Weeping Willow
One of the first signs of spring color change was the greenish-yellow hue of this weeping willow in the wetlands of the Perched Valley DNR Wildlife Management Area adjacent to Highway 61. Weeping willows are native to northern China and receive their name from the way rain appears to look like tears when it's dripping off the curved branches.
Spring View of Wacouta
The photo above was taken from the top of Rattlesnake bluff on the first day of spring (March 20, 2018). Quite a contrast from spring of 2017.
Wacouta Pond Eagle Nest
For the past three years, there has not been a successful nesting of peregrine falcons on the face of Rattlesnake bluff. It has been thought that in two of those years as the newly hatched eyasses approached the time to fledge, they are preyed upon by either great horned owls or bald eagles. Unfortunately for potential nesting falcons, there has been an active eagle nest about 100 yards away near the base of the bluff. In the past two weeks, I have been observing no adult activity near the nest. However on March 22nd, I took this photo of the nest. Upon closer examination, I discovered a white head from the adult eagle. Can you detect it? Looks like the chances for a successful falcon nesting this year are slim to none.
Tundra Swans
During the fall deer hunting season in early November, I observe and hear from my deer stand several small flocks of tundra swans migrating overhead as they make their way to the wintering grounds on the east coast in and around Chesapeake Bay
On this migration, it is very common for them to stop for a week or two in the Weaver bottoms and the backwaters near La Crosse, Wisconsin and Brownsville, Minnesota to feed on arrowhead tubers and other aquatic vegetation.
However on their northward spring migration, the swans pass through this area in just a few days. Their food source in the backwaters is still ice covered and they are anxious to arrive at the arctic nesting grounds. After resting overnight on the open waters of Lake Pepin, their morning flights over Wacouta usually coincide with the boiling of maple sap in our backyard.
Drake Ring-Necked Duck
On the weekend of March 24 and 25, I was starting to observe some of the early waterfowl migrants coming into small patches of open water at the Head of Lake Pepin. One of the most common and easily identified ducks is the ring-necked. These ducks are a little smaller than a mallard and are usually observed in small groups diving to feed on mollusks, invertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation.
Hooded Merganser
Another early migrant I have recently observed is the Hooded Merganser. This duck will stick around our area and is known to compete with wood ducks for nesting boxes and tree cavities. In many cases, they will arrive here a week or ten days before wood ducks.
White Pelican
On March 28th, I observed the first significant number of returning white pelicans to our area. Many of these birds possessed an unusual projection on the upper mandible near the tip of the bill indicating it to be a breeding adult on it's way to nesting grounds in western Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota. If we can avoid high floodwaters this spring along the river, non-breeding pelicans might stay here all summer.
New Beaver Dam
On my post of March 25, 2017, I featured a photo of a beaver dam on Bullard Creek just downstream from the bridge along County Road 21 near the intersection of highway 61. Now a new and much larger dam has been built on the upstream side of County Road 21. For anyone wishing to observe a well constructed beaver dam, it is easily seen from the road.
Prescribed Fire
Frontenac State park has done a wonderful job in recent years restoring large sections of the park to natural prairie. For this effort to be successful, prescribed fires need to be conducted at least every three or four years. On March 30th, we observed one such burn in the prairie on top of Rattlesnake Bluff from our home in Wacouta.