On The Trails: Spring arrives
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:29 am
Spring is happening, very slowly but surely. Purple mountain saxifrage has been blooming, salmonberry flowers appear, yellow violets are starting to flower. However, I have looked at countless stands of blueberry bushes and seen nary a bee, and I’ve inspected dozens of skunk cabbage inflorescences without finding a single one of the little beetles that are thought to be major pollinators. But friends reported a Pacific wren with nesting material and other birds showed signs of spring activities.
And on my home pond, a female mallard who had been hanging out with a male has disappeared, presumably to incubate her eggs somewhere not too far away. Meanwhile her male friend now cruises the pond alone, with an occasional visit from another male. These visits are typically amicable. In one remarkable instance, the two males swam country wise email marketing list side by side around the pond, pausing occasionally to preen. Their every movement was impressively synchronized.
Early April visits to Kingfisher Pond, that lovely gem of restored quarry pit, found little beyond some red-winged blackbirds up in the tree canopies, a very shy song sparrow, and a couple of nervous snipe. Then, the day after Easter, I walked the loop path around the pond with a sharp-eyed friend, going in the opposite direction from my customary way. This may have brought us luck! Bird-watching was a lively thing that day, despite a cool breeze and drizzle.
And on my home pond, a female mallard who had been hanging out with a male has disappeared, presumably to incubate her eggs somewhere not too far away. Meanwhile her male friend now cruises the pond alone, with an occasional visit from another male. These visits are typically amicable. In one remarkable instance, the two males swam country wise email marketing list side by side around the pond, pausing occasionally to preen. Their every movement was impressively synchronized.
Early April visits to Kingfisher Pond, that lovely gem of restored quarry pit, found little beyond some red-winged blackbirds up in the tree canopies, a very shy song sparrow, and a couple of nervous snipe. Then, the day after Easter, I walked the loop path around the pond with a sharp-eyed friend, going in the opposite direction from my customary way. This may have brought us luck! Bird-watching was a lively thing that day, despite a cool breeze and drizzle.