Bona Dea Update

Bona Dea has been sunny and warm the past few days. My computer has been in the hospital for some serious illness and just got out. I have taken a lot of photos and will post them with descpitions in subsequent posts above. Today a Double-crested Cormorant was on the old snag in Lake Dardanelle. The other day I was crossing the new road construction down the dike to the hiking trails. I had a tumble and thought I did some serious stuff and was going to be like my computer was. Feel better these days. But I visited with some people who are into birding and they were out seeing them. There were quite a few around such as the Blue-gray Knatcatcher bird and the find of the day a Blue-winged Warbler. But its yellow color really stood out. Photo. But really there was another find the other day when I got this photo of a very pretty male Woodduck on Prarie Creek by the old swinging bridge. Just really beautiful. Also a photo of a Red-eared Slider turtle that I took at the pumping station. But another find and a rare one around here was a flock of Cedar Waxwing birds that were in the trees eating the buds at the parking lot picnic area. Here are 2 photos showing a single bird and then 2 birds high in the trees. They were migrating through. White-throated Sparrows were a round the area. American Crows flying over head. Pileated woodpeckers were making there loud sounds over the park. One of the birding people said they saw Downy Woodpeckers and other types of birds on the west end of the park. The male Canadian Goose was around the nesting area and his mate was still on her nest on the island in Waldon Pond. I noticed at home that a pair of Northern Cardinals have make a nest in the holly bush up against my house in the back yard. Maybe they will have little ones as I have mistakenly cut that bush 2 years in a row without noticing them having a nest there and they never came back to it. That won't happen this year. I also had some White-throated Sparrows at my bird feeder that I don't remember ever being there before. The big Bullfrogs are jumping and hollering at Bona Dea on all the water ponds. I just haven't seen one staying still long enough to photo them. There are some grey squirrels that have nests in the trees across from the spillway and when I am there they go way around me and hug the bank to get to the other side. Sorta funny how they sneak by. I fed the fish every day so far and today treated them when water soaked feed. But the same ole Red-eared Slider turtle keeps coming around to get the feed first. It can't when it is wet and the fish swallow it first. I saw the first small Musk turtle there yesterday and did manage to get it some food. They will come out more when it gets warmer.