It didn’t actually rain this morning, yet, but the clouds were grey, and everything was still dripping wet from overnight showers again, so I got soaked anyway.
There was a bit of excitement on the pond when a wood duck hen caught a nice, big tadpole, probably an American bullfrog, and all the other wood ducks wanted to help her with it. She managed to keep them all at bay, however, and choked it down all by herself. They may look cute, but they are wild animals, after all, and it appears they will eat anything they can catch.
Things were quiet at the river, so I had time to check on the barn swallow still on her nest under the Port Washington Road bridge at the far northwest corner of the park.
Just beyond the bridges, I spotted seventeen (17!) mallards, probably all siblings and a mom, steaming across the river. Mallard ducklings have been oddly scarce this summer compared to previous years, so it’s good to know they are around, even if we don’t get to see as much of them.
Finally, back on the pond, here’s another wood duck hen with her six healthy-looking ducklings.
Since I’ve got a bit of room left, here’s another rubyspot damselfly from yesterday morning when it was still quite dark.
And lastly, here’s a buckeye butterfly giving the swallowtail a good run for its money yesterday morning and putting on quite a show from atop a thistle blossom beside the soccer fields.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 