Jordan Lake State Park

Category

By Horned Grebe Paddle

Jordan Lake. Yesterday morning I recorded this horned grebe paddling along. It looks a little ragged because it’s actually in molt. It is changing from the light gray overall winter color into the vibrant browns, reds and yellow that it will have when the molt is finished. Also note that the grebe is floating past a fair amount of debris because the lake was up to 219.67 feet. That is what the lake is supposed to do… Hold in water from heavy rainfall and then slowly let it out afterwards so nothing gets flooded downstream. I am glad the lake is there to control the flooding! I think the grebe is glad the lake is there so it can paddle.

By Chick!

Jordan Lake. First Nest. Oh my. Captain Doug and I were out on the boat yesterday where we could more easily see First Nest. On the right hand side of the nest is a chick about five-weeks-old, standing up and looking towards its parent on the left-hand side of the nest (you can only see the back of the parent that is reaching down into the nest so I don’t know which parent it is). Didn’t see a second chick in the nest yesterday but that doesn’t mean there might not be one where I could’t see it. Enjoy the growing chick!

By Spring has Sprung

spring has sprung / the grass has riz / I wonder where / the birdie is … look closely on the tree trunk for the brown creeper! The jingle is an adaption of one that my late parents always told each other on the first day of spring. It always made me chuckle. This is how the jingle originally went: spring has sprung / the grass is riz / I wonder where / the posy is.

By Line of Flight

Jordan Lake. In the bird world, when you are startled you don’t usually make a beeline for the closest human … suddenly there was an incoming mallard drake filling my lens!

By Fresh Fish and Nest Linings

Jordan Lake. First Nest. Mom Kate had a big fish and she had a long way to travel to get it back to the nest. She was in a hurry! Then almost right behind her came Dad Bard with some fresh nest lining material. I don’t know how many chicks are in that nest but I can tell you this: they are well fed and pooping a lot so they have to be doing pretty darn good.