Bona Dea Update

Bona Dea was mostly sunny today and turned mostly cloudy later. It was really cool compared to the past few days. Last night it rained .25 inches. Prarie Creek was higher and they weren't pumping water. Thank Goodness. Yesterday I failed to mention that I saw a Coopers Hawk down low in the woods off Old Shorty Trail. They hunt for birds mainly and fly low and fast through the trees to pick off the poor victims. But we all got to eat. Today in town I saw another same specie of Hawk. It was flying a little higher. It had too of get hit by traffic. Robins were all over town more so than at the park. Driving down parkway to park, I saw a Double crested Cormorant sitting on the old snag in Lake Dardanelle and another one had just taken off and flying to the east. I looked closer and saw another one floating in the water by the snag. I went over to Swinging Bridge Trail and actually saw one just flying around and round and flying in landed in Waldon Pond. I went to look for it and could not find where it landed. I went back to the spillway area and after I started to leave I saw it swimming around close to the bank. It then started to fly off and it looked like an airplane in that it drug its feet like the wheels of a plane in the water just skipping a few feet apart until finally airborn and then just like a plane it circled one overhead before heading west. There were Canadian Geese heard over in Black Water Swamp. By the old Swinging Bridge I jumped a group of Blue-teal Ducks. Youi could really see the blue in their wings as they fly really fast and looke like headed for Black Water Swamp. The were really squealling as they flew. There was a big Pileated woodpecked on the north side of Waldon Pond when I went down and flew off when I went back. There was another one landed in a tree not far from me and he started to work on a tree and sounded like a roofer nailing in shingles. I suppose its mate called for him off in the distance and soon as that happened it took off in that direction of sound. Also at the creek by the bridge, I saw another Northern Flicker up on the highest point of a dead tree. I think it heard its mate and took off in that direction also.

On this trail I saw once again some Acadian Flycatchers. They really are fun to watch fly straight up and catch insects. The Carolina Chickadees were there again today. The resident Great Blue Heron was over by aligator ally on Waldon Pond. It was in the woods the other day as I mentioned. But I just over looked the best part of the day and maybe since I have been doing this blog. While viewing the Cormorants on Lake Dardanelle to start the trip, I just by acident happened to look up in the north horizen and saw guess what? No you missed it. It was a mature Bald Eagle. This is the U.S. national bird. I took some long shot photos of it and will post all 3 of them and another photo of one shown close up. Also one of the Cooper Hawk. The brown bird is the hawk. But this ain't all. When I went to look for the Cormorant that landed earlier I heard some more Squealling and look up and saw literally thousands of Herring Gulls flying overhead. There was no end to the line. Flying lower were some Turkey Vultures. The funny thing is that as I was watching one of them, an immature Bald Eagle joined in with it and the 2 of them did some sort of dance together. Gee, 2 Bald Eagles??? Grackles were still migrating overhead to parts unknown. Northern Cardinals were chirping in the woods all over the place. 2 Bald Eagles??? Gee Whiz!!!!!