Oak Hammock Marsh

Above: American Coots swimming through the Duckweed.

This aquatic plant is aptly named as it is apparent that waterfowl love this stuff.   Todays photos are of American Coots, Mallard Ducks and Wood Ducks all ready to dine on their Duckweed dinner.  Where the Duckweed is really thick in the marsh,  little trails are blazed as the diners swim through feeding on their greens.  I didn’t realize the importance of this plant until doing a bit of research on it. Duckweed is another example of things we see often but don’t pay much attention to.  The website which I have cited below is both an informative and interesting read.

The family of duckweeds are the smallest flowering plants that grow floating in still or slow-moving fresh water world wide, except in the coldest regions.  The growth of these high-protein plants can be extremely rapid. Lemna is one of the best known of this group and has been the subject of much research. The Charms of Duckweed. (15 Sep. 2002) http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed-citation.htm (10 Nov. 2002).

Below:  Mallard (female) heading for the duckweed.

Below:  Wood Ducks in the duckweed.

Below: Gadwall Duck swims in the duckweed at Oak Hammock Marsh.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

There is a colony of Richardsons Ground Squirrels at Oak Hammock Marsh. On a recent visit in late August, I overheard an employee explaining to a visitor that the adult ground squirrels are already preparing for hibernation while the youngsters are still out and about foraging for greens to fatten themselves up for the winter.

I think this means the chicks are either  hungry or  auditioning for a local musical . . .  There were four chicks in this nest and I was surprised to find that the birds were still nesting at the end of August when these photos were taken.  Every time a parent swallow would fly by the mouths would open wide and more often than not an insect would be fed to a chick.  This nest was at Oak Hammock Marsh, just north of Winnipeg.

Enjoy!

~Sharon