Sunday, April 6, 2008

Out of the Garden VI

We went to the county south of us to bird this morning. We hadn't been there for a couple of weeks becasue we knew they had had more rain than our county received and you have seen the pictures from our county. Well, it was worse than we expected. We have permission to drive the levee around a power plant where we bird and we did so to see what it looked like around the plant since all the roads were still closed.
The road above is a road we normally drive to check the ponds that were made a few years ago to create a place for waterfowl to be able to rest during migration and in hopes that birds that need this type of habitat could nest here. It has been a great success so far. They won't have to pump any water into the ponds for some time.
Below is a road that runs around the south end of the power plant. You can see the sign that tells you that there is a stop ahead. It is nearly submerged.
The deer are very stressed right now. There is not much high ground in this area obviously. Here you can see one taking off for high ground.
On almost every levee we came to there would be a heard of deer seeking refuge. You don't see them out like this during the day very often. We normally see turtles sitting on logs sunning themselves during warm spring days like this. Not much of that going on because almost every available log was under water. We found one turtle crossing the road. It didn't want us taking its picture. A car came along so we had to hurry on so it wouldn't get squashed.
We did find a few turtles in this little retention pond. It is always fun to find them sunning themselves. A sure sign of spring.
We saw our first Great Egret of the year today. Sorry most of the pictures the animals are so far away. We were stuck on top of the levee and couldn't get closer. My Dearly Beloved offered to crop and fix the pictures but I didn't want to wait. Have I told you I am impatient??
Along this stretch of levee there were 12 Canada Goose nests. It is always fun to find them nesting. You first see these little flags flipping in the wind. You know the nest is near. The down they line their nest with gets blown out of their nest sometimes.
Some of the down looks like cotton and it is so soft. Think down filled jackets or duvets. Up close some you can see the feathery part of the down.
Here is one of the nests. We didn't want to dawdle. The poor parents were squaking and trying to lead us away from the nest.
It was such a beautiful spring day here in the Wabash Valley. I just wish this flood water would go away. Every thing and everyone needs a break in the rain. A few more dry sunny days like today will help matters.

21 comments:

  1. What great pictures, in spite of the flooding challenges. No need to crop and fix the egret picture when we can click on it--he looked very stately, and like he was taking a leisurely weekend stroll on that pathway! :)

    The goose nest was very pretty. I don't think that I've ever seen one of those before.

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  2. What a cozy, fluffy nest that is! And the eggs are pretty too. Think how warm and welcoming the home is for the baby goslings as they hatch. So sorry for the high water, hope it recedes soon. Poor everybody, deer, birds, people, dogs.
    Frances

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  3. I knew you'd had a lot of rain, but enough is enough. Surely you are caught up from last year's drought. Great pics and the deer are really at a loss as to what to do aren't they? At least it looked like they had grass to eat til the water goes down.

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  4. Wonderful photos, Lisa! I've never seen an egret, to the best of my knowledge. Unfortunate about the flooding--this seems to be the Spring of Much Water for some areas, and not enough water for others.

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  5. Canada geese make the most comfy looking nests. All that down makes you want to snuggle in with those eggs.

    Thanks Nancy.

    Yes Frances. I can only imagine how the people in that area are managing. Many houses are built on high ground but this year the flooding has been its worst.

    You are right Beckie. When you see that many different herds of deer on the levees it brings home how dangerous it is for the wildlife. Only the ducks are happy with this situation. There were even ducks and coots along the highways which is a weird thing to see. We felt like we were in a swamp in florida.

    Jodi the only thing I see good about this situation is that the water table is being replenished. The past couple of years the farmers have pumped and pumped water onto these very fields that are flooded like there is no end to the water. It always makes me nervous to see this. Of coure they pump every year but the past couple of years have been very droughty in this area. CAn't say that now.

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  6. Amazing photos of the deer, Lisa. We have a lot of deer around here, too, but I've never seen that many out in the open--in broad daylight--at one time.
    After seeing these pictures of all the flooding, I will not complain about the showers we are supposed to get this week.

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  7. Wow, hopefully the water will recede soon Lisa. Poor deer. Love the sweet goose nest with all the down. So comfy and protected. :c)

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  8. Wow that's wet. The one time Canada geese tried to make a nest here, they attacked me when I tried to photograph it! Sadly, a coyote or other predator got to the eggs just before they were due to hatch. :(

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  9. Water water everywhere, one always feels so sorry for the wildlife.
    I am impatient to Lisa when i have something to upload, no waiting for me either.
    Love the canada goose nest, so beautiful. Love the feather photograph.
    Nice post.

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  10. Poor deer, I hope the water recedes soon. I've never seen that many deer in one place before.

    How fun to find the nests. They do look cozy.

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  11. I enjoyed your discoveries..the feathers the eggs..oh please get back quickly!LOL
    The poor animals when their natural habit is threatened by the powers of Mother Earth as seen in the flooding...I do hope the turtle got across the road safely!
    Still enjoying my Happy Trails in Arizona.hugs NG

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  12. Great pictures! Those poor deer. Hopefully you'll be drying out soon.

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  13. Wow Lisa, its really hard to imagine that kind of rain, I'm quite lucky I suppose all the really bad weather here misses us.

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  14. So glad you got away from the garden and captured these photos! Watch those goose, they have a nasty bite!

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  15. What great pictures! The amount of flooding is mind-boggling. I guess we need the rain, but we still have the whole month of April to go! Poor deer. They can come live at my house - LOL!

    Love the nest. The eggs look pretty big - are they?

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  16. Yes, Sherry those goose eggs are quite large.

    Mon@rch we are quite aware of how protective the geese are of their nests. One we call Brutus. He will attack the truck, whacking the truck with his wing since he can't bite it.

    Thank you all for commenting.

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  17. Yikes - what a struggle with all that water. Your deer photos are amazing. It was nice to see the turtle up close. Wish we could send you some of our hot sun.

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  18. What an terrible flood are they common in your area, it looks really bad. your photos however looks great. What beautiful nest.

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  19. Dear Lisa,
    So glad you took a drive. I enjoyed seeing all your photos. I have been wondering about the rains. From the radar it looks as if you have had many storms. The flooding is terrible. Hard on the wildlife.
    Wonderful photos. I felt as if I was on the drive with you!
    May you have many sunny days.
    Sherry

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  20. Wow! That photo of the nest is terrific!

    I hope you get a break from all the rain...

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  21. I hope the flood waters recede soon. It is beautiful but can be deadly! Love your turtle. Great pictures of the nest!

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