Wildlife at Home, the Wetlands and Lakeside Park

Commonly known as the bullhead lily, and the yellow pond-lily, Nuphar Variegata's leaves are now well distributed over the surface of Shoemaker Lake and Shoemaker Creek in carpets of floating green. They provide shelter for underwater insects, snails, crayfish and fish. A convenient place to hide from the keen eyes of aerial predators like this Caspian tern. On the surface, the lily pads act as a resting place for insects and occasionally frogs. The plant is also a host for several species of beetles and their leaves and seeds are also eaten by the painted turtles in Shoemaker Lake. But for one female red-winged blackbird they are a convenient hunting ground on which she can easily find food for her fledgelings. And when you're as light as a red-winged blackbird, the leaves of the bullhead lily provide just enough support for walking on. One more photo of the female red-winged blackbird as she set off on another successful lily pad hop fo...

For a week or so now I have been aware of an unusual croaking noise coming from way up high in the trees. I had been unable to locate the owner of the croaking. And even though the sound did appear to move from tree to tree, I never saw any movement, or was that perhaps because it was one communicating with another?  Some kind of tree frog maybe, or was I possibly starting to lose my mind? I was not going crazy and I did finally catch up with the owner of the croaking noise a few days ago, more by chance than anything else. I was in position, neatly hidden in the undergrowth as I waited for a northern flicker to return to its nesting hole. And then I saw it, partially hidden, high up in the leaves of a willow tree. It possessed a really long tail that was broken with patches of white, a curved beak and a definitive line under its eye separating the colours on its head. The only bird that sprang to mind of being anything remotely like that was a bee-eater, but that was impossible....

We have experienced some really changeable weather of late. From grey overcast days with cold winds that made everyone wrap up again in their winter clothes to warm and beautifully sunny days which gave the illusion that summer is finally here. There has been plenty of activity at Lakeside Park, but I am falling a little behind with my posts and that is purely down to how much time I have to process the images I have been taking. I'll try to recap, starting from the second of May with a pair of Canada geese flying down from the lake to Shoemaker Creek. As you can see it was really overcast. And from the same grainy day, a swamp sparrow sang out at the edge of the reed beds at the top of Shoemaker Lake. Now on to the third of May which really contrasted to the previous day in regards to temperature and visibility. The bright sunlight added a splash of colour to this female red-winged blackbird. Not that it was needed at all, but the strong morning sunlight also l...

The title of this post is not misspelt, Sunday was a really grainy day for taking photographs. There was very little available light and it was attempting to rain in spits and spots. But, just because my camera was using a faster ISO and the photos are grainy, it does not mean they are unusable. From the reed beds on the far side of Lakeside Park, we have this angry-looking bird. It is, of course, a grackle and not angry at all, just displaying. Let's take a closer look at that display in action. Grackles puff out their feathers from head to tail when they display. And from the side, they look just as impressive. I've been keeping an eye on a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers who have gradually chipped out the perfect nesting hole for themselves way up at the top of a dead tree. This photo shows one of the woodpeckers apparently admiring its work, but there was a problem. Prime nesting holes are at a premium at Lakeside Park, and the red-bellied woodpecke...