~March 2012 POM Entry Thread~

[Kitcatclub]

Havalotta suggested I submit a photo for March. Here are 2 I took near my pond. The first one is the bullfrog being eaten by mosquitos and the second is a bluebird getting a drink. Thanks for looking!

[havalotta]

Ooooooo EXCELLENT bluebird! Kitcat!
Brand new to the site, feeling at home and already contributing such wonderful photos!
Have fun exploring! The site's CHUCK FULL of information and nature orientated people just like you to get to know and share among.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by Kitcatclub

Havalotta suggested I submit a photo for March. Here are 2 I took near my pond. The first one is the bullfrog being eaten by mosquitos and the second is a bluebird getting a drink. Thanks for looking!

For some reason, I've never thought of mosquitos biting amphibians--why, I'm not sure. Nice shot--cool that you have a pond. You'll have to share more photos (on another thread unless you want them to be considered as entries here).

I love the clarity of the bluebird. His colors are fantastic. Do you have any nesting where you live?

I've REALLY gotta get my pond started...then I could get some "bluebird getting a drink" pictures...maybe even a "bluebird taking a bath" photo. What I want most, though, is to see the adults bring their fledglings to it so that I can get a good look at them and know they survived fledging.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by havalotta

Brand new to the site, feeling at home and already contributing such wonderful photos!

Yup. If feels like you've been here forever. (That was meant in a nice way...but not sure how it sounded after typing it.)

Glad you feel at home already.

[Kitcatclub]

Thanks again! No, the bluebirds haven't nested with us yet - no houses up but we're working on that. We had the pond installed a while back and it's been one of the best investments we made. You'd be amazed at the wildlife it draws even though it is directly outside our sunroom.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by Kitcatclub

Thanks again! No, the bluebirds haven't nested with us yet - no houses up but we're working on that. We had the pond installed a while back and it's been one of the best investments we made. You'd be amazed at the wildlife it draws even though it is directly outside our sunroom.

If you have bluebirds in your area, hopefully getting some houses up in the right location, you'll be lucky enough to have them nest there. Good luck.

Today, I started weeding garlic mustard from a slope in my "woodland"...and decided there were a couple of nice-sized rocks that would help me make my pond/streambed project look more natural...I was hoping not to have a heart attack when I moved I flipped it end over end up the slope (luckily it was right on the top). The other one, I slid down the slope and started flipping it end over end up the path. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get them the approximately 150 feet or so to the site of my future pond.

I'm really hoping this is the inspiration/catalyst to get me started on the pond. Once it is done and I see the wildlife it draws in, I'll wonder why I didn't start sooner! In my late teens/early twenties, I always said the first thing I'd do when I bought land was build a pond...it has been three years, and, aside from digging the first part, I've yet to finish the first stage.

The upper portion (where I started digging last year), is not far from our sunroom...I can view it from the living room window, (or two upstairs bedrooms, come to think of it), and the deck. That is why I chose this site...however, it is also why, I'm having a hard time getting it started...I want it to be as natural-looking as possible, and being near the top of a hill, I'm struggling with that.

[jpdenk]

I cropped this shot a lot to keep the birds big enough to see some detail. The original, un-cropped photo has a lot more birds, but when I shrink it down enough to post here, it loses a lot of impact, so I opted for this version. Anyway, these are Sandhill Cranes that were circling over the Bartel Grassland on March 13. I was there to photograph the burn crew who was doing this year's burn, and flock after flock of cranes was flying over, many circling fairly low overhead and about 200 landed at the west end, but eventually left, probably due to the burn crew being a little too close for their comfort.

John

[recurve]

Awesome shot jpdenk!

[Kitcatclub]

Dap, not to get all nanny-like on you, but please be careful moving those rocks. Doing that was a contributing factor to my back problems (being stubborn and not waiting for help was another, LOL! I'm sure you would NEVER do that!) We had our pond installed by a pond company and they did a great job. Had to save up for it but it was worth every penny!

John, that shot is amazing! How big are they? They look like they must stand 6 feet tall!

[NEWisc]

John - Great shot of the cranes in flight. There's usually a pair or two that nest in my neighbor's marshy area. I never tire of their unique vocalizations. It always conjures up images of some ancient landscape full of prehistoric creatures.