It's been raining for a couple of days and is slated to begin anew this evening, so I decided to make a run for the park while I could do so without getting wet. It looked awfully pretty outside, but it was cold. There was definitely a bitter nip in the air. Never-the-less, last year I discovered amphibian eggs in the park on the 14th of February, and the year before that on the 21st of February, and today is the 15th of February, so it was worth visiting the park to take a look. I can't wait for the frogs to return to the tree-wells. The anticipation is killing me! Too bad for me, no eggs today1
I was so excited to see a male hooded-merganser on Brooklake, especially since he had a female with him. I thought the female might be the lonely one that's been keeping the bufflehead company on Marlake and was so excited to discover that she'd found a mate.
When I got to Marlake, I discovered that the lone female hooded-merganser that's been swimming around over there.....was still swimming around solo. *sigh* She's totally unaware of the fact that a handsome male is making himself at home one lake away with another woman. Darn! She's not bad looking for a female hooded merganser, so I don't understand why she can't find herself a man. Poor thing!
Talk about "poor thing"....this red-tailed hawk was just sitting up in a tree, looking for lunch, and minding his own business. Shortly after I snapped this photo, I noticed that the hawk was gone, but noticed some movement in the sky to my right, just outside of my peripheral vision. I swung my head in that direction and spotted ten crows chasing this hawk around in the sky like little kamikazes. They were matching the hawk turn for turn, with the lead crows dive-bombing the poor hawk's head. They harassed the poor hawk until they managed to chase him all of the way over to the other side of the park, then they peeled off and disappeared. The hawk didn't give up though. After the crows left, I could see the hawk lazily circling over his new hunting-ground, for all the world as if nothing had happened.
While I was at Marlake, I discovered the muskrat feeding close to shore. I tried as hard as I could and I absolutely, positively, could not find any angle where I had an unobstructed view of this rodent. This was the best photograph I could get of the cute little thing.
So, I had to resort to pulling a photograph out of my archive that I took a year or so ago. This is the cute little creature that lives in Marlake. I think he's just as cute as he can be, but I've learned that there are a whole lot of people out there who disagree with me. It's not a Norwegian rat of black plague fame, after all. It's a cute little muskrat of top-hat fame. Poor little thing was nearly hunted to extinction, right along with the beavers. I guess now that SteamPunk and top-hats are back in, this little fellow needs to be a little more discrete. Gotta love him, though. I do!
While I was struggling to find an angle, any angle, where I could get an unobscured photo of the muskrat, I startled a great blue heron that must have been dozing. I've never seen a heron jump up and splash in the water like that. Talk about falling off a log!
I haven't seen any brush rabbits yet, but someone is leaving rabbit food in the meadow for them. You never know! I'm sure that grass is better for their diet than lettuce, although I'm positive that they'll eat lettuce and thank you for it.
Although I did't find any amphibians, or their eggs, in the tree-wells today, I did find the tips of brand new skunk cabbage poking up through the surface of the water.
The Indian plum leaves are beginning to open. These are usually the first things to make an appearance in spring. It won't be long before they're dripping with flowers. I always have trouble trying to photograph little things like this because, in a wetland, the background is so busy that my camera can't figure out what it's supposed to be looking at. My camera simply cannot see these tiny leaves! Today, I decided to try to hold one of the leaf clusters in my glove, to obscure the background, in an attempt to fool the camera into taking a photo of what I wanted it to. This was the best picture I could get with my camera. I find it very exciting. It's a sign that winter will end and be replaced by all of the wonders of spring. Yay!
Robins are a traditional sign of spring, but around here we have them all year around, so they actually mean nothing at all. They're beautiful though and I love to watch them hopping through the meadow in search of worms.
Steller's jays, on the other hand, are like the park's avian security alarm system. They flit from limb to limb, emitting loud squawks to alert everyone and everything to your presence in their world. You cannot sneak up on a jay. They're very smart birds!
Ahhhh, love is in the air! These mated mallards think so. At this time of the year, they rarely stray from one-another's sides. Isn't this what they call "double-dipping"? Doesn't it make you want to burst out in song?.......side (tappity-tap)... by (tappity tap)... side (tappity- tap-tap). How about, "I want you, Babe!".
Teri I. Lenfest
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