The Swan Pond

The Swan Pond at Morris Arboretum is one of our members' favorite places in the Arboretum. The Swan Pond is in a central location at the Arboretum (see map), very close to the Japanese Hill Garden. Some of our "Great Trees" are located right here - a Dwarf eastern white pine (Pinus strobus 'Nana), Weeping Canada hemlock (Tsuga canadensis f. pendula) and a Cilician fir (Aibes cilicica). There are also some beautiful ferns growing around the Swan Pond right now.

There is also a lot of wildlife that can be seen at the Swan Pond, including our new Mute Swans, Flora and Fauna. Enjoy these pictures, all taken in the last three days, starting with a pileated woodpecker one of our birding instructors spotted over the weekend.  This is a very large North American woodpecker almost crow-sized. Adults are 16 to 19 in long.

Flora and Fauna (the new Mute Swans), American Robin, Mallard, Canada Goose and its gosling all pose for a picture.

Snakes.

A gosling.

Wetlands Are Nurserys

The wetlands serve as a nursery for ducks and other wildlife

Tracy Beerley, The McClausland Natural Lands Horticulurist
Wetland ecosystems serve as a nursery for wildlife. The habitat provided by the plants and other wetland features make it a safe place to nest and raise young.