Three Trips to the Ponds

Life is only a flicker of melted ice.

~ Dejan Stojanovic

Wednesday 

My daily trek to the next town has begun* and I stopped by the ponds to see how the winged creatures fared and if the ponds were frozen.

The ice on the pond was shining in the early morning sun.

On Thursday the ice edged the ponds and the wind blew. The sun was out and promised a short thaw. And, as I passed the turtle pond** I saw a vision of sunlight glinting off ice between bare tree limbs - I had to stop.



I walked carefully (fire ants) along the fenceline looking back to see if I could capture the sun on the pond ice. It was quiet at the ponds, no sounds but the distant hum of traffic on the highway and crunch of my steps in the dry grass.  I didn't think to be stealthy. I saw no sign of birds, until I reached a small protective curve in the bank just beyond the fence.


A startled group of ducks and a Great Blue Heron exploded up and out. I fell back at first - stunned. And then desperately tried to get a photo. Let's be honest -  who would believe this?

It's a little difficult to see, but the heron is mid-photo.

And the heron flew away.

The ducks flew off and circled a bit before heading to the next pond.

  
As I drove on I thought about what a gift it has been to observe these ponds during the year.  We experienced the same thing in our neighborhood park and the wildlife management area when we followed the flora through a full year or more. And certainly watching the birds - through the wet, wet year just ended and into a dry winter has been enlightening. I wonder what we will see this spring if the rains do not come. The ponds continue to evaporate.

The ducks arrived at the far pond before I made it. A Great Egret (should I say THE Great Egret) was walking between the ponds, as usual. I turned around and headed home just in time to see the egret fly across the area and to the turtle pond where it landed in the shallows. 

See him there?

Thursday
  
Temperatures were still below freezing*** as I headed back to the ponds. Because of my experience the day before I parked and walked the fenceline at the turtle pond. There was no sun and I could see the ice at the edges of the pond with a few large melted areas near the middle.

A bit of ice across the surface of the turtle pond. The logs where turtles bask in the sun are on the right.

As I neared the protective "cove" a Belted Kingfisher flew up and then the length of the pond, calling all the while. It perched on a large tree at the edge of the pond. I had been wondering where this kingfisher had gone. I haven't seen it in weeks and it was more than a little surprise to see it.

Detail of above photo. Really! It was a Belted Kingfisher - another terrible, Hail Mary shot.

I kept walking and saw very little movement until a duck swam out followed by another "mess of ducks" and TWO Great Egrets. I haven't seen any Great Egrets on this pond in months. They usually hang out at a pond further down the road. In fact, there is almost always one egret out there and it was there this day at that furthest of ponds (furthest pond I can see - there are others that cannot be seen from the road).

Of course my photos of the ducks and egrets aren't good, but are good enough to prove my tale, in case you doubt.***

Them are ducks.

And this is a sublime Great Egret

One egret

Two egrets

The "resident" Great Egret. So I will report three for the day, the most I've seen here in weeks. Note the ice at the edge of the pond.

Ducks.

I also saw a large crow at the edge of one of the drying ponds as I drove in. The hogs were out as were the chickens as I made the turn-around. And then I notice three animals around the pond, no hogs, not birds. I'm not sure about two of them, but one was a raccoon (I knew the shape and the walk). I've seen other creatures there and without better binoculars and eyes,**** I will continue to struggle for an identification from this distance.


Friday

Today I talked DH into driving me to the pond. He had heard me tell of flushing ducks and herons and egrets and so he thought we might see something. We passed another birder and were stopped by a resident who asked what we were doing. I suppose birders usually have binoculars and we just had cell phones in our hands. He seemed satisfied with our explanation and drove on.

We saw about 20 crows, 2 American Kestrels, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a raptor I couldn't identify as DH rolled along. There was a tree full of Meadowlarks (we knew them by the yellow breasts and black chest chevron). Three mockingbirds were also out and about. We saw no herons and no egrets. And, sadly, no birds were sheltering along the bank of the turtle pond.

One of the mockingbirds

The background gave me fits and I struggled for a decent shot. Here is a detail.

A couple of raptors.

Once you have seen a few of these guys there is no mistaking the Kestrel.

A tree full of meadowlarks. We talked a bit about how odd it is that light and distance and our sight turn such brightly colored birds into little grey or black or brown birds. I usually see these birds with their vivid tails gliding at the top of the grass and then disappear into the meadow.

It's warming up and I cannot wait to see what the next week will bring.



NOTES:


* Classes have started - back to the art barn.


** It is actually a man-made tank, but we call it the turtle pond because fallen trees have given the turtles a place to sun. I've seen as many as 17 turtles (maybe more, I forget) sunning.


***Reporting in some places requires a photo. And photos help me with future ids. I can always tell a story.


****I have always been near-sighted. Then I started noticing "floaters" in the 80s. More recently, the doctors tell me I have cataracts growing slowly. At some point the cataracts will be resolved. For now, patience and training will have to do.