Bona Dea Update

The past few days have been sunny and unusually warm for this time of year. Also below average for rainfall. Tonight and tomorrow it is suppose to rain. Hope so. The water level is really low all over the creeks and ponds. The birds have been coming back in to the park. Woodpeckers and nuthatches and chickadees and blue jays and boat tailed grackles. Wood ducks also in the creek and water ponds. Aster wildflowers are all over the place right now. The photo showing the many lavender or blue daisy like blooms is called a Common Blue Wood Aster or Heartleaf Aster-Symphyotrichum cordifolium. Pardon the white shoe.The photo showing the green leaves is of this type of plant. The pic with the many white blooms is a bushy Mayweed. This is a variety of Aster.This clump of flowers had all varieties of flies, wasps and bees all over it. I tried to get some photos of the insects but they would not be still long enough to get a good shot except for a Southern Paper Wasp but I have that one in the insect album and most of you have seen them. See links in column to the right of this blog for Bona Dea Wildlife. I did see a really big Northern Flicka woodpecker today. Great Blue Herons are back at the park and one staying in the Waldon Pond area. Mosquitoes were really biting today. I fed the fish at the spillway. New fish pellets and they are larger and the fish don't like them as well. Will have to soak them a little bit first. Also saw some vulcher or buzzard birds flying high over the park. This is the first time in a long time. Also some Cormorants were seen in Lake Dardanelle a few days ago across from the park. The Cooler weather the past few weeks have really brought the people out to the park. Sometimes you cannot find a place to park your vehicle.The other day at the spillway, I saw a really big needle nose soft shell turtle that surfaced for only a little bit. The first one I have seen this year. They used to be seen in the spring quite often. Have had reports that people have seen a really big copperhead snake at the south part of the park on Serpendipity Trail. I have seen it in prior years but have not been able to see one to photo this year. Oh Yeh, I almost forgot. Today at the post office in town, I saw a Woodchuck across the street in a lawyers office back yard. It was just chomping away not far from the street. Strange to see in the middle of town. Stupid me, Forgot to get my camera for a photo.