Well I suppose I went on and on enough about the fact that its fall in my last few posts. I’m sure that everyone in much of the Northern Hemisphere now knows what season it is.


There are still a few trees around the Fish Pond that are trying to hold on to what little color they can. The majority of the remaining leaves are in the upper portion of the Poplars and their reflection on the waters surface in the early sun was stunning. One last big yawn before the forest goes to sleep for the winter.

While my friend the heron has been very scarce my comment from last week about not seeing any eagles or muskrats was at least half correct. As I predicted, after guessing they were gone for the year, an eagle showed up this morning. It flew a few quick circles above the pond and when it didn’t see anything extremely interesting it left.


I actually didn’t see it immediately and might not have seen I at all had the Kingfisher I was photographing not seen it. He hunkered down onto the branch he was perched on and slowly turned his head to watch the eagle as it passed overhead. Nothing small, whether its covered in feathers or covered in fur, seems very comfortable when one of the friendly neighborhood eagles is around. Go figure?


Other than knowing that drakes go with hens and that they spend a lot of time resting and grooming I don’t know a whole lot about duck behavior. I know that Mallards at the pond today did a lot of things I have never seen them do before.


Head bobbing, fighting, posturing and diving. Not a quick splash under the water kind of dive. Today they were going under and staying down for extended periods of time. One pair dove and did not resurface for almost thirty seconds.


My guess is that, at least some of them, are pumped full of energy and ready to begin their long flight south. I’ll have to do a little research to see if I can learn a little more about this sudden change in the normally passive Mallards behavior.


No matter what the time of year there always seems to be something new to learn at the Fish Pond. Even if it’s only finding out something as small as why young ducks behave the way they do take the time to educate yourself. The real lesson you’ll learn is a healthy respect for the wonderful world around you.

Get out their and learn something new today! Its one of the funnest things to do in the great outdoors!

Have a great week!

Kevin

Mornings this time of year in northern Michigan should be cool, clear and frosty. The recent weather has been anything but that though.


Warm humid nights and cloudy mornings make for terrible wildlife photography opportunities at the Fish Pond. The warm dew laden air combined cool water surface turn the pond into a giant fog generator. It has been impossible to see more than a third of the way across the pond during the majority of my time spent there this week. I know there are ducks their since I have watched them disappear into the mist when they land. Beyond that though they remain out of sight along the banks until the fog subsides.


The fog drifts back and forth with the breeze and doesn’t clear until about eleven a.m. or noon when the sun finally makes its way over the tree tops to burn it off. As it retreats it covers the leaves on the lower branches of the trees and the spider webs that are strung between the branches of dead trees with what appears to be an extremely heavy dew.


Fortunately the fog doesn't seem to encroach up onto the shoreline so I had a chance to sneak around and grab a few shots of some of the plant life near my spot.


Even a slight breeze now causes the leaves to fall by the bushel. The combination of morning fog and the steady falling of leaves seem to have the ducks that are hanging about very nervous. The jump and fly the length of the pond at the drop of a hat these days.






After not seeing one in quite some time one of my favorite birds made a brief appearance this morning. A Belted Kingfisher landed in a tree on the bank directly opposite from my blind. It spent a little time watching a group of Mallards feed directly below it before it disappeared into the trees.


By next week I’m sure the pond will have a whole new look to it. A few trees will still be hanging in their and refusing to let go of their summers work but for the most part I’m sure that almost all traces of summer will be gone.

If you live in the northern regions of the USA or the southern reaches of Canada get outside and enjoy the colors while they last. Let them be your inspiration to do something creative.

Have a great one.

Kevin

Fall Showers

Unlike a spring shower that warms you with thoughts of the coming summer, rainy fall days carry with them the first true chill of the approaching winter.

My friend the heron has remained very close to the pond all week and he seems to have become very tolerant of me. He often sits where there is no doubt he can see me moving around the banks of the pond but I don't seem to bother him enough that he feels scared enough to leave the pond. He does keep his distance though and I won’t be trying to get to close to that beak of his anytime soon.

If the weather follows our typical fall pattern there will probably be plenty of steady light rains over the next couple of weeks. When it does rain now the clash of warm rain and cold pond water causes a layer of fog to rise and drift over the water’s surface.

The ducks don’t seem to be at all thrilled about fog. They appear nervous and when the fog thins they are usually huddled together somewhere just far enough off the shore to be safe from any danger that might spring out of the trees.

The heron didn’t seem to mind the shifting levels of visibility too much. He flew across the pond and back a couple of times hunting and fishing in different areas along the bank. When it got thick enough that I almost lost sight of him he just seemed to hunker down on a perch and wait it out.

All these weeks of photographing the different types of interesting wildlife around the pond you would think that the small common songbirds wouldn’t be something I would be very interested in. It’s certainly not that I have not been interested in them. It’s that they are danged hard to get a good shot of!


I finally got a couple of them that I thought might be worth sharing though.






Take advantage of the remaining warm weather. Grab an umbrella and go for a walk! It’s a great season to be outside!

Kevin