Union Bay Natural Area Part 2

May 16, 2012 5PM-7 30PM

The second of the sequence of the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) observations. It has been several weeks since my previous observation at UBNA. The day started out with chilly, fair weather, then gained sun as time progressed - by late afternoon/early evening I am sweating with a t-shirt and a jacket. Generally, the real feel of temperature at UBNA could go both ways depending on whether the sun is out. The location and the lowland marsh ecosystem makes UBNA breezy at times as the temperature gradient above water and land creates a pathway of wind. Because of this, the area could become shivering cold without sunshine. On the contrary, sunshine could significantly warm the area with not many objects to create shades. With the sun making its way by the time I arrived, the air felt significantly warmer, which meant that I was happy and so were the birds.

Birds are clearly abundant at UBNA. For example, I discussed about red-winged blackbirds in the previous journal entry, which I think to be the most typical bird species. They are in fact very abundant today, maybe more so than two weeks ago. I managed to observe another red-winged blackbird at a same tree (so possibly the same little boy that I took a photo last time). It might be my imagination that red-winged blackbirds are much more friendly today than they were a few weeks ago. If this is the case though, I would build two hypotheses. One might be that the blackbirds were in a period of breeding/reproduction during my visit in late April. Red-winged blackbirds usually incubate for about 12 days and take care of the chicks for another 12 days until offspring are ready to leave the nest. It would make sense for mother blackbirds to be nervous during the 2 week period of incubation or parenting. Another hypothesis builds upon the bird's seasonal migration habits. Red-winged blackbirds often leave marshes during winter to agricultural areas to peck on grains. The timing in which the birds come back to marshes vary, but late April could have been only a little time since they arrived. The birds may potentially be more wary of their surroundings during the first few weeks of seasonal migration.

But overall I find that some species are "greener" than before. The tall tree (that I do not know its name) synced with this journal entry has given me an impression that it is much more vibrant. Some are taller instead, like the Equisetum telmateia growing near the edge of the land along the Union Bay.

Since I went so deep into red-winged blackbirds in today and April's UBNA entries, I think it is only fair to put spot light onto other species. The great blue heron, which I saw both times resting under a tree growing at an edge of a marsh, is a quite large swan that almost looks like a pelican. Initially I thought it was a pelican due to the light violet body color and large body size that probably reaches a meter of wingspan. I believe they like to avoid sun unlike many other species of their kind, but this is the perception that I have built over the two opportunities of observation. They could very well be feeding on small organisms in water instead of just avoiding the sun. The most interesting component is that even though blue herons are so large, they seem to appear out of nowhere all of a sudden and so gracefully. They seem to prefer shallow water and slow moving rivers, but I can only think of the Union Bay where they could be coming from.

Last but not least, I saw a big and dark creature making a huge sound near the Union Bay coast, which I believe it to be a beaver. It was carrying a big branch on a ground - branch way larger than itself - to the bay where it was probably building its nest. There was a clear path after the beaver left, which indicated how big and heavy the branch was and how powerful the beaver's teeth are to carry that into the water. Being it the first time I have seen a beaver, I could not distinguish what it was for a while, especially because its fur was wet and flat. Once the beaver successfully entered the water it swam smoothly, controlling its path so that the branch did not hit other branches in the water already.

Species List

Agelaius phoeniceus - Red-winged blackbird
Equisetum telmateia - Equisetum telmateia
Ardea herodias - Great blue heron
genus Castor - Beaver

Posted on May 23, 2012 12:28 AM by