News From The Mews

The Curiosity Center has a new resident! This young male Tiger Salamander is settling into his new home and eagerly gobbling up worms. He likes burrowing under his rock hide, but see if you can spot him peeking out next time you visit the Museum!

I love the sounds of early summer. Each bird song I hear on a walk around my neighborhood transports me back in my memories. My mind wanders to the people and places where I first learned each song.    White-throated Sparrow - the first bird song I learned to identify.   When I hear "Poor Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody," it brings me back to my college field station where our professor played a recording of the White-Throated Sparrow's song. To our delight, a sparrow outside the classroom window started singing back! We were excited to point out the song every time we heard it that afternoon. By the evening, we realized that they sing non-stop and it became wearisome. " There's the White-throated Sparrow...again...and again.. ." A repetitive, up-and-down whistle calls down from a tree and makes me imagine looking down The Stairs of Health and Happiness, so-named to keep kids (and adults) excited about the trek up 245 steps to reach the top of Wolf Ridge Environ...

"Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!" The little bird repeated his namesake call angrily. I couldn't blame him for being upset. At the time, I was accompanied by a large predator perched on my glove. Carson the Red-tailed Hawk had been soaking in some sun, but she came on alert with the chickadee's chatters. That call, so familiar to most people, is also recognized by other chickadees, nuthatches, and other small birds (including tropical birds that don't naturally live with chickadees!) to mean "watch out for danger!" Nearby birds will flock to the "chick-a-dee" alarm, ready to help chase away a predator. This little chickadee didn't know that Carson already had her breakfast and posed no threat to the backyard birds. Carson kept a careful eye on the situation while I unlocked the mew door. We went back inside before the mob could chase us away!