At our usual pace we slowly made our way around the pond. Certainly we did not want to miss a thing.
Jeanne checked out the beaver hole with her flashlight. Indeed it was a deep hole and we were unable see all the way back. In fact there were multiple holes in the bank to be checked. However no bright eyes peered back.
Recently chewed tree!
No clue about type of beam structure across the drainage area. Our guess was for pipes or cables. The bank along this dry part was where we found the beaver holes and the above chewed tree. The water was only a short distance away.
There are many bird species such as owls, hawks and herons that regurgitate pellets. We saw several male Belted Kingfishers around the pond. In fact kingfishers regurgitate pellets too. Perhaps these crawdad filled pellets were from kingfishers. Or maybe from the immature Yellow-crowned Night-heron we saw hanging out.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker’s primary feather laid on the edge of the pond.
Minnows were swimming along the edge but then this Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus -tentative ID) swam close. Let me know if you can confirm my ID please.
The Sneezeweed Elegans (Helenium elegans)! A delightful flower that can be found in wet to seepy areas. The stems are winged and it has alternate leaves that are reduced up the stem. This and the Monkey-flower meant that we had two winged plants. We were flying. LOL
We were almost all the way around the pond now. And then there was one more chance to film the mystery bumble bee. So it turned out be the male American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus).
So this concludes another awesome summer morning at the grasslands!
Meanwhile what a wonderful break from the hundred plus temperatures in North Texas today!
Great finds y’all made around that pond. What fun
Wow, I had no idea that non-raptors also produce pellets. Thanks for that info!
You are welcome!