Huey, Louie and Dewey

I spent many, many hours this spring waiting for the waterfowl that frequent the pond to show up with their young. Even though a pair of visiting geese had their goslings with them for a couple of days I was truly disappointed that none of the ducks that used the pond during their mating season had returned with ducklings.

None until yesterday that is. I don't know how old the are or how long they have been here but there are, for the time being, baby ducks on the pond.

I first saw them after a Mallard hen came in for a landing. She disappeared into the overhanging branches about three quarters of the way across the pond and the three ducklings appeared almost immediately. Just barely visible they began scurrying around the far end of the pond searching for food.

After watching them for almost four hours they finally made their way along the edge of the pond and came fairly close to my blind. Mother, however, seemed to know that I was there and when they got to close she steered them away with a quiet chattering call.


During my first visit to the pond this week everything seemed to be on edge. I don't know if it was the weather or if something had happened before I arrived but everyone appeared very nervous.


My friend the Bald Eagle made several appearances. He didn't stay more than a minute or two at any one time though. Oddly the ravens were also absent. They are normally around harassing the eagle regardless of what else is going on.


The Green Heron appeared just before I left and even it was on edge. It landed in the spot it usually does when it begins to hunt but it immediately ran up onto the bank. It made two or three short flights through the trees within the span of about a minute before crossing the pond and landing high in a tall tree off to my right.


He stayed there for about fifteen seconds before flying away and I took advantage of the lack of activity to make my exit.

Regardless of the tension around the pond on my first visit the surprising appearance of the ducklings made the week on the Fish Pond a good one.

Get outside and find your own surprises! They are all around you if you just take a look!

Have a great one.

Kevin

The Little Things

Although I generally focus my attention on the wildlife that visits the pond there is a lot more to observe and discover if one just takes a second or two to look.

On your next trip outside just find a quiet spot to sit. After ten or fifteen minutes of peace and quiet to get your brain slowed down a little, get up and do a quick inventory of what is around the spot where you were seated. You might be surprised at the things you didn't notice while you were sitting there.

The morning dew on mid-summer daisies.

Wild raspberries that almost seem to glow as the first ray's of sunlight make their way down through the tree tops.

I can't help but notice that there are never more than a few ripe ones present at any one time. I would guess that they are a favorite snacking stop for many of the birds that live in the woods around the pond.

It could be as something as small as a variety of grass you never noticed before.

Or a new color in the small wildflowers that are scattered through a nice stand of hardwoods.

Sometimes its just neat the way the sunlight shines through the leaves.

Regardless of what you set out to find during your next trip outdoors be sure to take a few minutes to notice the things you might not be looking for.

Remember, there's more to the wild than just wildlife. Get out there and enjoy it!

Kevin

Rainy Day Bonus Post

Thursdays visit to the pond didn't start out all that great but it wound up being fun as usual.

I didn't get out until late this morning so when I arrived my friend the eagle was already there. I could see him through a small opening in the leaves perched in his favorite tree. Since I couldn't approach the edge of the pond while he was there I had to wait until he took off after a seagull that had been sitting on the pond before I could set up.

Watching the weather radar before I headed out it looked like the storms making their way across Lake Michigan were going to stay to the north of the pond.

Of course I could have been wrong....


Other than one molting Mallard drake and a very brief visit from an eagle the only animal that saw fit to brave the waves of showers and thunderstorms that rolled over the pond was one I have not seen here before.


If you live on either coast of the U.S. or fish in the central section of North America you have probably seen a Cormorant of one type or another. In this neck of the woods fishermen hate them. They always seem to get more than their fair share of the blame for the shrinking fish population in many local lakes. Given their reputation for having such large appetites I was certainly glad that there was only one of them.


Even though everything I found about Cormorant's says their wings are not very oily his wings seemed to be coated in enough to lubricated a small car engine. He certainly wasn't bothered by a little rain!


Remember, on all types of days, in all kinds of weather life goes on everywhere around you! Get out and enjoy it!

Have a great one.

Kevin

Lunchtime at the Fish Pond

I usually get to the fish pond between 8 and 9 a.m. and sit until about eleven. One of my visits to the fish pond this week was much longer than normal though.


The pond was very quiet until about 10:30 when a lone seagull arrived. He quickly spotted a dead or dying fish near the inlet stream and headed right for it. He attempted to swallow it whole but because of its size he had to drag it up onto the bank so he could try to devour it in pieces.


Unfortunately his meal was interrupted when a Great Blue Heron showed up.


The heron saw the gull and its meal almost immediately and made it clear to the much smaller bird that he would be taking charge of the mornings dining duties.


After driving off the gull the heron made a few hops to different perches around the pond before returning to down his stolen lunch.

While cleaning up after his meal he suddenly but slowly crouched down behind the leafy branches where he was perched.

He had seen the soaring approach of an adult Bald Eagle and was doing his best to make himself as small as possible.

The eagle perched in one of the hardwood trees directly across from my photo blind. He either didn't notice or was ignoring both myself and the heron for the most part.

For the better part of the next four hours the heron and I sat as still as possible. Me keeping one eye on him and the other on the eagle while he stayed fixated on the predator who was casually grooming itself just fifty yards away from him.

Whether the eagle wasn't hungry or just didn't feel like tangling with the large heron he finally departed. A few minutes later the heron stepped out of his hiding spot and stretched his legs. He started to fish but when the eagle showed itself above the pond again he made a hasty exit from the area.

It was a very interesting and educational visit. It was amazing to see how relaxed the eagle was during the whole encounter. He was diffinatly in charge of the situation and on his own schedule. The heron's actions showed that he clearly understood he could be the bully one minute and then have to do his best to keep himself from becoming lunch the next.

Its all part of the wonderful world around us. You just have to take charge of your own schedule and get out there to enjoy it.

Have a great one!

Kevin

I was sure my first visit to the Fish Pond after a week and a half absence would be a rather boring one.

My hope was that I would be able to put together a few photos of the usual ducks and gulls in a way that was at least halfway interesting. I wasn't even done setting up my blind though when the opportunity to get something above average appeared in the form of a Great Heron.

I first saw his reflection on the waters surface to my left as he dropped down from the top of the tree line and then glided the length of the pond. He settled onto a large fallen tree directly across from my blind and after surveying the pond for danger he disappeared onto the bank.

Taking advantage of his not being able to see me I finished setting up my blind and then settled in to wait for him. He reappeared in almost the same place he had originally disappeared. He was moving slowly and was obviously in his hunting mode. He made a quick stab at the water next to the tree he had first landed on and I expected him to come up with a fish.


I was very surprised when he lifted his beak and there was something small and furry stuck on the end of it. He had used his beak like a spear and it took him a couple of minutes to get his lunch free enough to eat it.

After enjoying his breakfast he flew back towards me, harassing a resting seagull on the way, and perched on the dead tree that the Kingfishers usually bathe from.

He was there for less than a minute when we both noticed the young Bald Eagle that was crossing high above the pond. He seemed more nervous than I thought a young eagle would have made him and he took off and left as soon as the young raptor was out of sight.

When the young eagle did not reappear right away I thought it had probably just kept flying and if I was lucky he would show himself again in an hour or so. Evidently he had landed in one of the trees further up the bank to my right. While I could not see him the Raven's that had spent most of the morning raising cane on the far end of the pond could.

They came out of the tree tops in flights of three's. Nine of them in total. They flew directly to the trees over the ponds inlet stream and their calls turned to the harassing ones I have heard them use before when they are attempting to drive away an eagle. The young eagle almost immediately started to chatter the way that they do when they are cornered. I was feeling bad for him until I heard a second eagle screaming from almost directly above me.

I had not seen the mature bird arrive but it might have been the reason the Heron had left in such a hurry. I didn't actually see it until it was at the waters edge where the stream enters the pond. It must have come down while I trying to locate its young friend in the leaves.

He had caught a medium sized trout and had started to devour it. The crows quickly abandoned their taunting of the younger bird and dropped down to see if they could steal a morsel of the elder birds meal.

Has not in the mood to share though and grasping the fish in his talons he took flight and crossed no more than forty feet in front of my blind on his way to a quieter spot to enjoy his mid morning meal.

It was not the kind of morning I had anticipated but it was certainly one of the best visits I have ever made to the pond. I am hoping that the young bird being so unusually close the an adult is a sign that it might be one of the young from the nest near here. If it is I hope to be able to see it again before it ventures off to find its way in the world.

Get outside and explore! Its a wild and exciting place!

Kevin

A Few of My Favorite Photos From Years Past

Since I have been photographing the wildlife at the Fish Pond for a couple of years longer than I have been writing this blog I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite images from the last couple of years.


Immature Bald Eagles like this one are regular visitors to the pond. I wish I could get them to wear name tags though so I knew if the same birds were returning from year to year.



Trout are predators and if you ever get to see a group of large ones feeding you'll believe it.

I always knew that Canadian Geese could get grumpy but I never realized just how grumpy until I watched this exchange one spring morning in 2006.

Ducks of all shapes and sizes call the Fish Pond home and still photography captures their beauty like no other medium.

While there is the occassional furry creature that ventures down to the water they usually prefer the hardwoods that reside above the ponds banks.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I have enjoyed taking them.

Get outside and discover something new and wonderful about the world around you.

Kevin