Wildflower Oasis

A great spangled fritillary butterfly on clover.  (Photo by Don Comis)

My toy poodle, Friendly, led me to a wildflower oasis in a park across the road from our house. 

So, this morning I returned alone, with binoculars and a camera and got a photo of a great spangled fritillary butterfly on the tall clover plants that dominated this natural oasis in a park, caught between woods and a mowed lawn.  With Friendly, I was treated to the sight of three great spangled fritillaries all at once, perched on clover plants.

And this morning, I got to see a host of other pollinators on the clover, including at least three kinds of bees, an ant, beetles, cabbage butterflies, meadow fritillary butterflies, and an unknown black bug.  I even got to see the cabbage butterflies mating, which continued as they flew together in the air at times before landing again!

I also got to see  a mother red-tailed hawk guiding her youngster, warning me away.   I thought I could hear the two chatting as I lay on rock right next to Apple Valley Lake.  I saw a great blue heron fly along the opposite shore, while a dragonfly patrolled the shore near me. 

On my way to the lake I scared up three deer--one gave a warning shriek before jumping into the road and I could hear his hoofs clattering on the paved road. 

All in all, a good outing that got me out of bed, although it lasted 2 hours instead of 45 minutes because of my naps on my favorite lakeside rock!

I'll be returning to that wildlflower oasis soon.

Meadow fritillary, smaller than the great spangled.  (Photo by Don Comis)

For a slightly longer version of this blog, go to my website and click on "Daily Nature Blog" in the menu.

 

Migrant Ducks Rest in Small Pond on Way North

Mixed migrant flock resting on small pond near Apple Valley includes a male scaup (black-and-white, second or third from left) and canvasback ducks (flock on right, males red-white-and-black).  (Photo by Don Comis)

In the middle of the flock of canvasback ducks, I spotted a probable male northern shoveler, distinguished by the rufous color on his side.  (Photo by Don Comis)

A male northern shoveler takes flight, likely with his mate, while a male mallard and male northern shoveler swim peacefully.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Before going grocery shopping in Mt. Vernon this afternoon, I stopped by Apple Valley Lake and took another look at some of the interesting waterfowl showing up there lately--loons, pie-billed grebes, horned grebes, and hooded mergansers.  My friends, Debbie Hurlbert and Jon Minard, could name more.

They happened by on their bird patrol as I was taking photos the other day at the Lake's dam and spillway and identified the horned grebes for me. Jon, a long-time eagle watcher, also told me he's been seeing an adult pair of bald eagles on the lake, sounding like he thinks they'll build a nest next year nearby.  Although there are plenty of eagles in the area and some that frequent the lake, there aren't any nesting along the lakeshore.

They also alerted me to a mixed flock of migrant ducks at a small pond near a strip mall just outside of the entrance to the Apple Valley development.  The ducks include redheads, canvasbacks, and scaups.  The redheads and scaups are headed back to the the western United States, Alaska, and northwestern Canada; and the canvasbacks are going to Canada and northwestern United States.

I checked out that pond again today, too.  The flock was much smaller than the 65 I counted days ago, but there was still diversity.  I'm pretty sure I saw four northern shovelers, the first I've seen, at least by myself, three males and one female. I also counted 8 canvasbacks (5 males and 3 females) and 3 scaups (2 males and 1 female).  I think the canvasbacks are more strikingly beautiful than the redheads.

The northern shovelers are resting on their journey back to America's West, Alaska, and northwestern Canada.

As I neared home, I saw what I think was a Great Blue Heron flying overhead, which would be my first heron sighting in a long time.