green heron hunting

Green Herons look small and stocky (pictured here), until one is hunting for a meal on the shore of the pond.  Then they stretch their neck full length  to reach the prey.

They hang out in small freshwater wetlands near ponds and streams lined with thick vegetation.  All the better to hide in while hunting. 

Herons are opportunistic feeders . . .  they'll eat fish or whatever they find along the shore . . . aquatic insects, frogs, grasshoppers, snakes, or small rodents.

A Green Heron Butorides virescens is one of the few birds that actually uses tools.  They will try a variety of baits and lures, including leaves, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers . . .  dropping the item onto the surface of the water and grabbing the small fish that comes up.

We saw this one pick up floating bits and fling them back on to the water surface.

Vervain blooming

Blue Vervain Verbena hastata is a graceful plant in the wetland, with numerous crowning spikes of blossoms that give a candelabra-like appearance.  Each tubular, blue-violet flower is only about 1/4 inch.  They bloom on spikes held on the very crown of the plant, opening from the bottom up in July's heat.

Both short-tongued and long-tongued bees visit Vervain for nectar.  Later, the seeds will be a staple food for many small mammals and birds like Cardinals, Sparrows, and Juncos.

phoebe nestlings

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe is a small member of the flycatcher family that nests near water in open woodland and suburbs.  Phoebes are about 6-1/2 inches long, and mainly eat insects.

We've been watching this one since April as she sits in a tree or on a branch overhanging the pond.
Once she spots an insect, she flies off the branch, snatches the insect mid-air, and returns to the branch to eat it.  This is called “hawking”, a behavior shared with other members of the flycatcher family.

Once she started flying under a deck nearby with freshly caught food items, we suspected she was feeding babies.

Sure enough, two small Phoebes peeked out over the edge of the nest.

Mountain Mint blooming

Blooming now in the riparian buffer around the pond - -  Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum.  Look for them as  2 or 3 foot tall bushy plants.  Because the individual flowers are tiny, this plant is an important food for short-tongued bees.  They can reach into the flowers easily to drink the nectar.  In the photo above, you can see the clusters of tiny white flowers with delicate purple spots.  The flowers open one at a time, providing nectar over many days.
Below, this subtle plant grows among yellow Birdsfoot Trefoil and daisy-like Fleabane.

nestlings

In one of the nestboxes today, these three baby Tree Swallows wait for another meal. Two of them are 'gaping' -- opening their beaks to receive food items from the parents.  The babies hatched out of their eggshells just seven days ago, weak and bare except for a bit of fuzz. In the week, they grew a layer of down feathers and some of the 'contour feathers' that will cover their body. In another week each will look fully feathered. But they also need to develop their strong wing feathers before they can fly.  Tree Swallow young are usually ready to fledge out of the nest by the time they are three weeks old.  (see 6/27 and 7/3)

green heron

Today a heron was fishing on the edge of the pond.  Green Herons Butorides virescens eat mainly small fish, but also insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and small rodents.
They hunt at all times of the day by standing still at the water’s edge, in vegetation, or by walking slowly in shallow water.  Green Herons nest and breed the north, including parts of Minnesota.

swamp milkweed blooming

Last summer, a few Milkweed plants were blooming on the wetland surrounding the pond.

This is Swamp
Milkweed Asclepias incarnata; it thrives in wet soil, and we encourage it here for the pollinators who thrive on the flowers' nectar.

It usually blooms pink, on two foot tall stems. There are some white blooms also.

This fall, we will try to coax the seeds of these plants to sprout new plants for more blooms in future seasons.

frog

The sun was low in the west behind us.  

We thought it was a yellow flower floating in the middle of the pond. 

Then, it seemed to be a toy yellow frog. 

Really yellow. 

Someone's joke.

Binoculars, to get a better look.  Bullfrog!

knapweed

Unfortunately, everything that looks appealing is not a good thing.

This plant opened its blooms this week with a pretty show of purple among the other wildflowers in the pond area.  We had watched this plant through Spring because we did not see it last season here.

Despite its interesting bloom, Spotted Knapweed Centaurea stoebe is on the Minnesota prohibited weed list. Knapweeds are invasive plants that can out-compete native plants with chemicals that poison the soil and inhibit native plants.

Note: This is a non-native invasive plant that can compete with native wildflowers.  Letting it grow here will reduce the good quality wildlife habitat in the natural wetland around our pond.  We will be removing it.

blackbird juvenile

Red-winged Blackbirds have terrorized the pond and wetland by defending their nest area from all other birds.  Now that the young blackbirds learned to fly, the parents are teaching them to hunt on their own.  But this juvenile prefers to terrorize his dad . . .   by gaping and squawking for an easy meal. Blackbirds!!

hatched Tree Swallows

Yesterday, the three eggs in the Tree Swallow nest were arranged carefully on a bed of white fine feathers (above).  The long feathers upright around the cup are placed carefully by the female adult to hide the eggs from predators. This morning, the eggs were hatched (below).  The 3 baby birds look like pink wriggling gummy worms. They have no feathers and cannot control their movements, so they flop around until one of the parents will bring a food item.  Then the babies will ‘gape’ their beak open to receive food.

It was a lovely day, although hot and humid. This pond is part of the stormwater system. The technique uses creeks, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and ditches to manage stormwater run-off. All of the water gathered makes its way to the St. Croix River or infiltrates into the groundwater aquifer.

The huge nest near the pond is still home to the Bald Eagle family.  The young are learning to fly, initially from branch to branch, until they can fly beyond the tree. Then their intensive hunting lessons start.  For now, they may return to the tree overnight.

Young Bald Eagles Haliaeetus leucocephalus do not display white feathers until they are a few years old. Meanwhile, they are mottled brown like this young one hatched this Spring.

high water

This morning, after
7 inches of rain fell overnight, the pond is higher than usual and some of the shoreline around it is under water.  The critters are trying to find their favorite places to feed or soak up the sun.


I was watching a turtle crawl slowly up on a small rise among the grasses.


Then a frog croaked, and I noticed him right near the turtle.  We've been hearing these Green Frogs
Rana (Aquarana) clamitans
for several weeks.  They are usually secretive; this is first time I've seen one here.  Do you see him in the photo below?

The Tree Swallow pair return to the branch over the pond every day.  When she is in the nestbox, he sits on the branch to keep watch on her and their eggs.  Sometimes she joins him there. They can survey their territory, chase away intruders, and spy food items flying by.  Or, just sit close together.  On occasion, he sings to her.  She has been incubating eggs for 11 days.  They will hatch any day.

queen anne's lace

Queen Anne's Lace Daucus carota is a member of the carrot family.  There are several of these tall striking 'wild carrot' plants in the disturbed area around the pond. 

Each bloom is an umbel of small flowers that form a shape like an open umbrella.  Its flower looks like poison hemlock or wild parsnip, two plants you want to avoid.  The few small magenta flowers in the center help identify Queen Anne's Lace.
(photo left)

It is interesting and pretty, but if allowed to proliferate it can crowd out native wildflowers. 
We hope to limit Queen Anne's Lace spread by  clipping the flowers just before they go to seed.  Meanwhile, we can enjoy the white (sometimes pink-tinged) blossoms.

full bloom thistle

The Musk Thistle Carduus nutans I've been watching since May is now blooming.  The plant is more than 5 feet tall and branched out regally to stand above the other flowers near it.
Several blooms, each opening in their own time, reveal deep magenta color at first.  (See 6/7/2020 and 6/17/2020.) Then, as the flower head ripens, it seems pale lavender. The plant flowers over a seven- to nine-week period, and begins to disseminate seed about two weeks after it first blooms. 
Note: This is a non-native invasive plant that can compete with native wildflowers, so we will try to control the seeds.

chamomile

Daisy-like flowers are scattered here and there around the pond.  Most are the Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, a common wild flower. 

This flower, German Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla, is another plant grown in some places as a crop. The flowers contain a blue essential oil that is distilled and used in health care and beauty products.

German Chamomile has an upright stem that branches with fine fern-like foliage and multiple flowers that do look like small daisies.

In some places this plant is considered a nuisance weed.  We (and the pollinators) enjoy its presence as a bright spot among green wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and rushes circling the pond.

whitetail and bluet

The pond is a magnet for dragonflies and damselflies.  Both are in the Odonata family. Above is a damselfly hunting for a food item in the grasses surrounding the pond.  It is less than 1.5 inches long.

Their species lay eggs in the water or on aquatic plants, then the nymphs or larvae hatch and live in the water.  The young go through several stages until adulthood, feeding on smaller creatures in the pond.

This Common Whitetail dragonfly Plathemis lydia was resting on the big rock.  It is about 2 inches long.

raided nest

Many Painted Turtles Chrysemys picta live in our pond. They mate once a year; in Minnesota, it is usually late May or June. Usually, Painted Turtles lay between 4 and 15 eggs. This year, the females looked for nest sites with soft sandy soil, even if they have to cross lawns and rocky shores.


One found a good spot on the sunny slope above the pond. Because she knows her hatchlings will instinctively head straight for the water, from here their short trip will be downhill.  She dug a shallow hole with her hind feet, and deposited her eggs.  She covered the hole carefully and returned to the water, her job done for this season.

The eggs usually hatch about 72 days later, in late August or early September.  Unfortunately, turtle nests are often discovered by birds, raccoons or skunks, who make a meal of the eggs.  It's not unusual for many of painted turtle eggs to be lost to predators.  We found a few raided turtle egg nests like this one . . .  the eggs eaten and the shells strewn around the hole.

eggs

Each day, Tree Swallows fly above the pond looking like they are doing aerial acrobats for our amazement.  In reality, they are eating -- feeding on flying insects.  So adept in the air, they eat and drink while flying, and rarely spend any time on the ground.  Unlike other swallows, they nest in old woodpecker cavities or human-built boxes. A pair settled in the bluebird box near the pond and started their clutch of eggs.  Each is less than an inch long, white, and oval.  The female places shed feathers from herself and other birds in the nest grass to hide the eggs until she is is ready to incubate them all.

Blackbird fledglings

Hiding in the reeds, unsure of what to do next, these three young Red-winged Blackbirds are waiting for instructions from a parent.  They fledged from their nest today, and flew a short distance. They hatched only 10 days ago (see post on 6/10/2020), then grew and developed to almost their adult size.  The mom will feed them and teach them to find food on their own for the next few weeks.  Seeds are most of their diet year-round, but for summer they will learn to hunt insects hiding among plants surrounding the pond.  Later, once each develops agile flight, they will catch flying insects mid-air.

vibrant thistle color

On 6-7-2020 we posted photos of a lovely rosette of thistle leaves.

The Musk Thistle plant is biennial -- seed germinates in the fall and survives winter as a small plant close to the ground.  Covered by leaf litter, it is insulated through cold weather.

This plant has grown to over 5 feet tall, and branched out to display several flower buds. Each is beginning to show its true vibrant color.

Goldfinches use the downy parts of the seed produced by this flower, and they eat the thistle seed.  But it is an invasive plant and very painful to touch.

cinquefoil

This little 5-petaled gem shines with bright yellow blossoms among the early green plants around the pond.

It looks like wild strawberry before it blooms.

But the petals, with a pointed sepal between each one, tells us its true identity -- cinquefoil.  There are several varieties in the potentilla family.  This is Rough Cinquefoil Potentilla norvegica.

It will add color to the wildflower field all summer long, and compliment the native plants that will bloom later.

alfalfa

Alfalfa Medicago sativa is another forage crop grown around the world. But it escaped and now commonly sprouts along roads and degraded or disturbed areas.  Also called lucerne or purple medic, Alfalfa adds its deep purple blooms to the wildflower palette around the pond.  Known for the remarkable productivity and quality of its herbage, the plant is also valued in soil improvement and is grown as a green manure.  We are glad it is present here to add its color and value to the pond area.