What to See This Week

This week is exciting for waterfowl! Ducks and other water birds are early to migrate with peak migration generally seen in the month of March. Both the new Rolling Hills Meadow and Dawes Lake are full of interesting ducks. Pictured here are ring-necked ducks that have been spending the last week or so at Dawes Lake.

Buffleheads are also at Dawes Lake. These little ducks are tiny when next to the ring-necked ducks and redheads on the water. The two at the front of the photo are males with a female seen in the background. Male buffleheads have a beautiful rainbow oil-slick color on their heads that is not visible due to the cloudy conditions. While watching buffleheads you will regularly see them completely disappear under the water diving for food.

Turkey vultures are a common sight at The Arboretum, most often seen soaring above. Turkey vultures are huge birds with wingspans of over 5 feet! While many birds rely on their amazing vision to find food, turkey vultures use their excellent sense of smell in order to find carrion.

American kestrels are amazing birds that can be seen at The Arboretum year-round, especially at the Red Barn Reserve and Dutch Fork Wetlands. Did you know they are North America’s smallest species of falcon? Pictured here is a female, recognized by the rusty back and wings with dark barring. 

In a few short months, this structure will erupt with hundreds of teeny praying mantises. This is an ootheca, a mantis egg case! These egg cases overwinter attached to twigs or grasses and the eggs inside aren’t triggered to hatch until temperatures rise and stay steadily warm for a period of time. Pictured here is a Chinese mantis ootheca, but our native Carolina mantis also produces an ootheca although it is a more elongated shape. 

Chipmunks are seen very often in the Bird Watching Garden throughout the spring, summer, and fall but usually through the worst of the winter they are hiding out in their burrows. It is always a great sign when we start noticing chipmunks again, even when the weather doesn’t feel very springy!

If you have not yet visited the Witch-Hazel Collection, I highly suggest doing so soon! Many plants are only just beginning to wake up for spring, but the witch-hazels have been blooming for weeks! The Witch-Hazel Collection is one of The Arboretum’s four nationally accredited plant collections and contains a huge variety of cultivars. Along with the beautiful and unique blooms, witch-hazel flowers have a wonderful fragrance that carries in the air.

This week silver maples have begun to bloom, one of the very first trees to bloom in the spring. This kicks off a very exciting time of the year, with something new blooming every week or even each day depending on weather conditions! While the cold weather at the start of this week certainly slows things down, very warm weather towards the end of the week will spur on a lot of new growth so stay tuned!