The Marsh Project Week #23

The outside temperature is now in the mid to high 90's, and since school is about to let out for the summer (and graduation is upon us) it's probably safe to say that summer has arrived.  The Son of Never Stops Eating is, at this moment, furious that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and there are still seven days of school left.  It is, according to him, a plot by the evil adults to make the kids needlessly suffer.  

The marsh pond is extremely green and full of lily pads.  It's beautiful but it also makes it harder to see birds in the branches and snakes sunning on logs, since the vegetation is so prolific.  Only a few months ago everything was brown and bare, and now everything is a vibrant, bright green.  Dragonflies settle on the lily pads for a few seconds and then take off again, seeking another landing spot.  The birds can be heard in the trees, but it's difficult to pick them out- except for the woodpecker, who keeps returning back to the same spot over and over again.  With his red head and loud pecking, he's easy to find.  

The other day, I was sitting at the high blind drinking water (hydration is essential this time of year) and resting before proceeding on my way.  Other than a great egret and the woodpecker, and several Eastern pondhawk dragonflies, I hadn't seen much.  If there were snakes, they were hiding. Suddenly, a green frog hopped onto the boardwalk and sat there for just as long as it took me to turn the camera on and aim it in the frog's direction, and then he bounced off. I decided to see if I could find him, and after a brief search in the immediate area, I did- he was sitting on one lily pad, partially hidden by another.  If I hadn't seen him hop off the boardwalk, I never would have known he was even there.  

The only reason I saw this frog was because he moved. If he'd already been sitting on the lily pad when I walked by, I would have missed him entirely. 

Today, as I walked up the boardwalk towards the high blind, I saw something that looked a little different on one of the trees- I couldn't quite figure it out, but there was something that wasn't normally there.  After a second of looking at the tree, I figured it out- there was a western rat snake climbing the tree.  He blended in with the bark, but once I saw part of the snake, I saw the entire snake.  He moved slightly toward me, held his position for a few seconds- long enough for some photos- and then slithered off the tree and into the water. 

The snake was another observation I would have missed if I'd just been walking by.  The only reason I noted him was because I saw something different about a tree I look at nearly every day.  It makes me wonder how much stuff I'm missing- what am I walking by, obliviously unaware of its presence?

Green heron, appearing for a brief moment before hiding in the reeds. 

Seen on the trails and around:  Lots of dragonflies- Eastern pondhawks, great blue skimmers, darners, common whitetails, neon skimmer, black saddlebags, red saddlebags.  Butterflies: monarchs, pearl crescents, Eastern tiger swallowtails, viceroys, common buckeyes.  Green heron, little blue herons, great blue herons, cattle egrets, American coots, great egrets, belted kingfisher, northern cardinals, indigo bunting, painted buntings, Carolina chickadee, and one scissor-tailed flycatcher building a nest.  Western rat snake, cottonmouth, broad-banded water snake, plain-bellied water snake.  One raccoon and several armadillos.