green heron preening

The logs are favorite perches for all the creatures in or near the pond - - turtles, ducks, herons, frogs, song birds. The Green Heron Butorides virescens finds it a choice place to preen his feathers while staying close to his hunting area, in case a meal appears nearby.

sora, master of disguise

My new favorite bird!  I just discovered the Sora Porzana carolina (a very secretive wetland bird) this Spring.  I watch a pair every day, hunting at the edge of the pond.  They think the mottled-pattern camouflage feathers makes them hard to spot.  But the bright yellow bill gives them away.   (see post on 4/24/2022)

sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper has again migrated north to Minnesota. This species spends winter as far south as South America.  Welcome back!

hummingbird 2021

 

The twig hanging over the water is a favorite perch for birds.  

This Ruby-throated Hummingbird sits on the twig to rest on her way to the Lonicera blooming nearby.

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.

sandpiper

 A hot sultry day in August.  The pond was quiet.  Several rocks appeared offshore in the last few days, exposed by the lack of rain and lower water level.  Good for sandpipers hunting lunch.  This Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria shows off its white eye ring while it waits on a rock to spot a meal in or on the water -- aquatic invertebrates such as larvae, worms, flies, or mollusks.  

young blackbird

Young birds often have the same feather color and pattern as their mother until they get their adult feathers.  Three eggs were in the Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoenicius nest this spring; three young birds fledged out of that nest, looking like their mom. 

Today, this young one perched close enough that we could see the beginning of the orange epaulettes on the shoulders.  Females do have epaulettes but they are usually orange-gold and blend in with her brown streaky appearance.  Males will molt into more blackish body feathers to contrast with bright orange-red epaulettes.  

But all have the pointy long beak, so nicely posed by the blackbird in this photo.

Mallard chicks

A pair of Mallards showed up with ducklings on the pond.  There were only six ducklings today, and they looked older than the brood of eleven  that we saw on May 15.  We can't know if this is the same or a different brood, but it seems like the young here are appropriately more mature.  The bills are longer and their feathers seem smoother than the ducklings we saw before.   (right: closeup of one of the 6)