Nature Study Outing :: Pond in the Hills

The pond by our house is easy to get to but not as teeming with pond life as one might expect.  Last year, we did a term on pond study, and we did have a chance to observe the life cycle of the mosquito, the growth of cattails, pond birds (mallards, geese, coots, kingfishers, and flycatchers), the native trees surrounding...and that's about it.  That particular pond is sorely lacking in creepy-crawlies.

So this time we hit a different pond, farther up into the hills and much more active in water critters.

This is a trail I go through almost weekly during my hill run, but I'm there in the very early morning when the deer and wild turkeys are out but everything else is calm, and I had never taken the kids.

It's a small seasonal pond--during the summer it often dries up completely--but when it's full, there's lots to see.  Tadpoles and dozens of wee frogs and toads.  Dragonfly nymphs and dragonflies.  Swallows, egrets, geese, and mallards.

A marshy trail skirts the edge all the way around, and the kids spent their time circling to a huge fallen tree on the opposite bank, perfect for climbing.

the children always seem to try to get as far from us during their play as they can--see those tiny specks? :)

I have noticed while running there that the wildflowers change week to week.  Earlier in the spring, the place was absolutely blanketed in spring vetch and green grasses.  Now those have dried up and been replaced by early-summer sights: milk thistle, pineapple weed, verbena, mariposa lilies, birdsfoot trefoil, blow-wives, gilia, brodiaea.

A friend of mine has been working to identify California grasses and can pick out wild oats, barley, and rye for us.  And there was plenty there for us to find.

Just over that ridge, beyond the treeline?  The lake.  Up in the hills is a lovely place to be.

Nature Study Outing :: Metamorphosis at the Pond

Well, it has been pouring for a week here in "sunny California," so we've been staying dry indoors.  But I'm finally getting a chance to share an outing we went on a couple weeks ago...

We spent another tree-climbing, water-skimming, kingfisher-watching, leaf-collecting morning at the pond.  

The kids loved mucking about in the puddles and looking for treasures.

And Gianna spotted a new wild animal.

Oh wait, I think we've seen that one before. :)

But really, this latest nature study outing ended up having an unexpected but intriguing focus: mosquitos!

 The kids and their friends ended up catching quite a few tiny creatures that we quickly identified as mosquito larvae.  Once we found out what they were, the "wrigglers," as they are often called, came home with us in a jar to observe over the next few days.

When we got home, we counted five larvae and two pupae, or "tumblers."  We also apparently had some eggs in there as well, because soon another larva--tiny this time--appeared.  The larvae are very distinct looking.  Their resting position is upside down, where their breathing tube hovers along the water's surface and their long body hangs below.  The pupae also rest along the surface, with a large "head" and curled body below.  Eventually, the skin splits open and the winged mosquito emerges.  He rests on the discarded skin for a while to dry his wings, and then he's off!  

We have been able to watch several go through the full metamorphosis.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to catch any of them in the act of changing forms.  We were able to watch the butterflies in their final molt; it would have been interesting to see the same for the mosquitoes.

Either way, our tiny discovery (literally) yielded big excitement and interest around our home!