What is it Wednesday: February 9, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 9, 2022. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

The bird flying close the camera is a tufted titmouse,

and on the feeder are another tufted titmouse on the left

and a white-breasted nuthatch on the right. 

These birds are both very common at birdfeeders, including this feeder behind the LEEP office.
The acrobatic tufted titmouse can hang upside down from branches or even hover briefly. 

In warmer weather they eat mostly insects, but throughout the winter they eat seeds, nuts, berries, and small fruit. At a feeder, they will often take one sunflower seed at a time, move to a nearby spot with more cover, crack open the seed with their bill, then either eat it or store it in a safe spot where they can return to it later.

Tufted titmice nest in cavities - either naturally occurring holes in trees, holes created by woodpeckers, or nesting boxes. The innermost layer of their nests are lined with hair, which they often pluck directly from living animals, including pets and humans!

We are fortunate to have habitat for a large variety of different types birds in all seasons at Lutherlyn!  Check out www.Lutherlyn.com for more on how you can visit Lutherlyn in any season and keep an eye out for our many different kinds of avian friends! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 24, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 24, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This is an abandoned nest of a house wren, which was built under
the lid of thepropane tank at Lutherlyn's Terra Dei Homestead.
(It was discovered when we needed to check
the level of the tank a week or two ago.) 

It’s not clear why the nest was abandoned, or why one of the eggs has a hole in it and the others were left intact. When a baby bird emerges from its egg the egg is usually broken fully into two or more pieces, but this egg only has a small hole in it. If a predator ate the egg, why didn’t it eat the rest of them? Perhaps the mother bird was unable to return to the nest to continue incubating the eggs, and when an animal discovered the eggs some time later it broke into the eggs looking for a meal but discovered they were empty. It is unclear what happened but it was an interesting surprise to find a nest with eggs in it in the dead of winter. It this area, only large birds like owls and eagles are incubating eggs in a nest this time of year.  

It is pretty clear that this is the nest of a house wren, because it is built of a platform of coarse sticks with a small lining of smaller twigs, grasses and feathers in the center of the nest. 

The number, size, shape and color of the eggs also match that of house wren nests. 

House wrens are also well-known for building nests in any unusual protected nook they can find. Peterson’s Field Guide to Bird’s Nests says they have been recorded as nesting in “radiator of unused auto, top of pump, empty cow skull, leg of work pants on clothesline, flowerpot, pocket of scarecrow, boots, shoes, in or on nests of other birds.” Here they found a well-protected area completely covered by the cap covering the propane tank controls. With the cap in place, you can just barely see the bottom twigs poking out of the gap at the bottom. No wonder we didn't see the nest until February! 

If you find a bird nest, noting the size, shape, building materials and location of the nest will help you identify what type of bird has built it. If the nest has eggs in it, the size, shape, color and number of eggs will also narrow things down. Keep an eye out and you may find bird nests in both surprising and expected locations, and in nesting season and all year long. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday archive: August 21, 2019

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

August 21, 2019.

And the answer is....

This is an owl pellet. 

Owls are predators who eat their prey whole or in large chunks. Parts of the prey that are not digestible (like bones, claws, etc.) get compressed into a pellet in the owl’s gut and regurgitated. 

Owls usually produce about one pellet a night, so several are often found in the same place, where owls perch night after night. We often find owl pellets around Upper Lake, especially in the evergreen trees near Bullfrog fire circle.

Dissecting an owl pellet is an interesting way to find out more about the owl’s habits. What do you think this owl has been eating?

We at LEEP love to check out things that have been regurgitated, excreted, and decomposed! Eww! For more about how LEEP can help you move such things from something gross to something fascinating that connects you to the natural world around us, check out www.Lutherlyn.com/ee. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: March 27, 2019

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on 

March 27, 2019.

And the answer is....

This striking burst of color is a male scarlet tanager. The female scarlet tanager is also beautiful, but looks very different - a greenish yellow, with olive colored wings. 

We see and hear scarlet tanagers at Lutherlyn near Chapel Rock, and around the Amphitheater, starting in May. 

They spend their summers here, but winter in South America! Right now, they are making their way across the continents. They will arrive in the southern edge of North America soon, along the Gulf Coast in early April. They continue to travel north following the emergence of spring foliage - scarlet tanagers are canopy birds, spending the majority of their lives high in the tops of the tallest trees, so they need to wait until the trees leaf out before they can move into an area. 

They prefer mature un-fragmented mixed hardwood forests with plenty of oak trees. Lutherlyn, and especially the area around Chapel Rock, makes a perfect home for them!

To learn more about the critters that come and go from Lutherlyn, and how ecosystems are connected even across continents, check out the many learning experiences offered by LEEP at www.lutherlyn.com/ee. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 7, 2019

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

the day after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on February 6, 2019. 

And the answer is....

These marks in the snow are made by the wings (and claws, in the upper imprint) of a bird. But which bird? 

The ski tip and poles in the bottom of the picture provide some size reference. The widest point of the wing marks are probably a little less than 4 feet apart, so it must be a bird with a wingspan at least that large, maybe larger. 

The claw marks could indicate a bird of prey trying to snatch a small animal poking up through the snow - something small enough that it was under the snow, leaving no tracks, like a shrew or mouse.

That narrows it down to probably a barred owl (wingspan 42-44 inches), great horned owl (wingspan 44-52 inches), or red-tailed hawk (wingspan 48-49 inches). Turkeys, osprey, and eagles all have much larger wingspans, while crows and the smaller hawks and owls have much smaller wingspans. 

The bird was probably flying towards us, picked up the animal, dropped slightly lower from the weight of the animal creating a stronger imprint with its wings, then continued flying on. 

(At least that’s one possible interpretation! Maybe you can piece together a different possible scenario from these clues.)  

When there is snow cover, we can suddenly see in the many tracks evidence of how much activity (and drama!) is constantly going on around us in nature. For more information on ways LEEP can help you gain an awareness and understanding of the ongoing activity of the natural world, through school trips, Saturday safaris, special groups and events, and more check out www.lutherlyn.com/ee .  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!