Bona Dea Update

Bona Dea was sunny and temps in the 80's and very windy. No Cormorants seen at Lake Dardanelle or Bona Dea today. Some Pied-billed Grebe ducks were in the lake. I found out that the construction work they are doing at the north edge of the park by Parkway Hwy is a new road. They are going to have another entrance into the pumping station area. This will also free up the vegatation growth around the power lines going to the pumping station as trees as fallen on the lines many times and power was lost on that part of town. Also heavy equipment will have an easier time getting in and out of that area. They really have chopped up the trees pretty bad that are left. Northern Cardinals were really singing away again all over the park. Basking turtles were out on the logs and snags in Prarie Creek and in the ponds. No woodpeckers seen or heard today and actually not many birds around at all. Many species of birds I have talked about in the last 3 months were either just wintering here or migrating through. They will still be some birds still mirgrating and coming around for about a month. I have a photo here of the male Canadian Goose that was standing in Swinging Bridge Trail as if to dare me to come near. I went up to him and he just moved a little. If there were baby ones around he would have flogged me. American Crows were still flying around but don't think I saw the Gulls today for the first time in months. They may have migrated on to where ever. They don't stay here in warm weather. I saw a Turkey Vulture flying but not groups or flocks like usual. I took some pics of Wild Yellow Violet wildflowers that were growing close to the Old Swinging Bridge. They are pretty don't you think? At the spillway I fed the fish again and this time I tried to take some pics of them. The sun wasn't right and the water was merky. I will post some here and maybe some tomorrow. These are Bluegill Brim. Well friends as always I save the best for last. At last I get to see my favorite forms of wildlife out here. Snakes and Turtles. This was the first time this year that I saw a snake, actually 2 of them, and a hugh really big Common American Snapping Turtle. I tried to get close enought to take a photo but it was crossing the trail at their usual crossing and was over and in the water before I could run fast enough to get the pic. But here is a photo of one. But this one was bigger. I have had them spit at me and raise up on their legs ready to attack. At the spillway while I was feeding the fish, I just happened to look down about 4 feet from me and this Watersnake was just moving along real slow and deliberate. The pics you see of one in the water is this one. The other pics of a snake on dry land is another one that came up to the spillway later apparently following the other one. Don't they look mean. They are not poisnous but probably could bite. Some people handle them. Not me. I will try to ID both of them later. They look like about 3 different varieties to me. They catch the fish like the kind I feed right there at the spillway. The one on dry land looks like it had eaten not too long ago as big as its midsection is. Maybe tomorrow will bring more goodies like this. I may post some more pics of today later on.