Lake Springfield Boathouse/Meadow – August 2023 (2)
/There was also wildlife to observe and photograph during our short walk at Lake Springfield boathouse and meadow. There were some very large funnel spider webs at the edge of the forest between the path and the lake. I didn’t see the spider…wondered if it was a larger than usual spider too. There was a very large round web (about a yard across) with a flower behind it…also on the forest side. Both were more visible because of small droplets from the fog that had recently burned away.
Grasshoppers were everywhere in the meadow. Occasionally it was possible to follow one as it jumped…and zoom in for a picture.
Pollinators were out and about too.
The high point of the morning was watching a pair of Indigo Buntings taking turns tending their young in a nest box. The box had been checked while we were walking by and the young were still there…but about ready to fledge.
Dragonflies were flying over the meadow looking for prey. Sometimes that sat long enough to be photographed.
A deer drank from a puddle in a low area at the edge of the meadow. It looked skinny for August with ribs showing as it walked away.
In the flowers near the boathouse, there seemed to be more butterflies than in the meadow. Butterfly weed and cone flowers are the big draw.
