I likely post way to much from Mud Lake, but it is a great spot and there's always something a bit different every visit, This PhotoStory is of an earlier morning visit in late June. Only one other person was there when we arrived.
A mother wood duck and four 2(?) week ducklings were blocking the road by the entrance to the path when we arrived. They were searching for small bits of food and likely hoping early visitors would provide some....
A little way along the path, two wood ducklings were by the water's edge with the low sunlight backlighting their fluff. They didn't stay still, but I managed to catch a few shots
There are a few spots on the trail where the ducks hangout as they are handy spots for visitors with feed to stop. A female woodie was up on the rocks ready for us, then a molting male joined her but was a bit slower coming up from the water.
The male woodies' molt looks very messy until they lose their breeding look, the male mallards present a tidy, but different, feather pattern on their sides , while molting
The spot where the Canada goose had a nest next to the bridge seems to be a cosy place. to rest. A female mallard was snoozing comfortably on the remains of the nest.
Down at the river, a lone osprey was floating overhead. Didn't seem to be looking for a fish in the river, just riding the thermals
Also down at the river, through a gap in the rocky island separating the side channel from the Deschenes Rapids you could watch the ring-billed gulls flying over the rapids. There is small island on the Quebec side where the gulls nest. Cormorants, egrets and a few great blue herons nest there as well
Being earlier than normal we were hoping we might find the turkeys still roosting in the trees, but we were too late for that. But we did find them coming out from their roosting spot. To make a long story short I didn't get a video of them coming out of a thicker part of the woods straight towards us and jumping up and over a log I was resting on. It would have been a great video, but it was not to be.
I did get a video of the bossy male with a close up of his "snood" - the appendage above his beak. The video shows it hanging loose (I've seen it even looser) and just as he ducks his head at the end, he brings it upright.
A pair of cardinals were at the end of the bridge foraging for food. The male found a dried corn kernel but gave up trying to crack it. The female came along a few minutes later and tried.
The red-winged blackbirds particularly in the spring get into fights with themselves looking in car side mirrors. One seemed to be carrying the practice into the summer (although I missed the looking at itself in the mirror).
Im mid to late June each year the mayflies hatch and the caddisflies appear. Both appear in large numbers near the water. Some years the caddisflies are so thick that you almost have to wave your arms to part them as you walk. This year they weren't so bad. Mayfly left and caddis fly right.
There a number of frogs around. Maybe not as many as in others years - the herons have been busy?? Two green frogs and a leopard frog
The tadpoles seemed to have grown quite quickly, although no legs on them yet.
A red squirrel, with a chunk of skin out of its forehead, was on the observation deck enjoying seeds left by someone. A grey Squirrel was around too.
A few cotton-tailed rabbits were hopping about looking for food. Again for various reasons I missed a getting a video of one foraging close by and coming right up to the camera. It was interesting to note that one rabbit was eating last years dried leaves, not this years fresh green ones
Two raccoons were patrolling the underbrush looking for breakfast. I caught a quick shot of one as it momentarily stuck its head out. (It took some software processing to improve the focus)
There were lots of flowers blooming. Scroll over for ID
sumac
sweet white clover
grass
Morning glory/bindweed
Morning glory/bindweed
Blue flag iris
vetch
viper's bugloss
vervain
healall/selfheal
flowrring rush/Water-gladiolus
deadly nightshade
St John's wort
bladderwort
yellow waterlily
white waterlily
creeping jenny
purple loosestrife
An expansive lawn area by the filtration plant was covered with bright yellow bird's foot trefoil
While many of the elderberry bushes were flush with bright red berries, others were still blooming, (and hosting lined longhorn beetles).
The black mulberry trees were coming into fruit, much to the delight of the birds
