Today being November 9th, the LAST thing on earth I expected to find at the park today would have been a flower. But as I was hiking around the southwest corner of the park I couldn't help but notice two little bright yellow flowers near my feet just barely outside the paved path. This is the area where I find Marsh Marigolds blooming each spring. I've come to really appreciate this beautiful wildflower as it's blooming period is actually very short somewhere between 3 - 4 weeks at most between late April and early May. This plant thrives in low, wet areas and even the ones I find in the spring can be tough to get close to without getting your feet wet. Maybe it was all the rain we've had lately, coupled with the well above average temperatures for this time of year that has this plant confused and blooming again in November.
I could hardly believe my eyes and thought it had to be something else. But that flower and shape of the leaves were unmistakeable. But after running into a friend of mine who really knows his plants, I showed it to him and he agreed instantly that it was indeed a Marsh Marigold. There were just two flowers but a third unopened pod was visible as well.
After sharing my finding on a number of online sources, many people reported back to me about other very-late blooming flowers in their own yards. Our temps have been unusually warm, but wow this really proves it! I spent nearly the rest of my time today around the duck pond on the southwest side after spotting one lone Northern Shoveler among the Mallards. It was so drab and mottled that it had to be a female, though it's very hard to tell this time of year. Last year both a male and female pair hung out in the exact same spot for a week or two around the same time.
It was hard to follow her along the shoreline as she blended in so well against the shore and nearly disappeared. She also seemed to have something hanging off and stuck to the side of her bill. Periodically she stopped and tried to pry it off with her webbed feet to no avail. Whatever it was was almost the same orange color as the bill so I wondered if it she'd been injured. She never did get it off after several attempts. I sure hope it wasn't garbage of some kind, especially a fishing lure! Other birds seen today included the usual suspects of Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees.
I could hardly believe my eyes and thought it had to be something else. But that flower and shape of the leaves were unmistakeable. But after running into a friend of mine who really knows his plants, I showed it to him and he agreed instantly that it was indeed a Marsh Marigold. There were just two flowers but a third unopened pod was visible as well. 
After sharing my finding on a number of online sources, many people reported back to me about other very-late blooming flowers in their own yards. Our temps have been unusually warm, but wow this really proves it! I spent nearly the rest of my time today around the duck pond on the southwest side after spotting one lone Northern Shoveler among the Mallards. It was so drab and mottled that it had to be a female, though it's very hard to tell this time of year. Last year both a male and female pair hung out in the exact same spot for a week or two around the same time. 
It was hard to follow her along the shoreline as she blended in so well against the shore and nearly disappeared. She also seemed to have something hanging off and stuck to the side of her bill. Periodically she stopped and tried to pry it off with her webbed feet to no avail. Whatever it was was almost the same orange color as the bill so I wondered if it she'd been injured. She never did get it off after several attempts. I sure hope it wasn't garbage of some kind, especially a fishing lure! Other birds seen today included the usual suspects of Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees.
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