Monday, September 4, 2023,
JK
Tuesday, August 8, 2023,
This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that I spied in the gardens at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, NY. As some of you know, I am a long-time volunteer there. I do various things for SB. Sometimes, I give talks and tours. Other times, I help with the feeding of animals or, maybe, I check water qualities for the fish or Axolotyl tanks. But, in my spare time, when I’m not playing with Penny, one of our Red Foxes, or a Possum, or one of the countless other animals we have, I will sometimes bring out my camera and take photos. These two pics were taken while I was goofing off. JK.
JK
Friday, May 5, 2023,
Niblet, our Groundhog at Sweetbriar Nature Center, likes his sweet potato, much in the same way that Godzilla likes Tokyo. 🙂 JK
Monday, March 13, 2023,
This is Beaker. He’s a Mallard Duck with an unusual profile. Beaker got his name from a popular Muppet’s Show character, for what may be obvious reasons.
Beaker came to Sweetbriar Nature Center after having suffered a rather grievous encounter with a Snapping Turtle when he was still a very young duckling. It seems that the Snapping Turtle took a chomp at Beaker and took off a good deal of his beak.
Beaker, luckily—and amazingly – survived, his Holy Cow! wound. However, despite the fact that he is able to still feed in an almost normal fashion, we are not sure if he can be returned to the wild. On the other hand, Beaker is very personable and has many fans amongst the rehabbers. JK
JK