the Way of the Turtle

TURKEYS, DEER, MAYBE AN OWL, AND... A WOODCOCK?!!
2.4 Mile Walk at Five Rivers EEC
Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Headed over to Five Rivers to do a bit of walking after work... very few other people there, probably because it was a cold grey evening. There was a bulldozer at the trailhead to the Beaver Pond trails and signs that the trail is closed - looks like they're doing work along the far end of the pond, plus they may have been resurfacing the downhill trail which has washed out a lot over the past few months.

Quite a few birds at the feeders - nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos, sparrows, and doves - and of course the turkey trio were there as well. I kept them company for a while, they've obviously become pretty comfortable with people. While I was watching the birds at the feeders they disappeared, but then I caught up with them going down the steep path parallel to the road. Spent a bit of time at the bottom herding them away from the road - the way cars blast through there one or more was bound to get run down if they spent any time out on the pavement - and then sat at the picnic table watching them for a bit, before heading over to the trails along the Vloman Kill.

There was a good-sized group of deer up the hill overlooking the creek; I was also pleased to see that they're rebuilding the bridge across the creek that was removed back in the fall, since that gives me more options for running and walking through that area. Followed the creek all the way up to the boundary trail, then took that to one of the connectors and over to the meadows. In one spot I walked into the shade of a path of evergreens, and a large bird flew across the path to head deeper into the trees - from the size and how quite it was I suspect it was an owl, though it was getting dark enough that I really couldn't be sure.

Walked along the access road and definitely heard a woodcock calling out in the meadows... poor guy is in for a rough time, woodcocks feed mainly on earthworms and I don't know that they're built for the kind of cold weather we're supposed to see this weekend. As I made my way past the ponds and back to the parking lot, I also startled some sort of ground bird off in the bushes - no idea what, but it made quite a racket getting away.

No deer in the orchard, but there was a group at the edge of the field next to the Nature Center - probably the same group of adults and youngsters I saw there a couple of weeks ago. I probably wouldn't have been able to see them at all, if not for the very bright lights that have been installed at the entrance to the parking lot. I'm sure they improve night security (especially with the construction that's been going on for a while now) but they definitely make ending a walk in the dark a lot less pleasant, since they're almost blindingly bright.

JMH