NatureNerd: March 2016

Friday, March 25, 2016

Dino-Art!

Here is a small little feature of some my dinosaur art. I am not going to go into a big blurb about them. This is more of an art feature than a information post. So please enjoy! Prints of these works are available on my Shopify. >> http://leahcks-artistic-works.myshopify.com/collections/art-prints <<

2015: Centrosaurus

2015: Albertaceratops

2015: Avaceratops

2015: Velociraptor

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Deathclaw Mama

2016: Fallout 4 - Deathclaw

Here is my recent drawing. I have been in a Fallout 4 craze so here it is my deathclaw drawing. I really enjoyed drawing this. I drew one prior to this with a mama protecting her eggs and I decided to continue the mama deathclaw with the eggs hatching and have grown a bit. However only one of her babies survived, it's tough out there, even for a deathclaw.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Spring is Almost Here!

Here in upstate New York we have had a fairly mild winter. Christmas day was 70 degrees Fahrenheit and there will only a handful of cold snaps. Even so, I am happy that spring is almost here because that means most of the wildlife will be returning!

So without anymore delay here is some information on a very common waterfowl, the Mallard.

On one of my walks last week I saw this Mallard Anas Platyrhynchos pair in a nearby small pond.

2016: Mallard Pair - Cobleskill NY

Mallards are probably the most iconic duck when it comes to ducks in North America. If you mention the word duck the image of this bird will probably come first to mind...maybe after the cute yellow duck image.

Mallards belong to the group of ducks called "dabbling ducks". Dabbling ducks forage for plant material in the water dipping in or under the water to retrieve their food. The types of plants that Mallards tend to feed on consist of bulrush species, willow species, and duckweed species according to the book; Food Habits of the Mallard Duck in the United States by Waldo Lee McAtee.

When it comes to breeding mallards tend to be monogamous however male and female will sometimes go for other mates. Once a pair is established the pair will nest on the ground. The female is the only one to take care of the eggs and hatch-lings. The male is only there to protect the female from other male mallards.

These birds are very abundant and they are under least concern when it comes to conservation. Numbers cycle from 5 to 11 million.

I hope you enjoyed this little information bit on the Mallard. Here are some other images of mallards that I took in years past.


2014: Mallard Pair - Amsterdam NY

2014: Mallard Pair - Amsterdam NY

2014: Female Mallard - Amsterdam NY

Sources: Google Scholar, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GHJCAQAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=mallard+food+&ots=ODGD2Lc5Lg&sig=kKS7NqNnrjo59zrgEXP-K2sl2zc#v=onepage&q=mallard%20food&f=false
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/lifehistory

Friday, March 11, 2016

Adventure to Landis Arboretum

Went to the local Arboretum with my aunt on Tuesday and was able to get my first decent wildlife shots of the year.

I definitely will be posting more of this Arboretum in the future, so there will probably be some history to go along with these photos at some point. But for now I am just throwing some pictures up.


View of Schohaire Valley through the Red Oak and Mighty White Oak.

Hairy Woodpecker climbing up a tree.

Male Eastern Bluebird

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Prothonotary Warbler

These little warblers get their name from the golden hooded robes the Roman Catholic clerks used to wear.
Prothonotary warblers nest in tight cavities and tend to eat insects such as beetles, moths and butterflies. Since they are Neo-tropical migrants they travel from south and central America to the central and eastern parts on North America.

For more information on these lovely birdies check out Arkive's page on them. http://www.arkive.org/prothonotary-warbler/protonotaria-citrea/