I came across a beautiful male wood duck (Aix sponsa) in Bond Park this week. He seemed to be friendly with a female mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos). I read that it’s pretty common for both mallard ducks and wood ducks to breed with other types of ducks. Their hybrid offspring are usually infertile, though. If… Continue reading An Unusual Pair of Ducks in Bond Park
Blogs
Field Report- March 13, 2025
It’s finally starting to feel like spring! It’s easy to see all of the flowering trees. The cherries are just about done with their blooms, but the plums, pears and magnolias are just approaching their peak. Do you have a forsythia bush in your yard? Their yellow blooms are out now. The eastern redbuds finally… Continue reading Field Report- March 13, 2025
What’s That? March 10, 2025
While walking on the Crabtree Creek Greenway this weekend, we happened to look up as we were walking under the Route 54 bridge. What is that? It looks like organ pipes made out of mud. That is the nest of the Organ Pipe Mud-dauber wasp (Trypoxylon politum).
Killdeer Crossing
I was watching a pair of killdeer in the retention pond at the corner of Town Hall Drive and Harris Mill Road. At some point, one bird flew away while the other stayed in the pond. I finished taking my pictures of the bird in the pond, and started to walk to the other side… Continue reading Killdeer Crossing
Spotted Salamanders at the North Carolina Botanical Garden
This week, we visited the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. Our intention was to find some spring ephemerals, and we were not disappointed. However, we were not expecting to get a lesson in the life cycle of spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). As we crossed the bridge into the Coastal Plain Habitat, we were… Continue reading Spotted Salamanders at the North Carolina Botanical Garden
What Flowers Will Bloom Next Month? March 2025
Are you excited to see the spring flowers? The flowers have been a little slow to bloom this year because of the unusually cold temperatures. It will be interesting to observe the plant behavior as the weather warms up. Did the February bloomers die during the cold? Will they come out later, only to have… Continue reading What Flowers Will Bloom Next Month? March 2025
Spring is Coming
Today, I walked through Carpenter Park and Morrisville Community Park. Officially, spring is still a few weeks away. Not only did it feel like spring today, it looked like spring as well. The flowers are blooming everywhere! This is a Japanese flowering apricot in Carpenter Park. It has been blooming for quite a while already.… Continue reading Spring is Coming
Speedwell Flower Identification
Speedwells are very common in our area. I’ve noticed four different types on the trails in Morrisville. Here is some information to help you identify them. All speedwells have four petals. Three petals are the same size, and one is slightly smaller. Bird’s eye speedwell (Veronica persica) is the first speedwell that I noticed. The… Continue reading Speedwell Flower Identification
Quiet Nature- February 22, 2025
Enjoy some quiet nature today with the golden glow from Common Little Bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium).
Field Report- February 17, 2025
The bluets started to come out last week! It took ten days from when I first noticed a bluet flower bud to when that bud opened. I’m sure the bud was there for a few days before I saw it. So, I think it takes about two weeks from bud to bloom. There are many… Continue reading Field Report- February 17, 2025