Two large darner dragonflies hovered on pondweed growing in the water. Each dragonfly is over 3 inches long, and more brilliant blue and green colors than the vegetation nearby. They seemed to be connected (with the male grabbing the female by the head with his rear abdomen appendages) which suggests some stage of mating.
Small wildflowers grow in the riparian area surrounding the pond. Some are invisible to the casual observer because of their small stature, or because they are hidden by the many taller grasses and reeds.
The leaves resemble geraniums but the two families have different reproductive structures.
Mallow is also called 'Cheeseweed' since each seed looks like a miniature wheel of cheese.
Iris versicolor, the Northern Blue Flag, is blooming near the pond. It does not mind having its 'feet' wet and often grows in a few inches of water.
The blue to purple flowers stand out from the grasses and reeds around it, but the sword-like leaves blend into all that green!
This plant attracts both butterflies and hummingbirds, and may be known as Blue Flag Iris, Harlequin Blue Flag, Northern Iris, and Wild Iris.
Today the Hooded Merganser female showed up on the pond with 15 ducklings. This species nests in a cavity, probably in a tree or stump nearby. Once the eggs hatch, the ducklings follow the mother to water. They fed for a while, then she signaled them to rest. They followed her to shore and gathered under her wings. Well, sort of . . . there were many of them!
They dive under water to find small fish, amphibians, clams, mud crabs, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, and aquatic insects and other crustaceans. They also consume some aquatic plants.
By Sunday morning they had all gone from the tree branch, no trace left behind of their weekend stay.
The Mallard has been hanging around for weeks while his mate sits on her nest of eggs. Sometimes we see the pair of Mallards together when the female comes out for meals; they dabble together on the shores. That day, the Merganser was happy to float with one or both. This afternoon, she was again present and just as friendly to the turtle who had been sitting on the rock since morning. What a friendly neighbor to all.
A flock of shorebirds stopped today at the pond on their migration trip. Spotted Sandpipers Actitis macularius, catch food in several different ways. Like most other sandpipers, they probe into sand or mud with their bills looking for food -- aquatic larvae of insects, beetles, worms, snails or crustaceans. And like herons, they also lunge at moving small fish in the water, pick insects off plants, or snap at flying prey.
Migration brings something new each day! We saw several Tree Swallows, actively aerial hunting over the pond for any flying insects they could eat. One checked out the nestbox where a pair raised a clutch of eggs successfully last year. They moved on, but the box is ready in nesting season for Bluebirds or Tree Swallows making their way here.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-dont-birds-get-cold-feet/
https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/why-birds-feet-dont-freeze
Many native plants are coming up through their winter blankets of grasses and mulch. The Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea will be displaying their golden yellow flowers in just a few weeks.
There are several trees in the riparian area around the pond. One is the Tamarack Larix laricina or American Larch. It is just starting to flower, before sprouting its fresh bright green soft needles. Tamarack is a native deciduous conifer; it is in the pine family but sheds needles (leaves) in Autumn.
Late on this balmy Spring day, a pair of Hooded Mergansers landed on the pond. They might be migrating, needing a place to stop and rest. We watched them paddle around a bit near the far shoreline. As the sunlight dimmed, the turtles who spent the afternoon warming themselves on the rocks started swimming back into the pond. Neither species seemed to be bothered by the other. This turtle sat comfortably with the ducks for a long time, each enjoying the end of winter.
