What have YOU seen?

Hey, all of you Stearns Mill Pond denizens and users, what have YOU seen on the pond or brook? Contribute your info - what great sightings, what birds, what animals, what sad things, what changes (good and bad), what wonderful moments have there been? Let's share what we know and love about our pond.
Live on the pond or brook?
Become an author on this blog; send me a message and I will add you to the official author list. Or, if you prefer, just click on the word "Comments" at the bottom of the entry to get a comment box up so you can add your sightings and thoughts. Email me pictures from our pond to post - I will credit them to you.
Click on the picture to see it in a larger format (all photos by D.Muffitt unless otherwise credited)

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

IT'S BEEN A WHILE! SO MUCH IS HAPPENING!!

It has been a while since I've had a chance to write and so much is going on around here!  We have juvenile birds everywhere: downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, about five blue jay, hairy woodpecker, chickadee, grackle, four nuthatch, two rose-breasted grosbeak and Suzanne just texted and said that their bluebirds just fledged!!!

Now that is an interesting story!  Suzanne & Michael have a plexiglass sided bird house and they had been seeing both bluebirds and chickadees going into the bird house.  The two sets of birds were clearly arguing about who was going to get this prime real estate.  They fought over it for quite a while, including throwing out eggs and rebuilding the nest!  Finally the bluebirds won and they pulled out some of the moss the chickadees had used and built their nest on top.  The bluebirds started hatching a couple weeks ago and today, they fledged!  

Our neighborhood is just NOT bluebird territory!  They like more open fields, but I guess they like that Suzanne/Michael, Carol/Joe and we have been feeding them mealworms and they definitely like our bird bath.  Below is a picture Suzanne took on July 15.

Bluebird Hatchlings  --Photo by S. Groet
Meanwhile, the pond is in bad shape - I tried to paddle a couple weeks ago and could hardly move.  The DPW has put up the dam extension in preparation for harvesting (which will happen sometime early August) so there is more water in the pond now; it might be better paddling, but I haven't tried.  Many great volunteers helped do some hand harvesting again this spring and the harvester machine is currently on Carding Mill Pond and is due here soon.

Linda & I were out paddling on Willis Lake last week and found a patch of water chestnuts.  We contacted Debbie Dineen (Sudbury Conservation Coordinator), who contacted Mark Sevier.  Mark and his wife went out and hand harvested most of them on Sunday.  Linda & I did more today and will go back with the rakes tomorrow to try to get the rest that we can reach in the bushes.  Our goal is to keep Willis Lake from looking like the ponds in the Hop Brook system!!

What's happening in your area of Sudbury?  Let us hear from you.