News From The Mews

I noticed recently that the rope on Carson's perch was rather smooth. Smooth surfaces are rare in nature and can cause foot problems for our raptors. It was time to re-rope the perch! I unscrewed the perch from the wall and removed the old rope. I carefully wound the new sisal rope tightly around the 2x4 and reinstalled the perch. When Carson returned to her mew, she looked indifferent. But I like to think that she appreciated my handiwork! 

I started recording our snakes' behaviors  in 2023 and invited Museum visitors to contribute their observations while visiting the Curiosity Center. A QR code routes to a form where staff or visitors answer questions about what the snakes are doing. Where is the snake? What is she doing? How does she respond if you move in front of her window? I checked in on the results this week and was pleased to see so many responses, over half of which were submitted by visitors. One commented, "Love this interactive info request!" I'm so happy that this project has given people a new way to interact with our live animals! Not surprisingly, the data pointed to two common reptile characteristics. Both Digger and Emory spent the most time close to their heat lamps, and they both spent most of their time motionless. As ectothermic animals that can't create their own body heat, it makes sense that they spend time in warm places and conserve energy by resting. I also noticed trend...

Do reptiles have long-term moods? A research paper published this year would say yes! They found that tortoises who approached a bowl more quickly, hoping for a tasty treat, were also more comfortable in a novel environment. The researchers concluded that these tortoises were optimistic.  A Red-Footed Tortoise, the same species used in the study. Ethologist Karolina Westlund compares this type of animal to Gene Kelly when he sings:  "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again I'm laughing at clouds..."* When we're in a good mood, we can laugh at clouds! Westlund says we perceive potentially negative experiences as laughable, friendly, or safe. The optimistic tortoises didn't know if they would get a treat at the bowl or not, but they approached it quickly as if they thought there was a good chance of getting a reward. And they showed fewer stress behaviors in a new place, perhaps assuming that the new enviro...

As I searched the worm bin for our salamander's next meal, I found a red worm smaller than most. I wondered if it was small enough for our tree frog to eat. I offered it to the frog and she jumped on it immediately. It was a mouthful for this little frog and she used her front feet like my 1-year-old daughter uses her hands to eat noodles, grabbing a fistful and cramming it into her mouth.

Carson the Red-tailed Hawk deserves a bit of fanfare. This was the first year that she chose to participate in every program this summer. After 11 Talon Talks at the Museum and two library programs, Carson met over 580 people! 🎉 Carson met a big crowd at the Hayward Library this summer! 📷 :  Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library

Author Fredrik Backman shared a video of his dog's habit of laying in front of the refrigerator, leaving just enough room to open the door. He describes her humorous ability "to ALWAYS be in the way, without TECHNICALLY being in the way." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fredrik Backman (@backmansk) Aldo the kestrel turned out to have the same skill on Monday when I gave him a larger chunk of food than usual. He tried to fly to another perch with his feast, but the weight of it pulled him down. He landed on the ground and scuttled into the corner to start eating his chick. Unfortunately for me, he chose the corner right in front of my exit door. I was trapped! I slowly cracked the door, hoping he would hop away. Aldo, however, continued ripping at his meal. As I inched the door open, I found that it could swing past Aldo with just a hair's distance to spare. I slipped out the door and thanked Aldo for not technically being in the way.