Last week’s beautiful spring weather let me head out in the kayak six times in various ponds and streams around the area. There is lots of wildlife activity going on, with plenty of photo ops.
A North American porcupine foraging along the water’s edge.
Geese are still raising a ruckus, though they’re beginning to quiet down a bit as they’ve claimed their territories and have eggs or goslings. Goslings are still sticking very close to their parents. A wood duck drake showed himself – briefly – before taking flight. A trio of mallard drakes pose nicely on a log.But, every family has that one kid that doesn’t want to pose nicely. Kingbirds are still sorting out who gets what territory and the number of kingbirds has grown greatly in the last week. Dragonflies have started showing up for the spring, giving the kingbirds nice targets for a meal. This little olive-sided flycatcher is a deceptive one. He repeatedly called ‘quick, free beer!’ But, not only did he refuse to provide said beer, he refused to dispense beverages of any sort. I got lucky and noticed a chickadee flying into a hold in a stump at the water’s edge. I got to watch both chickadees as they worked to improve the hole for their nest. Both chickadees in the pair would fly into the hole and disappear for a few seconds before flying out with some debris they didn’t want in their nest. A male yellow-bellied sapsucker working his sap line. Sapsuckers bore holes in living trees. They’ll return to the holes to feed on the sap and any insects trapped in the sap. A swamp sparrow foraging along the shoreline.There is lots of loon activity on one pond. I think there is a pair that have claimed the lake, but they’ve faced several challengers for the territory. One morning there were eight loons on the pond. So far, I’ll I’ve seen a fairly peaceful dispute. The loons circle each other and occasionally display to try to drive the other loons away. This is enough to settle some loon disputes, other times there can be a fight to the death. One of the loons displaying.This is one of the loons that was involved in the territory dispute. It has decided to leave. One of the loons on the pond came over to have a look at me. The loon apparently found me not worthy of interest and gave a stretch before heading back to the other loons. One morning the pair of loons on the pond seemed to be searching for real estate to build their nest. They’ll explore along the shoreline and hummocks in marshy areas. They’ll occasionally poke at the brush, while having a quiet conversation. Eventually, the male will decide on a spot for the nest. One of the loons with water dripping off his bill after pulling his head out of the water. What I think is the resident pair of loons on the pond had a peaceful morning foraging on the pond.
These are wonderful photos. Evrn the captions are lovely. Thank you.