Wildlife Corner HOW DO FERTI L I ZERS AFFECT PONDS? During the Summer months fertilizers are widely used in lawns. Excessive amount and careless The Purple Gallinule is an uncommon yearround resident of Lake Ashton. Like the Common Gallinule it is always found near water and is similar in size and shape. It has a lovely bright purplish-blue head, neck and body with a pale blue forehead shield. The legs are bright yellow with long toes to aid walking on lily pads and such. The bill resembles candy corn. It has a conspicuous white tail that it flicks as if nervous. It’s fun to see one fly with its legs hanging down. Being omnivorous it eats a wide variety of plants and animal matter including frogs, snails and fish. Previous offspring of a pair will help the parents feed the newest generation. The Purple Gallinule is subprecocial meaning chicks can walk around soon after hatching, but cannot feed themselves during the first few weeks of life. application can create problems to nearby ponds. Fertilizers are primarily made up of prosperous and nitrogen and when introduced to a nearby pond, they can increase the nutrient levels. Increase nutrient levels increase the chances of algae to bloom. The white specks in the picture above are fertilizer granules that were introduced into one of the ponds in Lake Ashton. Please remind lawn care contractors to use caution when fertilizing lawns to limit the amount of product that can potentially makes its way into the ponds, either directly or indirectly. For questions and concerns regarding aquatic maintenance in any ponds located in Lake Wales please contact Matt Fisher at mfisher@lakeashtoncdd.com. SAFEGUARD STORM DRAINS Residents and lawn services are reminded to never place loose vegetation on top of storm drains. It can fall or blow into the storm drain and clog the stormwater system. LA II (WH) HOA BOARD • Dave Bishop, President presidentla2hoa@outlook.com • James Akridge, Vice President/HOA Liaison vparcla2hoa@outlook.com • Claude Browne, Secretary secretaryla2@outlook.com • Bill Martin, Vice President & Assistant Treasurer vptreasurerla2hoa@outlook.com • Connie Strassberg, Treasurer treasurerla2hoa@outlook.com • Pierre Duquette, LAII ARC Chair a6lawharc2@gmail.com • ARC requests: arctracker.com/lakeashton2
17 Publizr Home