Beaver Pond Wildlife: Part 4- Mid-Summer to Fall

[Music] do [Music] the great blue heron chicks born this spring have grown strong on the diet fed to them by their parents they're almost ready to fledge the nest however is rather flimsy a parent arriving with food causes enough commotion to make it collapse two nestlings go down soon one is back up and the other is nearby now safely off the ground the ospreys that nested this spring well they had two chicks the adult male would go off to fish while the female kept her young shaded from the blazing sun [Music] several times daily dad brought fish for the family the chicks grew steadily catching fish is not always a successful venture unlike kingfishers who plunge headfirst into the water keeping the rise on the target until the last moment ospreys go in feet first and often come up with empty talons they typically launch from a perch sometimes they hover and dive so um this finally success he would often stop to eat some of the catch before bringing it to the nest the female called to him as he approached she would also do some of the fishing head bobbing like this helps them zero in on a target she's got one the chicks have really grown and now the adults can both take a needed rest in nearby trees nearly ready to fledge the nestlings test and strengthen their wings and they're getting more vocal it begins to rain for days rain splashing on the pond obscures fish resulting in many aborted dives a quarter mile upstream from a beaver dam water is released from a 100 acre pond to avoid flooding a road what had been a gently flowing stream is now a torrent rushing downstream the surge blows out the beaver dam the following day the stream is still running high and strong what was a quiet beaver pond is now a powerful current a young distressed beaver it finds itself forced out of the lodge and its parents are nowhere to be seen it tries to get back into the lodge through the underwater entrance but it's not strong enough to dive against this current so so it searches for some other way in but there's only one entrance and it can't get to it it tries to dive again but pops back up it disappears over the lodge and is not seen again its fate is unknown but a vulture's presence the next day is not a good sign two days later and the water is receding though most of the dam survived the pond is largely drained the lodge is left high and dry its entrance no longer underwater beavers have other concerns too [Music] the bear can smell a meal inside this beaver's bank lodge [Music] a carolina wren objects of the attack on his home in the lodge's roof the resident beaver has already escaped thanks to the protective underwater exit so frustrated by the difficulty of tearing into the lodge the bear takes a few last sniffs before giving up the big day is here for the young ospreys one more test of the wings and off it goes over the next several days they get more practiced at flying around their home pond they explore landing in different situations [Music] chattering constantly as though giving each other encouragement so surprisingly enough even landing in the water okay strengthening flight muscles [Music] there's a lot to learn about [Music] it sees a parent approaching a fish is brought to the nest the fledglings come to eat one at a time soon these young ospreys will be on their own their characteristic red eyes will turn to the yellow of an adult yes they will have sharpened their skills and will be free to follow the wind cedar wax wings are mid-summer nesters at this time of year they feed on insects and now there's a newly fledged family of kingfishers the adults pass along their skills to the young this one is after a tiny frog the catch is subdued by beating it indigestible parts are regurgitated the young practice the fine art of hovering [Music] and learns to hunt [Music] sometimes it feels good just to take a bath there are new red shouldered hawk voices being heard now too three fledglings have left their nest okay [Music] still a bit awkward and unsure in their youth not everything works as planned for now they're spending a lot of time in each other's company at the pond near the nest site learning to focus on prey frogs in this case they maintain awareness of each other and learn to ignore little distractions [Music] to concentrate on prey a slight telltale movement in the weeds below that's all it takes to trigger a response it moves in for a closer look there it is of all in no time they're strong skilled and graceful [Music] otters have a way of just popping up out of nowhere then disappearing this year's crop of wood ducklings will soon be on the wing [Music] [Music] muskrats are fattening up [Music] hot summer days though some thrive in the sun others must find ways to cool down herons and other birds use a ghouler fluttering technique to increase evaporative cooling this cormorant amuses itself by playing with a stick but this play also hones its skills [Music] goldfinches are midsummer nesters taking advantage of the many plants that have gone to seed they're fond of algae too which is now plentiful around the pond spotted jewel weed is in bloom now this bee is getting nectar the right way that is it enters the flower in the usual way and in the process of fetching a nectar treat it pollinates the flowers but a yellow jacket knows an easier way to get sweet nectar without doing service to the plant it chews a hole in the spur of the flower and steals its reward nectar thievery hummingbirds also frequent the jewel weed for a drink and are pollinators why is jewel weed also known as touch me not when the seed pods are ripe the slightest touch provides the answer there are other flowers around the pond that rely exclusively on hummingbirds for pollination cardinal flowers flowers on the stock develop from the bottom to top flowers start in a male anther phase a tiny pollen brush older flowers at the bottom progressed to the female phase growing a stigma from the brush [Music] wasting no time she zooms from flower to flower she can remember every flower she's visited and knows when each will have nectar available again she gets her nectar and that brush is perfectly positioned to rub yellow pollen on her head to be delivered to another flower [Music] several other hawk species will visit the pond a red tail in search of its next meal [Music] a sharp-shined hawk on the hunt for small birds along the margins of stream and pond pickets of alder are sporting a peculiar white coating these are woolly alder aphids they secrete a white waxy substance that hides them from predators aphids usually suck juices from soft plant tissues ants farm them to harvest the honeydew fluid they excrete the ants are quite effective at protecting the aphids from predator attack they stroke the aphids with their antennae stimulating the release of a drop of sweet honeydew on these alders the aphids are sucking juices from the woody stems yellowjackets lap up fallen honeydew ants are on the scene but something else is at play here [Music] these are the small larvae of harvester butterflies they move very little and the ants pay no attention to them but unlike all other caterpillars that dine on leaves these have a different diet they're not here to eat the plant or the honeydew these are north america's only strictly carnivorous butterflies and they're here to eat the aphids the three-quarter inch larva's head is hidden both the ants and the aphids are totally oblivious to these predators it's difficult to tell which end is which well i guess this is one way to know why do the ants ignore these predatory competitors there are a couple theories first due to their diet they may smell like aphids to the ants and second they actually produce acoustic signals that mimic sounds made by the aphids the larva overwinters in a 3 8 inch long pupa stage that resembles a monkey face it will become a beautiful small harvester butterfly that is not often seen a leech is looking for a blood meal it finds an eastern newt but it won't get a blood meal here possibly due to the newt's skin chemicals but turtles are commonly plagued with leeches um wood ducklings have matured there's a subtle but palpable sense that summer is waning evenings are quiet oh oh a barred owl listens for its next rodent meal the calls of katydids crickets and snowy tree crickets fill the air a praying mantis dines on an unfortunate cricket a beaver silently works on the dam swallows and other birds will soon be migrating away meanwhile painted turtle eggs laid underground last spring are hatching it knows which way is up with its first look at a sun lit world it instinctively heads for the pond thank you two at another site along shore a snapping turtle pokes its head out of the sand um it struggles to extricate itself due to compaction of the sand but also because of the drag of the yolk sac still attached to it the yolk sac will soon be absorbed it provides nutrition in the meantime many turtle nests are quickly detected and the eggs eaten by predators such as raccoons skunks and foxes so any young that make it to this point are fortunate for most turtle species the sex of a given individual is determined by the temperature in the nest my a second hatchling is now emerging so with a final great effort it's free thank you the second hatchling and others will soon free themselves too they immediately head for the water at the pond where fast water had blown out the dam weeks ago the lodge is covered with weeds but there are tracks in the mud and the dam has been repaired and the pond level is restored they're back a migrating solitary sandpiper probes the shoreline for a meal looks like it'll be a tasty horsefly larva snakes turtles and frogs will soon be out of sight for the winter but phoebes are still here hunting and taking a bath there are still some interesting insects active water striders live at the interface of air and water exploiting the surface tension that leaves them vulnerable from above and below but it's the plant kingdom that's more the featured attraction now okay the bottled gentian flower remains closed only strong bumblebees are able to pry their way in to get nectar and pollinate the flower it almost gets into this one but not quite but this time success [Music] turtle head flowers pose a similar challenge though not as extreme as the bottle gention [Music] bladderwort is a small aquatic carnivorous plant that often goes unnoticed bladders on the underwater stems empty themselves of water and have trigger hairs that when touched by tiny organisms spring open a door that allows water to rush into the bladder sucking the organism in many plants are now dispersing seeds flowers of seed box have produced small woody capsules containing hundreds of seeds they may also contain a weevil larva that fed on the seeds and grew into an adult that will emerge when the capsule splits open but some capsules don't split open and the weevil must then exit through the small hole in the top natural selection is at work here because if the weevil is too large to get through the hole it dies only weevils tiny enough to get through the hole can escape colors are changing in new england lowlands now red maples are earning their name water lily flowers are mostly gone now and some may miss them beavers still know where to go for a tasty late afternoon feast out to the lily plants but beaver diets have to change now tree bark will replace the lush green plants of summer red maples are abundant they may make a cozy home for a red squirrel and beavers will eat their bark but they cannot digest red maple fast enough to survive on it alone they need a variety of tree and shrub bark they prefer poplars such as aspen and birch alder ash and willow among others they only consume the bark not the wood the wood is used in construction of dams and lodges new england autumn is on our doorstep garter snakes are the last to still be active now two small males are attempting to mate with this female she slithers away they frantically search and soon find her she's had enough of this and the chase continues as evening approaches two beavers are grooming before getting to work can't reach their own backs so they groom each other it's important to clean fur to remove debris and parasites beavers rub oil from anal glands into their fur to waterproof it fur is combed with a split toenail on each hind foot okay time to check the lower pond all is well so back to the main pond another family member pops out of the bank lodge [Music] leftover aspen branches can't let those go to waste they're hauled out to another lodge where the coming winter's food cache is being built they're secured in place by jamming them into the mud additional branches will be brought under water and woven in with those this red maple will be taken but it gets added to the lodge not the food cache the next chore is to dredge up some mud and plop it on the lodge there will be many trips to the bottom to gather more mud well that's not a beaver it's one of the otters that happens to be using the lodge autumn colors often begin in the low wetlands then spread to the broader landscape higher elevations have already changed as well um when beavers move into a new area they often build a den under a stream bank with underwater entrances covering it with sticks for added protection from predators they then build a freestanding lodge surrounded by water providing maximum protection sometimes they build multiple lodges the one with the food cache will be the winter den dams can be extensive or small older dams become grown over with plants in any case they will have mud applied on the upstream side this one has been freshly bolstered with mud rocks are dredged up and used as well a prowling mink has spotted something and enters the water it's a muskrat and the mink goes after it the muskrat enters its den the mink goes in another entrance in another den of sorts inside a rotted birch log there's a mass of tiny eggs slug eggs having deposited them the slug will leave them on their own it won't be until spring that we see their slime trails or their feeding trails as they eat algae on beach bark colder and shorter days are a signal to prepare for winter many animals including beavers have already begun their lives depend on it and they'll be ready [Music] do [Music] you

Channel: New England Forests

Views: 37,999

Keywords: mink, gentian, kingfisher, osprey, turtle, leech, slug

Id: RJbVxcWRwa8

Length: 57min 35sec (3455 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 18 2022