mistressofmuses (
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-04-08 09:15 pm
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Belmar Park, signs of spring
Despite miserable cold and snow for a few days last week, it's finally starting to feel like things are tipping over into spring. (Not to say that we're done with snow; we probably aren't that lucky. But at least it's more like "spring, with occasional backslides to winter" instead of "winter with teasing hints of spring.")

This picture is from the very end of March, when some trees finally started blooming!
Today we got to go on a walk. Ended up being a little shorter than hoped, though Bella was tired by the end anyway, so maybe we need to work back up to longer walks anyway, ha.

Finally, flowers!

A turt!

More turtles and a goose nesting on top of a muskrat lodge.

A very small nest!

Ducks!

Cormorants, nesting on the new-ish nesting platforms. (Used to be trees on the island, but they had mostly died and were in danger of broken branches and rot, so they were replaced with platforms.)

A lone goose egg. I'm guessing a muskrat or a raccoon or something attempted to steal it. Or maybe a nest was just too close to the water, idk.

And a bit too distant for a super clear picture, a pair of avocets! (I like them, and while they're "common" birds, I hadn't ever seen them until a couple years ago, so I am still excited when I see them. I also love their silly long bills.)
This picture is from the very end of March, when some trees finally started blooming!
Today we got to go on a walk. Ended up being a little shorter than hoped, though Bella was tired by the end anyway, so maybe we need to work back up to longer walks anyway, ha.
Finally, flowers!
A turt!
More turtles and a goose nesting on top of a muskrat lodge.
A very small nest!
Ducks!
Cormorants, nesting on the new-ish nesting platforms. (Used to be trees on the island, but they had mostly died and were in danger of broken branches and rot, so they were replaced with platforms.)
A lone goose egg. I'm guessing a muskrat or a raccoon or something attempted to steal it. Or maybe a nest was just too close to the water, idk.
And a bit too distant for a super clear picture, a pair of avocets! (I like them, and while they're "common" birds, I hadn't ever seen them until a couple years ago, so I am still excited when I see them. I also love their silly long bills.)
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That first turtle pic confused me because at first glance I thought the turtle was the head of a long snake, lol! Finally realized it was a turtle on a stick/log.
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Ha, I can see the stick looking like a snake! (I'd be thrilled to see a snake that big!)
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Thank you!
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I'm so excited that some of the trees are finally blooming. Now I just hope they don't get snowed on too badly!
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Yeah, the island used to have a bunch of trees, and was a pretty huge nesting colony for both the cormorants and sometimes herons. It's nicely protected, without much in the way of predators making it out that far, and people leaving them alone. When the trees died off, I was really glad that they put up the platforms to replace them. It's not quite as densely used now as it was when it was thick trees, but still quite a good nesting colony.
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