Nature Report Delta Ponds - written 7/06/2010

I spoke to Ee-die'-fa yesterday at Delta Ponds. (That's her name honest - though this is a phonetic spelling). There is only one local native turtle species, the Western Pond Turtle. Salem and North there is also a Western Painted Turtle. The invasive Red-Eared Pond Slider turtles which were present in huge numbers have largely been captured and removed. These were pets that had been released and thrived here.

The local turtles have not nested yet this year because it has been too cold. May and June are the usual months for their egg-laying. So far there is only one nest in the area fenced off for them along the bike trail.

I saw a Green Heron and it might even have been one of this years young. Usually I do not see the young ones until August, but the one I saw looked smaller than the typical adult. I had seen an adult Green Heron when I rode on Saturday. These birds are quite shy. Even as far away as I was on the bike path, the small one flew off for a few minutes. Then it returned to a tree near where it had been. Another minute or so it went back down to the waters edge. Eediefa and her 20-something daughter were excited to go look for the Green Heron.

Eediefa said that river otters do come into the ponds now and then. They live more on the river but even there, they are transient and move about from time to time. I saw 3 of them some years ago near the VRC bike bridge, but I have not seen any since.

The pied-billed Grebe that was resident in the ponds last year, and which I saw frequently, is gone. Eediefa thinks the noise of the construction of the nearby bike bridge has been too constant for some critters.

I told them about the Mink I saw a year ago and they said they have seen Mink at the same place last year.