pics this year I hope to submit my proof and get the species added to the Washington County species list.

Answer 4: Eurasian Eagle Owl

Eye number 4 in the Eyes of March Quiz part 2 belong to the Eurasian eagle owl.
Although the great gray owl is the largest owl in length and wingspan the Eurasian eagle owl takes the prize for the largest owl in weight and mass. Eagle owls weigh in between 1600-4200g compared to the longer great gray that weighs between 700-1700g.

These huge owl are found in a range that extends across Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East, although they are currently endangered in many parts of Europe. They live in a variety of habitats but seem to prefer rocky landscapes.

They are a larger version of their cousin the great horned owl, which is found in North and South America. The eagle owl is known by the scientific name Bubo bubo while the great horned owl is Bubo virginianus.

Eagle owls are the top avian predator in their range. They typically hunt between dusk and dawn and they will eat almost anything that crosses their path from insects to small roe deer, Roe deer are a smaller deer found in Europe and parts of Asia. In the wild they have no natural predators so they can live to be 20 years old, if they can make it through the difficult first years.

This bird was the final bird that was highlighted in the owl presentation made by the World Bird Sanctuary at the Carpenter Nature Center the first weekend of March. her name is Xena and she was raised at the World Bird Sanctuary. Since she was creatively breed and raised she is very calm around people. She is so good around people that she participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade back in 2002.

My World: Carpenter Nature Center Visitor's Center

If you are a follower of the Ecobirder blog you are probably having nightmares lately about raptor eyes. For the first couple of weeks of March I have posted quizzes to see if people can identify the owners of various raptor eyes.

Part of the reason that I was able to post the second quiz, that focused on owl eyes, was because of an owl program that I attended the first weekend of March that was presented by the World Bird Sanctuary.

The sponsor of the event was the Carpenter Nature Center, along with several of their donors and corporate sponsors, and the program was held at CNC Visitors Center. The visitors center has been developing over the past several years and it is now a great example of the blending between nature, education and functionality that is indicative at CNC.
At one time this building was a concrete garage and maintenance shop that was also used for apple storage. It was remodeled into a visitors center in 2006. The open format of the building allows a lot of flexibility. This flexibility is necessary for the variety of programs that go on at CNC, from large public programs, like the owl program that I attended, to small gatherings, like the public bird banding that is held monthly, and even kid programs.However space alone is not enough to help teach the public, especially kids, about the importance of nature. So CNC has added a series of display that assist in their educational goals. These displays help to provide information to visitors when the staff and volunteers are not available.

Four new displays, each one focused on a type of habitat that can be found on the nature center, have recently been added. These displays are on wheels so that they can be moved around to accommodate the different configurations of the visitors center.

Not all the displays are on wheels. This wall houses openings where visitors can view reptiles and amphibians, snakes, frogs, turtles, and toads, that are housed in aquariums. Behind the wall is a work room which has all the necessities to take care of the critters, including a sink. This display allow CNC to display these creatures when staff and volunteers are not around with out worry that someone might open a cage to get a better look or pet the cute snake.

The nature center also houses several education raptors which can be seen through viewing windows in the visitors center. These birds were too badly hurt to be returned back to the wild so they are used by the CNC staff to educate visitors. Currently they include a great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, and peregrine falcon.

The birds are cared for by the CNC staff who access the birds mew, cage, by doors in the back. This is how they give the birds food water and take them in when it gets too cold at night.

Recycling is important at CNC and I guess you could consider the visitors center as the ultimate in a recycling project. They took an old garage and recycled it into a perfect tool for providing visitors with a stimulating and educational experience.

The Answer is Contestant A: The Spectacled Owl

Our third eye in the quiz belongs to owl (A) the spectacled owl.
The spectacled owl is a native of south Mexico, Central America, and northeastern South America.

These very unique looking owls live mainly in dense tropical rain forests. They are a nocturnal owl so they spend their nights in search of prey small mammals, birds, bats, and insects, especially caterpillars. During the day they roost alone in the dense foliage of the rain forest canopy.

Because of their habitat, and the fact that much of their habitat is controlled by rebels and drug cartels, it is difficult for anyone to accurately estimate a population. They nest in tree hollows where they typically lay one or two eggs. Once the eggs hatch, it usually takes around 5 weeks o incubate, the parents will continue to provide for the chicks up to about one year after they fledge.

This was another bird that was a part of the World Bird Sanctuary program at the Carpenter Nature Center. I believe that its name was Mai, I am not sure about the spelling, and it elicited gasps from the crowded room when they brought it out because of its unique look.

Answer Number 2: Barn Owl

Eye number (2) in the second Eyes of March Quiz belongs to bird (C) the barn owl.
The barn owl can be found in many places around the world. It has the most widely distributed range out of any of the owls. It can be found across the US, except for the northern portions and Alaska, all of Central and South America, most of Europe, except some northern parts, Australia and some southern parts of Asia.Because it is so widely distributed there are numerous subspecies of barn owls that are differ in size, color and geographic region. Barn owls get their name because they are cavity nesters that are often found nesting in old barns. This is usually good for farmers because their keen sense of hearing, probably the best in the animal kingdom, make them prolific mouse hunters and since they hunt at night, nocturnal, they are seldom seen during the day.

In North America the subspecies of barn owls is Tyto alba prantincola. They are the largest of all of the barn owls, with a buff colored breast which is covered with speckles, females typically have more speckles then the males. Whisper, one of the education birds from The Raptor Center, is a good example of the North American variety.

The owl who posed for the eye photo is actually an Eurasian barn owl from the World Bird Sanctuary who was a part of the Owl program at Carpenter Nature Center last weekend. Since they classified it as Eurasian I am not sure what subspecies that this bird was, but since it was quite a bit smaller then Whisper and had a white breast with no spots, I would guess that it may be from the subspecies Tyto alba alba which are found in western Europe and the Middle East.

As part of the program they flew this owl over the audiences head from one trainer to another.

At one point they asked the audience to close their eyes and listen as the bird flew overhead to demonstrate the owls ability of silent flight. This is necessary for owls that hunt at night, since their prey uses sound to sense approaching danger.

Number One is the Tawny Owl

OK, the answer to number (1) on the quiz is (D) the tawny Owl.

Here is the photo that the eyes where taken from. I really like this photo because it shows off the birds nictitating membrane. to refresh your memory the nictitating membrane is like a third eye lid that is partially transparent that helps to protect and moisturize the eyes. This nictitating membrane is a lot cloudier and less transparent then the ones on other birds that I have seen or photographed.

The tawny owl is an Eurasian owl, it has a distribution range that stretches from England to Korea. It is a nocturnal hunter which relies on its acute hearing as well as its binocular vision to find its prey which consists of mammals up to the size of a baby rabbit, birds and some insects. It catches its prey by scoping it out from a perch and then dropping noiselessly down on its prey talons first.
This tawny owl was named Tigger and he was a part of a show that was put on by the World Bird Sanctuary as part of a series of lectures and shows being held at Carpenter Nature Center. He was raised in captivity which made him very accustom to people. It was interesting to watch the difference in behavior between the captive raised birds in the program and our education birds at The Raptor Center. No matter how much we work with our education birds they will always be more wild and unpredictable then birds that are raised by human hand.

MyWorld: The Tiny World of Insects.

Each week bloggers take a look at the world around them and post for MyWorld. They take pictures of marvelous places that they share with their readers, but how often, when we are looking at the world around us, do we take a step back and notice the world beneath our feet. This is a world that is full of interesting creatures, that come in many exotic shapes and colors, that many people never take the time to explore. This week we will explore a small piece of this tiny world with pictures that I took on August 28th at the Carpenter Nature Center.

Back when I was a kid I spent a lot of time tipping over rocks and looking at beetles. Back in those days there was no Internet, computers, or field guides for bugs the only thing we had was an outdated set of encyclopedias which were very little help. Even though I could not ID them I still liked to watch them. These days with help from the Internet I can at least make an attempt at identification. I believe that this may be a dogbane beetle which is a beetle that lives in the eastern portion of North America and feeds on the leaves of plants in the dogbane family.
The Autumn or yellow-legged meadowhawk is easily distinguished from the other red colored meadowhawks by the fact that they have yellow legs instead of black. The Autumn meadowhawk is a late bloomer, meaning that they do not begin to mature into dragonflies until late July, so they are one of the most common dragons that are still seen in October and even early November depending on the weather.
The eastern tailed-blue butterfly is a very small butterfly that is often over looked. They look similar to their cousins the western-tailed blue but the eastern version usually has two orange spots on the wings. On this example it appears that the second orange spot on the far wing has been worn and lost much of its color but it definitely has two spots on the bottom of the near wing.
The monarch butterfly is the most recognizable butterfly in North America, and perhaps maybe even the entire world. The Caterpillar of the monarch feeds exclusively on members of the milkweed family, which makes the monarch toxic to most predators.
Many people are aware that monarchs, like birds, fly south for the winter, however this is not true for many monarchs. In the northern portion of North America we typically see two broods of monarchs each summer. The first brood of the summer are the offspring of monarchs that hatched in the south. They intern will produce a brood that will migrate south and then they will die. It is the second brood that we gather together in September and fly down to wintering grounds in Mexico or southern California. At the wintering ground they gather together and go into a hibernated state until the spring. When they wake up from hibernation they lay their eggs and then die and this is how the species continues.

I believe that this butterfly was an eastern tiger swallowtail but it is difficult to be sure since most of the edges of its wings are missing. The other option would be a Canadian tiger swallowtail, Carpenter Nature Center is with in the range of both versions, which has a continuous yellow band on the edge of the fore wing. There is also a black form of the female tiger swallowtail that looks very similar to the black swallowtail.So if you are lucky enough to live in a place where it is already warm enough for insects to survive take a look at the flowers, in the long grass, at the local pond or under a rock because you might find something really cool and interesting to look at. For those of us up here in the north we will still have to wait and be happy just to look at pictures.