It’s the Time of the Season When Love Runs High – at White Rock Lake

“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?” 


How many of you remember the 1968 song by the Zombies, “Time of the Season”?

Right now, as you walk around White Rock Lake in east Dallas, you cannot help but start singing the lyrics of that song: “It's the time of the season … When the love runs high …”

Spring is the time of the year when Mother Nature pushes the “get amorous” button. In the words of the song, “It's the time of the season for loving.” And the birds, animals and insects at White Rock Lake are taking it seriously, as though their very existence depended on it.

These Variegated Fritillary butterflies were mating yesterday, flying around from plant to plant, locked in passion, on the hill above Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake.

Mating Variegated Fritillary butterflies at White Rock Lake

Milkweed Bugs mating yesterday near Winfrey Point, White Rock Lake

These fish were spawning in Dixon Branch Creek, just before it
enters Sunset Bay

If you're interested in aeronautical acrobatics and copious amorous activity, go find yourself some dragonflies. They are always fun to watch. These two dragonflies were answering nature's call in the tiny stream that runs into the lake from the Dallas Arboretum.

Mating dragonflies at White Rock Lake

 Mating feral pigeons at Sunset Bay, White Rock Lake

Mating Mallard ducks on the east shore of White Rock Lake

The female Mallard felt so violated with the entire ordeal that she felt the need to shower afterwards. The male Mallard looked on, not quite understanding the need to bath.

In the words of Neltje Blanchan: “Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?” 


In case you were wondering what the song sounded like, you can listen to it here: Time of the Season

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Fish Start Spawning at White Rock Lake

Thursday, March 21, 2012

It is the day after the torrents of rain and the flooding of White Rock Lake.

It’s almost as though someone has blown a whistle as a signal for the carp to start spawning. It would appear that conditions are just right for the amorous carp because Dixon Branch Creek, flowing into Sunset Bay, has become a boiling cauldron of huge fish churning up the shallow water with their “love-making” ritual.

Spawning carp in Dixon Branch Creek, flowing into Sunset Bay.

This time of year, the male carp follow the female carp in anticipation of the “big event.” Before spawning takes place, conditions need to be perfect. The biological boiling point of marsh water is about 60 degree F, and when this temperature is reached, the carp begin their spawning activity, churning up the water in the process. Clusters of carp continually breached the water, making loud splashing sounds as they did so.

The females were releasing their eggs along the sides of the inlet, amongst the submerged water plants, and the eggs were fertilized by the ever present male carp in the retinue.

Clusters of carp continually breached the water, making
loud splashing sounds as they did so. 

A female carp can lay from 100,000 to over one million eggs, depending on her age and size. The fertilized eggs attach themselves to the leaf of the plants in the water, and they will hatch 4 to 5 days later.

A couple of fishermen had their lines in the water and were amazed that the carp swimming by them paid no attention to their lines. They obviously did not know that spawning carp will not feed.

White Rock Lake is an angler’s paradise, containing 19 different types of fish, the most popular being bass, crappie, and catfish.


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