white campion

White Campion Silene latifolia is blooming now. 

robin

Robins nesting by the pond have 4 eggs in their nest.  The female gathered food items on the shore while taking a break from incubating her clutch.  It looks like she caught an insect larva, but Robins also eat grubs, snails, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, termites, crickets, and other insects.

golden alexanders

Wildflowers are blooming in the pond area.  Zizia aurea Golden Alexanders feed bees, wasps, flies, and beetles with pollen and nectar.  The larvae of some butterflies also feed on this native plant.

green heron

This is the first time we've seen a Green Heron this year.  Last year, posts on this blog showed the Butorides virescens several times --  describing what they eat, how they hunt for food, and how they use tools.  (see posts on 7-09-2020,  7-15-2020,  and 9-8-2020.

Green Heron is a small bird, usually 17 inches long.  When stealth is necessary, the neck is pulled in towards the body, but this bird pictured has it out half-way. It can extend the neck even longer to snap up prey.  Adults have a glossy, dark greenish iridescent cap, a greenish-grey back and wings, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front.  Legs are yellow, and the long bill has a sharp point. 

hooded merganser ducklings

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.

mallard ducklings

 Mallard drake wants to keep an eye on his family.

bee swarm

On Friday, we noticed a blob of brown on a drooping branch on one the pine trees near the pond.  Close inspection revealed hundreds of Honey Bees clustered. The next day they were still gathered around that branch. We discovered with some research that when overcrowded in a hive, bees with divide their population then some will set out for a new hive. Scout bees look intensely for the new nest while the most of them wait together.  This probably saves energy and protects them by staying together in one place while the scouts scout.

By Sunday morning they had all gone from the tree branch, no trace left behind of their weekend stay.

convivial Merganser

Today the convivial Merganser shared the favored rock in the pond with a turtle.

The Hooded Mergansers  Lophodytes cucullatus have visited the pond several times in the last few weeks. We saw both females and males, usually in groups, and assumed they were probably stopping for rest or food while migrating. They are nicknamed 'divers' since they dive to feed on items under or in the water.

A few days ago, I noticed a single female Hooded Merganser lazing on the pond close to a male Mallard.  Neither seemed to be bothered by the other. She dived in deep water for food, he dabbled in shallow water for a snack.  They sunned themselves together all day long, complacently napping while floating in the sunshine.

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.

blue-winged teal pair

The pair of Blue-winged Teal ducks were feeding on the pond this week.  They usually nest on the ground after the female selects a spot. She looks for a place near water with grass cover to hide her eggs.  

This pair of Teal Spatula discor  dabble to search among the reeds for something to eat.

Like many bird species, the female is drab speckled brown for hiding among grasses while nesting.  He is decked out for courting in colorful cinnamon front, speckled sides, black head with a white crescent on each side. Both have blue feathers on the wings which are displayed when they fly.
 

fox sparrow

A chunky long tailed Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca posed for the camera by the pond.  It is probably migrating to breeding grounds north of here, and stopped to snag some seeds or insects here.

phoebes

Phoebes, in the flycatcher family, arrived on the pond this week.  They went to their favorite 'jumping off place' to watch for and catch flying prey just above the water.  We watched them last summer -- every day sitting on the concrete outflow weir.  Each would fly down to the water, gobble the airborne insect, and take it to their nest where hatchlings waited for food.  I hope they nest here again this season!
 

spotted sandpipers

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.