Although most people think of lakes and ponds as normal turtle habitat, the relatively small eastern box turtle is a bit different.
All in Wildlife Watching
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Boat-Tailed Grackle
Grackles are common birds in North America, especially if you are talking about the common grackle. But another grackle, the boat-tailed grackle, is a coastal species, found almost exclusively along the Gulf Coast and our eastern Atlantic Coast.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Large Yellow Underwing Moth
Moths are interesting creatures. They usually do most of their flying and feeding under cover of darkness, so most people don’t see them very often.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Scavenging Black Vulture
Most people have seen the dark image of vultures slowly circling high overhead, either on TV or in their own personal lives. Sometimes they are circling over roads and sometimes over open farm land.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Helpful Milk Snake
Much to the dismay of people who don’t like snakes, there are dozens of species of snakes living in the United States today. In fact, there are more than 50 different species of snakes here – and if you count subspecies, the number grows to more than 250!
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Huge American White Pelican
Pelicans. Anyone that has been to Florida is likely familiar with pelicans. But the pelicans which are so common in the sunshine state or even some of the other Gulf states during the summertime are mostly brown pelicans.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Slimy Garden Slug
Anyone who has a vegetable garden or flower garden has probably seen a common garden slug. These slimy gastropods are actually a type of mollusk, similar to a snail, but they do not have a protective shell. Their scientific name is Arion hortensis.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Red-Breasted Merganser
Of all the species of diving ducks in North America, the mergansers are arguably among the most interesting. There are common mergansers, red-breasted mergansers and hooded mergansers.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Crocus Geometer Moth
Over the years, some moths have been called “jewels of the night”. This is because they are nocturnal and fly under the cover of darkness, and many of them are very beautiful.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Long-Legged Willet
Willets are a somewhat drab, nondescript-looking shorebird. They are fairly large, about the size of an American crow, with a wingspan measuring nearly 28 inches in length.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Beneficial Paper Wasp
Wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bees – most people don’t like them. The reason is simple, too. These insects are capable of delivering a very painful sting, and since they can fly through the air they can chase you!
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Surf Scoter, Sea Duck of the North
Of all the duck species in North America, the Surf Scoter is one of the most unusual-looking. It is a medium-sized sea duck, and the males are completely black except for small white patches on the back of their head, on their forehead, and at the base of their bill.