Another Marked Swan

A friend told Jim that this is the time of year swans molt their feathers and it's when the DNR or other wildlife people put collars on them.  We were driving past the pond where I saw the last one and we decided to pull in to see if it was still there.  Right away we could see one swan on the water and I wanted to see if it was Swan number 26C or if it was a different one.

  

Well, as you can see (if you click on it to zoom in) this one is 26N and it does look like it's getting a new set of feathers. And like the last one, I reported this one to the USGS Bird Banding Lab.

Thank you everyone for your nice comments about Molly.  She's such a good girl...most of the time!  

Swan Sighting

Yesterday we stopped to take a walk near the pond by an old gravel pit.  Back in the day, this was one of Molly’s favorite swimming holes.  Now, she’s not too interested in water or bringing back sticks, but we still like walking there.  Anyway, as soon as the pond came into sight we could see a big ol’ swan swimming around in it.  As we got closer, I took some pictures and I had a feeling I’d seen this swan before.  Bet you’re wondering how does she know it’s the same one she’s seen before?  Well, you see this swan was wearing a yellow collar.  When we got back to the cabin I was so excited when I checked the pictures and sure enough, the number on the collar was 26C.  Back in the March of 2010 I saw this same swan and reported it to the USGS.  Here it is swimming around in the same pond.

At that time I reported it and received this Certificate of Appreciation.  The cool part about it is knowing the swan was born in 2004. 

But to take this one step further the first time I saw this swan in 2009!  At that time it was in a river not too far away from the gravel pit pond.  It had a couple cygnets along with it as well as another banded swan.  I sure wish I would’ve reported both of them at the time.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to make my day!

Linked up to Tammy's Photography Spot "Behind The Camera".

First Cabin Trip of the Year

We arrived around 3:00 last Friday afternoon.  The driveway was clear and the snow wasn’t too deep.  There was a serious layer of ice on the path down to the outhouse, but that was the only problem we had.When we left last November, we knew we were going to buy a new shower shelter because the zipper on the front broke beyond repair.  We left it standing, just to see if it could survive a northern Wisconsin winter.  As you can see, it came through with flying colors.  Considering how much snow, wind, rain and ice there was, this is very impressive.
On Saturday morning we loaded up our water jugs and went to the little park to fill them up.  As we pulled in, I could see two white things out on the ice.  At first I thought it was snow and then I realized there were two swans sitting on the ice. 
As I was standing on the shore taking their pictures, a couple of ice fisherman started walking out to their favorite fishing hole (literally!). 
The swans didn’t like this at all!  They started walking around, flapping their wings and making all kinds of noise.
Eventually the fishermen got to their fishing holes and the swans quieted down.
  We filled up our jugs and headed back to the cabin with a trunk load of water.
Saturday was a beautiful day, somewhat warm with lots of sun.  We filled up the birdfeeders and put a little corn down for the squirrels and deer.  It was really nice to see these two appear during the day.
Things looked good out by the beaver lodge.  We saw 2 beavers out on the ice on Saturday night.  They’re going to have some major repairs to do on the dam when the ice melts.  The water is going through in a new spot.  Just hope the dam holds.  Fingers crossed for our sake and the beavers.

Sunday was an icky, cloudy, drizzly, hang around the cabin kind of day.  On Monday morning  I turned on the TV and this is what the weather guy was showing.  Are you kidding me?  Okay, so now they’re talking blizzard warnings starting on Tuesday morning.  No way!  The snow was bad enough, but the cold weather following it was the clincher.  We decided to come back home.But it was a nice weekend and as soon as the weather straightens out, we’ll be back.  We left the trail cam up so we’ll be able to see what comes by and how much snow fell and all that good stuff. 

Pond Stars

Over the last week, we’ve been on all the regular dirt roads and have seen a deer here and there, but that’s about all.  The main wildlife action is right out our front window.  All that water out there has been very inviting for many birds and ducks.  There’s one duck that  hangs around and I’ve yet to identify it, but it seems to get along okay with the beaver.

This morning I saw a great blue heron out on the little island.  I grabbed my camera, went outside, zoomed in all the way and got this picture.  Man, they really have great eyesight.  I tried to get closer and like always, I scared it away.  But I did get it’s picture and when I was editing it, I noticed another bird in the background.  I have no idea what it is.
Yesterday, to my surprise a pair of swans landed on the pond.  There’s no way of knowing if they’re the same two that were here this spring.  It doesn’t matter, it’s just nice to see them stop by.

This morning while I was watching the beaver and the mystery duck, I noticed a kingfisher perched on his favorite fishing spot.  I’m always trying to get a good picture of one of them (and I’ll keep trying).  I caught this one just before he slammed into the water to catch a minnow or something.

And finally…I love all the cool spider webs that appear at this time of the year. 

So there you have last week’s wildlife moments from around the pond.