young blackbird showing epaulets

This young male Red-winged Blackbird was begging his mom to give him food from the seed feeder. I can tell he is a male because he's already starting to get his bright colored 'epaulets' on his shoulders.  She has been putting food in his mouth whenever he gapes since he hatched out of his egg.  But now that she is hoping he will find his own food!

vervain

Blue Vervain is blooming profusely in the wetland surrounding the pond. Verbena hastata is also called Swamp Verbena, Blue Verbena, Simpler's Joy; it is a perennial herbaceous plant that blooms every summer. The stiff erect square stems remain standing all winter, providing seeds to the birds in cold snowy months. In the growing season the plant has opposite, simple leaves which have double-serrate margins.

The family name for genus Verbena is Latin for "sacred plant" because it has been used for hundreds of years in various health remedies. The Latin specific epithet hastata means "spear-shaped" and describes the leaves of this plant.

The family Verbenaceae includes herbs, shrubs, and trees; among them, teak trees -- highly prized for its furniture wood.

 

turtle chases ducks off favorite rock

Mallard was sunning her ducklings on the favorite rock in the pond. Turtle appeared a few feet away, nosing his way toward the rock, also his favorite. When turtle got to the rock, ducklings jumped off. 

monardas - bee balm - bergamot

Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa starting blooming last week all around the pond and in the meadows near here. (left)

The Scarlet Beebalm Monarda didyma started blooming a few weeks ago. (below)

Both plants are in the mint family. 

green frog looks like . . .

. . .  like a rubber toy in rocks near the pond.  But it sounds exactly like a frog!

The Green Frog is widely present in the eastern half of Minnesota.  

Typically greenish-brown on top, and males have yellow throats.

seed pods

Northern Blue Flag Iris versicolor bloomed in June at the edge of the pond. Now, in July, seed pods have formed. When they are ripe, we'll sow the seeds.  These were only tiny foliage two years ago, and now they can propagate new flowering plants.
 

culver's root

Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum is found growing in wetlands and wet prairies.

The individual flowers are comprised of four fused petals up to a half an inch long. A main spike at the top of the plant is surrounded by several other spikes of flowers. The flowers bloom from the bottom of the spike up.  Culver's Root is not bothered much by leaf-chewing insects or mammalian herbivores. The seeds are too tiny to be of much interest to birds.  However, many varieties of insects visit the flowers to collect pollen or drink nectar. 

(above left)  Culver's Root just before it blooms.

(above right) A Black Wasp drinks nectar from the flowers while hunting for prey items; their bodies are covered in fine hairs that also collect pollen.

(below) A Bumble Bee with bulging pollen pockets stops for just a few more from this blooming Culvers Root.

merganser with 4 young

 

spider silk

Hot, foggy morning.  Dewpoint is high enough to form beads of water on each and every

strand of spider silk in this beautiful web.

 

large turtle, medium turtle, small turtle

mallard families

Female Mallard came out of the grasses with her 3 young ducks (upper right).  Then, another Mallard appeared with her 8 younger ducklings. They were all intent on eating duckweed and other aquatic plants growing in the pond.

nest box peek - Tree Swallows

 

On 5/20/2022 we peeked into the nest box, and found several eggs. Not countable, because of the feathers in the box meant to hide the eggs from predators. Since then I have peeked several times more.

The female adult was incubating the eggs.  I noticed the adults going in and out of the box on June 3 since  the eggs had hatched and they were bringing food to the hatchlings.  After two weeks in the box the nestlings had grown enough so they were full size and had gained some flight feathers.  On June 21 most young fledged out of the box, ready to learn how to fly and hunt for their own food: flying insects.

On June 22 the adults coaxed the last young bird to fly.  A few days later, we saw 3 of them perching on a branch looking over the pond.

painted turtle sunning among reeds

 

columbine

 

smooth penstemon

Foxglove Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis (also called Smooth Penstemon) has white flowers that bloom for a month or longer.

The tubular flowers attract long-tongued bees such as bumblebees and mason bees, as well as hummingbirds. This is one of the plants we are trying to encourage in the riparian area around the pond. 

Good for pollinators!

iris

 

Northern Blue Flag 

Iris versicolor, is blooming 

again near the pond.

This year each plant seems stronger and more colorful with the background of grass green.

These grow near the green/white striped leaves of Sweet Flag (Acorus).

blackbird nest

The Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus gave away the secret location of their nest by screeching at us as we walked around the pond.  As I came near the spot, he warned me vocally and hit my hat with his feet as he flew by.

 

sora chicks

 

Described as "secretive" birds and rarely seen, we have a pair of Sora Porzana carolina living in the wetland around the pond.  I saw a lone egg a few days ago, and thought it was the start of a clutch. Today, this little black cotton-ball with orange/red tufts under his big beak appeared!  Soras start incubating eggs when they have only a few in the nest, and go on laying eggs (one a day) until they have around a dozen eggs. Consequently, each chick hatches on different day. One parent tends to the hatchlings and the other continues incubating the remaining eggs until each hatches.

arrowhead

 

trees

 
Flowers on Willow tree (above) and new cones on Tamarack tree (left).

plop!

 Hail falls on the pond with 'plop' sounds.

wildflowers blooming

 

pussytoes 6-1

Pussytoes Antennaria neglecta spreads as a groundcover, with basal leaves surviving through winter close to the ground.

In springtime, flowers emerge on tall stalks and look like toes on kittens. 

The lower surface of each basal leaf is silvery white with dense matted hairs; the upper surface is gray-green and woolly. In summer, the old basal leaves shrivel up and disintegrate, leaving the short plant and root to hide in the surrounding vegetation until next Spring.