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Monday, February 22, 2010

Bona Dea Update

It was cloudy and colder and more wind than yesterday at the Park. However, it seems on these type of days the birds come out more than the previous days that have been warmer and sunny. Go figure. The Gulls were again on the ground at the Tech University farm pastures. Also they were flying all around Lake Dardanelle and Bona Dea. The Turkey Vulchers were flying about. Flocks of blackbirds, probably Grackles, were flying West. At the old swinging bridge, the gray squirrl was high in a tree and trying to find nuts or acorns and then scampered down to the ground close to me as if I had something for it to eat. Sorry!!! White-throated Sparrows and Bushtit birds were out doing their thing. I heard woodpeckers off in the distance pecking away. Also several Northern Cardinals were singing the same familiar songs. If they keep practicing, they will learn how some day. Robins were all about on the ground. The spillway was really running in force. You could hear it before you got close. Prarie Creek was low due to the pumping station running all day. It had quit pumping before I left. Several flocks of Mallard ducks were flying over to Black Water Swamp. I walked on over to Bullfrog pond. Hadn't been there in a while. I was hoping to maybe see a White-tailed Deer there. No such luck this time. But guess what I heard. You guessed it. Bullfrogs. The first time this year. Really makes you think of Spring. I hope to take pics of some really big ones this year. They sorta scare you when you walk along real quite like and they jump in the water. This is a link to a really good bullfrog photo: http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/herps/bullfrog060504-1428caswellglz.jpg Now go to this link to see another photo and several sounds they make: http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/r.catesbeiana.sounds.html

2 comments:

margaret terwilliger said...

Nice blog John, almost as good as being there. I saw your cormorants over on the towers by the Cherokee Crossing Bridge.

Margaret T.

John said...

Thanks Margaret. I am not sure that the Cormorants stay here during the summer. But maybe I have seen 1 or 2 in the Park. They really look prehistoric to me. Spooky like. Them and the aligator goes good together.