pennant

Walking along the shore near the pond on an overcast hot day, I noticed a dragonfly perched on a stem of Horsetail.

This is a Halloween Pennant Celithemis eponina dragonfly.  They usually perch horizontally like this, waving in the breeze pennant-style, at the top of vegetation.

At 1-1/2 inches long, this dragonfly would be a juicy meal for a predator.

butterfly

This Monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus was flitting around from flower to flower near the pond. It settled for a moment on a Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea.  But Monarchs prefer their host plant, milkweed, so it did not linger here.  The Monarchs' distinctive colors and pattern warn predators (mostly birds) that they’re foul-tasting and poisonous because of their diet. The milkweed they eat is toxic, but monarchs have evolved not only to tolerate it, but to use it to their advantage by storing the toxins in their bodies and making themselves bad for creatures who would eat butterflies.

nectar

White Sweet Clover is a another plant brought to North America as a green manure for fields and as a forage crop for livestock. And it is another plant that quickly escaped cultivation, now growing in disturbed areas as a weed.

It can be a nuisance because the seeds can persist in the soil for several decades and remain viable.

But it is considered an excellent nectar plant by beekeepers, especially for Honey Bees.
Many kinds of insects feast on the nectar, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, beetles, and plant bugs.  Short-tongued bees also collect and transfer its pollen.

Both the foliage and flowers are mildly fragrant. White Sweet Clover Melilotus alba blooms from early summer to fall.

horsetail

Horsetail Equisetum spp. is a living dinosaur among plants; it belongs to a plant family that dates back to 350 million years ago.  On the edge of the pond, a cluster of Horsetail grows in the sun.

This plant is not related to ferns, but reproduces through spores (not seed) like ferns.  At the top of its stems, the cone-like spore-producing structures grow.  The stem also has tiny gray leaves fused vertically onto it in a sheath with a black ring beneath. 

From a distance the plant looks like a group of attractive stems, from 2 to 4 feet tall.  Tiny ridges run vertically along the stems and contain silica.  Those stems feel rough and, in the past, people used this plant for scouring cooking utensils.

birds on the branch

Eastern Bluebirds also like to sit on the branch over the pond.

Many flying creatures use this branch as a place to spot a prey item to eat, or a place to rest, or a place to socialize.

In this photo, after some rain, the rock behind the Bluebirds is under water.  It is our gauge for the water level in the pond.

Below, a turtle sits on the same rock on a day when the water level is lower.

out of the nest box

When young songbirds are grown enough to leave the nest, it may be an hours-long process for the parents and the young.

We've been watching the Tree Swallows Tachycineta bicolor for four days, thinking it would happen soon.

This afternoon the parents started flying at the nest box without any food items, teasing the young birds to come out of the nest.  Finally, they did.  It is amazing to see a creature take its first flight.

This little Tree Swallow is leaping out into air for the first time, nose down and spreading his wings with new strong feathers to fly with the big guys.  But he flopped to the ground, flapped his wings a few times, then took off again successfully.

Now, the parents will teach the young birds to hunt for insects on their own. We may see them flying together over the pond.

dragonflies for lunch

On 7/18 we thought the Tree Swallows might be ready to leave the nestbox.  But they have not fledged yet.  The adults are still regularly feeding the three nestlings.  And they are bringing bigger food items as the young ones grow.  Today both parents kept up a continuous delivery of meals to the nestbox, including several dragonflies.  Two little birds were hanging out of the slot above the "door" hoping to get the prize, while the third one was inside the door.  The parents feed the young from dawn until dusk, bringing flies, beetles, ants, mayflies, spiders, grasshoppers, damselflies, and dragonflies.

dragonflies on branch

We love the branch over the pond, since it is a platform for all flying creatures to settle on for a short time.  Usually we get a close look at birds pausing there.  Now, in mid-summer, the dragonflies and damselflies use it too. 

12-Spotted Skimmer

Eastern Pondhawk or Blue Dasher

muskrat mid-summer meals

Now that the clover growing near the pond is on the wane, the muskrats are finding other plants to eat.

Here, the muskrats eat pondweed, rushes, grasses, sedges, and other aquatic vegetation.  We do not often see them feeding right where they find food.  They usually cut and drag plants to a feeding spot near one of their travel paths.  There, they can eat without worrying about predators.

Muskrats consume about one-third of their weight each day.  That's a lot of greens!

pond morning sounds

Mornings near the pond are so peaceful, with the birds singing and the breeze rustling through the grasses and reeds. 

Then you notice the bullfrogs calling. It is said they can be heard up to a quarter mile away.  They are vociferous from early June through July.

ready to fledge

The 3 nestling Tree Swallows are peeking out to get some air on this hot day.  They have inborn abilities to fly, which develop gradually as the young bodies grow.  By the time the parents coax the nestlings out, the young will have been exercising their wings within the boxes for days.  When they are physically ready for flight, the parents know and reduce their feeding trips into the box.  Instead, the parents may perch on the door and hold out a morsel for one nestling, teasing it to come out and try its wings.

Monarda - Bee Balm

Wild Bergamot Monarda didyma is blooming now in the buffer around the pond.
Also known as bee balm, horsemint, oswego tea, bergamot, wild bergamot, mintleaf beebalm, horse-mint, purple beebalm.

Monarda species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species.

Even before it blooms, the plant becomes colorful and promises its flowers will be interesting in structure (below).

Ironweed ready to bloom

Ironweed Vernonia fasciculata is growing tall in the buffer around the pond.  Soon, it will open its brilliant purple aster-like flowers in clusters at the top of each regal plant.  The name 'Ironweed'  becomes this plant because the stem is tough, straight, and strong, up to 6 feet tall.  It is very attractive to butterflies and native bees, and is a host plant for the American Painted Lady butterfly.
In the photo below, you can see the upper 12 inches of a six-foot tall specimen with flower buds.

green heron - frog for lunch

Green Heron tried to lure fish by picking up floating bits of vegetation and throwing them out on the water.  This bird is able to use tools for fishing!  But after a while with no success, he went to the rocky shore and watched for movement of something else.  When a frog revealed its presence, the Heron grabbed it for lunch.  We witnessed the frog kicking for a minute, then the Heron stretched his neck longer to swallow it completely.

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.