Solitary Sandpiper

There's a solitary sandpiper on a partially-submerged log in our pond right now. Been here for over an hour, and seems to be finding something to eat--working the log just like a beach. Last year we had one stop over on our little beach in spring migration, but this year, there is no beach, due to the the unusually high water. A red-winged blackbird chased the sandpiper all around the pond--a comical sight--but it ended up back in the same spot on the log. It seems to be very content there. Having eaten, it is preening. It looks so beautiful in spring plumage. Soon it will be gone to the far north, where it breeds.

Had a pair of first-of-the-year chipping sparrows on Monday working through the grass in the yard. The same day and the next, a male bluebird was hunting from the branch of a black walnut bird was hunting from the branch of a black walnut, dropping down on bugs in the grass, then flying back up to the tree. Since the trees aren't leafed-out yet, it was easy to see. Beautiful!

Lots of spring flowers coming up. Wild iris:

 Mertensia (Virginia bluebells):

 Above, May apples look like elf umbrellas.

From Snow to Spring Beauties

A week ago today we awoke to snow on the ground. Agggh! Horrible. It was mostly melted by the end of the day, but we were not happy. A first of the year great blue heron flew into the pond on Monday, but stayed only briefly. Our neighbors across the pond have been clearing a lot of brush, so this may have scared him away--not permanently, I hope.

Throughout the week the weather gradually warmed up, even though it rained every day until Saturday. Tuesday night we had a big thunderstorm with hail and heavy winds, but each night the temperatures dropped a little less, so by the end of the week we were in the 40s at night, and over 50 in the day--a big improvement.
We have seen the goldfinches gradually getting more yellow.

Rhubarb and daffodils are emerging:

And on sunny days, like Saturday, bloodroot opens up to show its sunny spring face.

On Saturday it was fun to walk around and what was coming up: May Apples!

Bleeding heart:

Solomon's seal:

Trillium!

And lungwort is already in bloom!

Finally, while walking around to look at the state of our fruit trees (they look like they survived the winter well), we saw spring beauties in bloom:

 I guess that means spring has finally arrived.

First Bloodroot and Other Flowers

The first bloodroot is up. Yay!

Frogs!

The last couple of weeks were cold and there was little activity on Muskrat Pond. It appears the mink really did destroy the muskrat house, and we hardly saw any muskrats. I was very happy to see one Friday morning, swimming out of the culvert and into the "old" muskrat house--the one used last year.

There have been geese and mallards and deer--and roadkill. Three deer in about 3 weeks, a raccoon, 2 possums and a skunk on Friday night.

But Friday night something wonderful happened. We got home from dinner with friends and the frogs were singing! What a thrill. A true sign of spring. And then yesterday it got really hot--like a summer day--and I went out to clean winter debris out of the brook, and there were the frogs, sitting on rocks, warming themselves in the sun. It amazes me how they can winter over at full size like that. So now, even though it won't be hot like it was yesterday, spring is really underway.

Bird sightings on the pond over the weekend included a female Eastern belted kingfisher and a chipping sparrow. A great blue heron was sighted in flight. Hooray! The house finches have been back for a couple of weeks, as are  the cedar waxwings who passed through in a big flock of 40-50 a couple of weekends ago. Goldfinches are getting golder every day.

Mink and Geese

Woke to a beautiful sunny day, but cold outside. The thermometer read 19 F. The ice had all melted off the pond by the end of the weekend, but today there is a thin film of new ice in the shallows. A bit of snow on the ground, too, and a thin coating of ice on the deck railings. Further north they had a really bad winter storm yesterday, so we are lucky. This should melt off by afternoon if it stays sunny.

We have been wondering what happened to the muskrat house. We can't figure out if something tore it up (mink?) or if it just looks so much smaller because the pond level is a lot higher from snow melt followed by rain. Haven't seen the pond this high since last spring.

Was looking out at a quiet pond when a mink emerged on land, and then ran quickly under the little wooden bridge over the brook. A little later I was watching a pair of geese, when another pair flew in, honking loudly. The fist pair took off immediately. They know who is dominant!

Sunday Evening

I was so excited about the mink that I forgot to note that we saw a beautiful bluebird yesterday in good light in the yard--red breast, and all. We were very happy about that. Tree sparrows and juncos are still here, but I expect they'll head north soon. Goldfinches are turning yellow. Having a good rain this evening. So happy it's not snow!

Sunday, 3/20/11

It's officially the first day of spring, and a lot is happening outside. The full moon was beautiful last night, looking mysterious through misty clouds.

This morning we saw the first robin on the property, doing just what robins do--hopping about, looking for worms. And two muskrats were very busy in the shallows, eating all the fresh greens they could find.

A couple of hours later, we saw the mink! This is the longest mink sighting we've had. It was running along the beach, then running on what is left of the ice on the pond, then swimming, then out again, all the while sniffing, sniffing, looking for (I presume) baby muskrats. It sniffed all around last year's and this year's muskrat houses and the shallows where they like to feed.

This  mink has been in a fight. It has a wound or scar on the left side of the neck below the ear. I saw it run along the top of the tree that fell down last fall, then dive into it. A moment later, it came speeding out, with another mink in chase! Imagine, two of them! I was amazed. They ran either into or behind a big brush pile we created last year. I felt very vindicated; following the advice to leave fallen trees and create brushpiles for wildlife has really paid off.

Later we saw scar-neck out again, running along the bank and sniffing. Then he dove into a hole in the west bank of the pond, and I didn't see him emerge. So maybe the mink have a home here, too. We are thrilled!