The weather is finally turning more seasonable. New Year’s Day was just warm enough to go out and get the new boat permit stickers wet.
I’ve never been out on the lake when it’s been up this high, at least a meter above normal. I was able to take a “short cut” and turn out to the right across the dock when I left the boat ramp.
And there were some other interesting things to see out there.
I wish I had more time, because there’s a lot more lake to explore out there right now.
We didn’t have nearly the rainfall that areas to the southeast had, and few problems. I saw a total of 7.13″ of rain here at the house, and the lake is definitely higher than I’ve ever seen it in the last 16 years that we’ve been here.
Sunday, as the rain was ending:
but the runoff continues to come in from the north. On Monday:
I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes even higher (not sure at what point the spillway kicks in), as it’s usually 2-3 days after heavy rains to the north before things peak here.
I like to be out early. Is this what you’d call the crack of dawn? The clouds were certainly broken, if not cracked. (For those just joining us, you can click on the picture below to get to a higher-res version you can zoom into.)
Up at the end of the lake, I found a Heron and an Egret hanging out, and they didn’t seem to mind my hanging out there too, as long as I kept my distance (or, really, their distance).
In fact, it surprised be a bit when the Egret decided to come over to my side of the lake. Maybe she didn’t get along with the Heron…
These fawns were hanging out on the shore.
While other Herons were conducting tree-top operations.
This Eastern Phoebe was working the trees along the shore.
Ooh, make that two Eastern Phoebes.
Moving to the other end of the lake, I floated into this little backwater lagoon and, odd, I don’t remember there being a rock there…
Or two rocks … and why did that small rock seem to be pushing around the big one?
Oh….
Not too bad a day for pictures. Of course, I came back from the lake with 261 images in the camera. Here’s the ones that are worth anything… (As usual, you can click on the picture to get to a higher-resolution version.)
The Saturday morning boat race had just gone by, and when the lake is still and just a little bit scummy, boats will leave a trail.
I got to the northeast end of the lake in time to find a Kingfisher…. well, this is where he was:
Oh, there she goes!
Over there in that tree…
With the other Kingfisher. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten two in one picture:
All this was being watched by an Osprey. Here’s a rare picture of a wild bird coming towards the camera.
Gotta include a Heron picture. This one was keeping an eye on me from across the lake.
…while I was taking pictures of the Killdeer. With the water down a fair bit, there’s more mud flats for them to pick around in.
So I’m paddling along around a bend and find a large swarm of mayflies. They dispersed before I could grab the camera, so I continued on. Apparently they didn’t so much disperse as settle down in a tree along the shore, and as I got close to it they all took off again and I found myself engulfed in a swarm of mayflies. Again, it happened and was over before I could grab the camera, but this one decided to hitch a ride back down the lake.
No sooner did I remark about the dearth of Herons in my last post that I started seeing ’em all over the place. So, to make up for that, this will be a bit of a Great Blue Heron special.
I’ve noticed that they often drag their feet in the water to scrub off speed prior to landing:
then hop up a bit:
(Um, yeah, that’s what I’m really doing when it looks like I bounced the airplane on the runway.) Despite assertions by some to the contrary, I do believe birds can, and do, stall their wings. They just do it with very tight control and exactly when they want to, like these Herons making what human fliers would call a full-stall landing:
All that flying requires regular airframe maintenance:
Oh, yeah, the Osprey are still working their nest on top of the intake. I didn’t see any little ones this time, but this parent is obviously protective of someone:
Just a couple of weeks ago I noted the little goslings floating around with their parents on the lake, little tiny things. My, how fast they grow (as usual, click on the picture to get to a higher-resolution version):
The Osprey have been busy too, with at least one in the nest:
I spotted this one as he pulled breakfast out of the lake, perhaps to feed a family:
Obligatory Great Blue Heron picture… I hadn’t seen quite as many around the lake as usual, but maybe they, like everyone else this time of year, are busy.
I don’t think ornithologists would describe this Cyanocitta cristata as a shore bird, but that’s where I saw this one:
There was evidently something there of interest:
and worth carrying off:
One more of those little places on the lake I like to hang out:
The north east end of th lake has been getting a lot of silt lately from Lick Creek (I think), making navigation difficult. But the Kildeer seem to like that area.
What you don’t want to see overhead if you’re a fish:
Looks like the Osprey have some work-in-progress in the nest on top of the intake structure, so they’ll be grabbing more fish than ever soon:
These geese are looking a bit ragged, perhaps from the winter wear & tear:
But it’s spring time now and … Look! Gooselets!
One of those out-of-the-way places on the lake where I could sit all day, if I had the time:
Any nice day in the spring or fall always brings out the turtles:
We have a lot of double-crested cormorants around right now:
These are heavy birds and it takes a lot of wing motion to fly:
One major difference between human and avian flight is that birds can drag a wingtip on the water and nothing bad happens.
This usually ends badly when humans do it.
This past Wednesday it hit 80F degrees, leaving little doubt as to where I needed to be.
The warm, sunny day brought out the turtles:
while a hawk (a Cooper’s Hawk, I think), stopped by overhead:
I was looking for a way past some beaver-works when I heard a distinct tapping noise.
I knew right away the sound had to be a woodpecker, in this case, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. She seemed quite content to go on picking at the tree while I watched and took pictures.
Of course, as is typical for this area, today the temperatures sank throughout the day towards 40F with light on-and-off rain.