The first splashes of color in the trees are a bright and cheerful reminder that summer will soon be at an end. The shorter days and cooler overnight temperatures have sent life at the Fish Pond into the feeding mode as the animals begin to prepare for winter.

The Great Blue Herons are certainly out in full force. There is always at least one to be found somewhere near the pond. There were three that spent time at the pond today. The first arrived shortly after I did and it took it only a few moments for it to find a potential lunch. It made a great stab between the branches of a submerged tree to grab the large trout but pulling it through the tangle of sticks proved to be much more difficult than catching it was.

Unfortunately the arrival of a second bird meant the delay in getting the meal into its mouth meant it was not going to be able to enjoy the fruits of its labors.

While I’m not sure if the first was an immature bird or a female the new arrival definitely appeared to be a male. After driving the first heron to the far shore of the pond he spent several minutes strutting his stuff around the area near the inlet stream and letting everyone know just who’s hunting spot it was.

The third arrived while the ruckus between the first two was taking place and it quietly perched on a branch overlooking the scene. All of the strutting and puffing up his feathers must have made the intended point. The first bird opted to leave and as much as the third wanted to jump in and have lunch it didn’t.

Number three must have decided to try to get to the disputed fish by flying into the woods to the upper portion of the pond’s inlet stream. Perhaps it thought it could sneak in from the back side if the new king of the pond let his guard down.

The king wasn’t going to give an inch though. Defending his hunting spot was even more important to him than eating. He moved back and forth along the shore keeping the challenger at bay. After watching them squabble along the bank and up into the stream for almost an hour and a half they both flew up the stream and off through the woods arguing over the hunting spot that they both seemed to have forgotten about.

There has been a new bird around for the last couple of weeks. I believe it is a Solitary Sandpiper and this is the second time in the last three years I have been able to photograph one here at, or near the pond. My bird books are all older editions and they do not show my area as being within the normal breeding area for this bird so maybe I’m just lucky and have been fortunate enough to see a couple who are migrating.

Even if they are just migrating through the area they are still fun to see and photograph. Seeing new animals and plants is always a treat. They bring out the excitement that you can only get when you make a new discovery and to me the best part of spending time outdoors are the almost unending number if new things to find and learn about.

Until next time, get outside and make your own discoveries! Get outside and learn about the wonderful world around you!

Have a great one.

Kevin