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!

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.

muskrat claws

 

The muskrats Ondatra zibethicus who live on the pond are semi-aquatic rodents.  

They eat mostly plant matter, but also smaller critters that they find.  To eat, they have a thumb and four fingers -- with claws -- to grasp food.  The back feet are larger and have five webbed fingers that help swimming in ponds, lakes, and rivers.  They swim under water hunting for vegetation that they gnaw and chew with large incisor teeth located in front of their cheek.  Or, they may sit on shore chewing terrestrial grasses.

vivipary = seed heads sprouting

This wildflower was finished blooming and was forming seeds. But its seed head sprouted green leaves!  Fascinated, I looked closer.  Some of new seeds were actually germinating and sprouting while still in the seed head. Usually, they wait until they are in the perfect place (soil, moisture, temperature, sunlight) to begin new growth.  Sometimes you see this while seeds are still inside the fruit, like a tomato or green pepper.  In plants, it is called vivipary (Latin for 'live birth') and involves seeds germinating before their determined time.  I first learned about this a few years ago when my grandson sent me a photo of a sunflower seed head that was doing the same thing.

scouring rush 'horsetail'

 

Scouring Rush Equisetum hyemale grows in the wetland around the pond.  

It is also called 'horsetail'. This plant has coarse fibers and silica deposits in its stems, so herbivores don't eat this plant.  

For more about this plant, see blog posts on 7/23/2020 and 6/25/2021.

muskrat claws

 

Often we can see a muskrat swimming back and forth in the pond, harvesting plants and taking food home to the family.  Muskrats Ondatra zibethica eat the roots, stems, leaves, and fruits of many water plants such as cattail, rushes, smartweed, duck potato, horsetail, sedges, and willow sprouts.  They are strong swimmers due to their two long back feet and five webbed toes.  For grasping and harvesting food, they have developed smaller front feet with four fingers with claws and a small thumb.   By living near the pond, muskrats control plant growth, provide open spaces for new plants to grow, and make space for other animals to build their nests.

FeederWatch, Downy Woodpecker

 

FeederWatch, a citizen-science program of Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, is once again an activity for me through the cold winter months.  This small Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens comes every day to feed at the suet block hanging near the pond. Suet supplements his regular diet of insects which he searches for between folds of tree bark. His tail feathers are strong and positionable to support him on tree branches or wherever he finds food.

leaf galls

This fallen leaf has galls all over it, lumps or complicated structures that look like capsules containing something mysterious.  Galls are made by one of 1500 species of gall producers -- mostly insects and mites.  Some galls form on leaves where insects feed on the plant matter, or lay eggs.  Galls may also develop as a response to infections by fungi, bacteria, or viruses.  Dissecting the gall is the only sure way to tell what caused it. That's a whole different adventure!

log

 Every pond needs a log for turtles to sit on while sunning themselves.

It will probably be used by birds hunting aquatic prey, damselflies drying their wings, and frogs.

blooming water plantain

This summer, scant rain fell in July and August. The pond suffered lower water levels as each day passed.  

Eventually, some aquatic plants that grow at the edge of the pond stood in mud rather than in shallow water. 

But the Northern Water Plantain Alisma triviale thrived despite the drought.  It sent up stems more than 2 feet high on which many whorls of white flowers opened, each about 1/4" across.

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.

galls on goldenrod

 

Now, in June, the typical insects are laying their eggs in the goldenrod stems.  The eggs will hatch larvae who will feed and grow inside the bulge or 'gall'.

By autumn, the swelled galls with be more noticeable on the dried thinner stems.  The larvae will stay in the gall through winter, unless a bird pecks through to feast on them.  In Spring, those who stay hidden will emerge as adults.

The most typical insect causing galls are the Goldenrod Gall Flies Eurosta solidagnis, who completes its entire life cycle only on goldenrod. 

Last fall, I gathered several dried stems with galls.  They are such interesting shapes and colors, so they deserved to be in a drawing or painting!

widow skimmer

This dragonfly male 'Widow Skimmer' Libellula luctuosa shows off his handsome transparent wings with black and white structural coloration -- the production of color by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light.

The grass seedhead on the left is close to the camera and in front of the wing. But the rush stem behind the wing is showing clearly through the transparent wing while the skimmer rests, clasping that stem.

He is probably looking for prey -- other insects such as mosquitoes. To catch prey he will use his legs, and bring prey into his mouth with fangs.

mullein

 




Several Mullein plants are growing in the riparian zone around the pond. The plants are small rosettes of fuzzy leaves, close to the ground, the first year of their growth.  The second year, Common Mullein Verbacum thapsus shoots up a stem clad in very fuzzy leaves topped by a flower spike (left).

Once the flower blooms, it is a brilliant torch of yellow blossoms.  Each blossom has 5 petals, and stays open for a short time. Thus, the spike may have only a few blossoms open at a time.

turtles in Spring

Springtime, sunny, and balmy.  Turtles all came out of the pond today to warm up on the rocks. To get maximum exposure to the sun's warmth, they extend their legs, neck, and tail.

junco in spring

Suddenly, this morning, a flock of migrating Dark-eyed Juncos appeared in the buffer at the edge of the pond.  These sparrows, Junco hyemalis, nest north of here across Canada and Alaska.  As they hunt among the grasses, each flicks its tails so we can see the white feathers flashing.  Dressed in rather dull gray, the bright white tail feathers seem to be their only adornments for courting a mate. According to allaboutbirds.org, females seem to prefer males that show more white.

slush trail

Snow!  Several inches.  Before we were ready for it.  Before the Mallards were ready for it. As they paddled around on the pond to find breakfast, they made a trail in the accumulating slush on the water.

muskrat tail

The muskrats who live here were gathering breakfast this morning in the pond.  One, with tail held high, munched aquatic plants growing to just below the water surface.  Their tails are 7 to 11 inches long, covered in scales rather than fur, and flattened vertically (side-to-side) to serve as a rudder in swimming. 

dew drops

After a gentle rain all night and mist this morning . . .  jewels left among the wildflowers and seeds.

Coneflower seed harvest

It is time to harvest some wildflower seeds, in order to expand the native plant population in the riparian buffer surrounding our pond.  There are more than 30 documented native species in this buffer.  Close to the water is a ring of wetland; outside of that is a ring of moist to dry areas.  So the pond provides a comfortable home for a wide variety of plants.  We hope to reduce the 'weeds' and encourage the flowering native plants to flourish.

For example, a few coneflowers bloom here.  Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea now has some blooms 'going to seed' as the petals dry out. When I remove the seeds, intending to spread them around the pond for new plants, we can see why this plant is called 'cone flower'.