Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Morning at the Pond

There are worse ways for a naturalist to spend a morning than to sit at the edge of a pond, camera in hand and the rising sun at your back.

And so, on a pleasant spring morning with camera pack on my back and a small folding chair I headed for a beaver pond to sit for an hour or so to see what there was to see. On the way to the pond I passed a willow shrub that was in bloom; and the spicebush was blooming in a patch of damp forest  –


Soon after I settled in on the edge of the pond amid a few small trees, a male wood duck flew in and landed on the pond’s far side –


He then disappeared into the cattails, never to be seen again.

Soon after a great blue heron flew in and landed in a dead tree about 100 feet away. There was time for a handful of photos before it left in the direction of a marsh a half mile away –

All was quiet for a while and then, in the far, far distance there was a black spot circling in the air. One of my camera’s powerful telephoto lens revealed it was an immature bald eagle. It’s not a good photograph because the bird was a long, long way away –


Soon afterward another fish-eating raptor appeared – this time it was right over the beaver pond and spent a few minutes overhead as it looked for fish beneath the surface. Not a bald eagle, this was a migrating osprey on its way north –


After a not finding a fish, the osprey moved on and there wasn’t any activity at the pond for quite some time. Eventually a pair of hooded mergansers that had been on a nearby pond flew in to land nearby –


And climbed up on water-soaked log



Also on a fallen log in the pond was a painted turtle basking in the sun

Like the heron and osprey, the mergansers left after a short time –


Meanwhile, the tree swallows that nest in woodpecker cavities in the pond’s snags had recently returned from South America and were exploring some of those dead trees –


The last bird of the morning was a red-tailed hawk soaring over the pond –


Heading home I passed the blooming willow, it was warm enough that honey bees were busy gathering pollen –

Time spent by a beaver pond is time well spent.

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend an hour! The last picture is spectacular!

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  2. It sure was time well spent. Thanks for sharing. Fabulous bee photo. Look at all thst pollen! Kim in PA

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  3. You picked a great spot to sit for that morning hour. You were well rewarded too.

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  4. These are amazing! I go for quantity, as I'm not really taking quality photos these days.

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  5. Hello,

    Time well spent at the pond, observing all the nature sightings. My favorites are the Osprey and the Hooded Mergansers. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your weekend!

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  6. You could be describing what we see when we hike to a pond or river here. It always amazes me that we can all share in the delight of seeing so many of our favorite birds and critters when we get out in nature. I don't usually get out that early, but we did take a morning hike today to 'beat the heat'! Enjoy your weekend!

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  7. Hello. Wonderful photos. The male birds (as wood duck) are so stunningly beautiful in the spring.
    Take care.

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Woody