duck house

We put up a nesting box for ducks last Spring, especially Hooded Mergansers. 

It was too late for nesting season, but I read that sometimes they scout out in the autumn a place to nest next Spring. 

We hope this female is scouting!

goldfinches on goldenrod

 Sneezeweed is blooming in the background.

green heron

 

 

Green Heron stood on the log, soaking up the sun and looking for lunch in the water beneath. 

Suddenly, he stuck out his neck and grabbed a morsel from the pond.

blue vervain

 

molting woodpecker

 Mullein blooms over a long time in the summer. Some of the flower stalks have produced seeds.        Birds molt old feathers and grow new ones after nesting and fledging their young.  This Downy Woodpecker has a few more new feathers to sprout, but it is hungry enough to come out for lunch.

empty nest

 

Cornell University has a program called NestWatch  https://nestwatch.org/ where citizen scientists report on birds' nests they see.  I missed this one until now; it was hidden very well in the reeds near the pond.

fledgling robin

The nest is nearby. When the young American Robins fledged, this one flew only a little distance.  

It sat a long time waiting for someone to bring food. 

yellow loosestrife

 

spiderwort

The Spiderwort Tradescantia in the riparian area around the pond bloomed for a few days.  Then, the flowers disappeared.

Critters have been eating plants and leaving evidence behind . . .  broken off flower stalks, chewed reeds, left-behind stems, grass sheared off at ground level.

The muskrats swim across the pond to gather food on the opposite shores. The rabbits browse among the plants around the pond. I wonder who ate the Spiderwort?

smooth oxeye

Heliopsis helianthoides, also know as Smooth Oxeye, is flowering in the wildflower patch near the pond.  Smooth Oxeye has a long blooming period, with the first blooms appearing by early July lasting through September.  Goldenrod will flower later, but there are not many yellow blooms now.

bergamot

On June 24 Red Bee Balm Monarda didyma started to show her deep red buds.

On July 3, Red Bee Balm is in full red bloom alongside lavender Wild Bergamot and yellow Smooth Oxeye.  Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa, is a native wildflower with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers. 

Bee Balm and bergamot are all in the Monarda genus of the mint family of plants. Sometimes they are referred to as Horsemint or Oswego Tea.

 

dragonfly - Widow Skimmer

The widow skimmer Libellula luctuosa), part of the group 'king skimmer' dragonflies. It has large bulky body (compared to other species odonata) with large heads.  This is a juvenile, with yellow with brown stripes.; when adult it will have a steely blue body.  Wings are transparent, but marked with prominent black basal bands.  Widow Skimmers are found commonly in muddy substrates, or still bodies of waters such as ponds. They prey on other smaller insects like mosquitoes. 

two killdeers

I've seen two Killdeer around the pond since early June.  I wonder if they're are pair or siblings?  

If they are a pair, wonder where the nest is?  

The pond and it's environs are full of questions that I ask myself every day!

milkweed

 

ducklings napping

 

killdeer

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus is a shorebird that is part of the plover family. About the size of a American Robin, it has very long legs and striped black and white neck.  It usually inhabits grassy areas but eats mostly invertebrates. This one was foraging along the shore for aquatic insect larvae.  The scientific name "vociferus" is from Latin; 'vox' meaning "voice" with 'ferre' meaning "to carry". Their call is surely carrying!  https://musicofnature.com/mary-holland/killdeer/ 

floating log

 We tied a weight to a driftwood log, and put it offshore for the turtles to sun themselves.  There are several logs partly on the shore but this one turns with the breeze and flow of water.

Sure enough, one turtle made its way to the log within 60 minutes.

Later, the Hooded Merganser hen stood on it to survey the surroundings from a new angle.

prairie smoke gone to seed

 

We added Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum to the riparian area around the pond last year. They survived the winter, and bloomed mid-May. 

Now each flower has transformed into clusters of feathery, wispy plumes that eventually will spread seeds as they wave in the breeze.

blue flag

 

Northern Blue Flag Iris versicolor has a deep blue to purple flower.  It is also called Harlequin Blueflag.

It grows on lake shores, swamps, pond edges, and wet meadows.

Blue Flag irises occur throughout the USA, in several varieties.  Some plants are located on the south shore of the pond, and are blooming now.

ox-eye daisy - invasive

 

Ox-eye Daisy Leuceanthemum vulgare is a perennial herbaceous species with a creeping root system. 

This daisy is not native to Minnesota, but imported as an pretty ornamental flower. 

It turned out to be an aggressive invasive species. Once established, it can spread rapidly by means of roots and seeds, and block sunshine for other native wildflowers.

song sparrow

 

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia live up their binomial nomenclature 'melodia' by singing a delightful song, enthusiatically, and often.

They move along wetland edges like around the pond. I see the males occasionally, but they spend most of the time in dense, low vegetation. 

nest box Tree Swallows

Tree Swallows nest in cavities . . . old woodpecker holes in trees, or nest boxes.  They do not go far south in winter; they return to Minnesota before any other swallows.  They can eat plant foods, so they can survive before the insects come out.  In the nest box near the pond, the Tree Swallow laid one egg each day in the last six days.  She started incubating the eggs today.  They will hatch in 11 to 20 days.

And the Tree Swallow male stands by to guard the nest while the female incubates the eggs. 

ducklings, Mallard 2023

 This clutch of Mallard ducklings came to the pond a few days ago, led by their mother.

wild geranium

 

Lonicera

The Lonicera is blooming, now through November.  This perennial vine is a favorite of hummingbirds.