the Way of the Turtle

2 Mile Muddy Walk at Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center
Sunday, March 28, 2010

After lunch Ann and I headed up to the Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center preserve, first to look for owls and then to wander the trails a bit. When we parked the car, dozens of turkey vultures were streaming by overhead, with even more following for the first part of our walk. Must be migration time for them.

As expected it was very muddy... we slogged around under the evergreens in the Owl Woods getting stiff necks, but no luck with the owls... all I managed to find was the remains of a deer carcass.

When we reached the intersection where we've typically looped back past the hawk banding station, Ann commented that some day we'd have to see where the other trail went and I said "Why not today?" Usually we turn back because that trail is very wet and muddy... but our feet were already wet and muddy today (well, at least mine were... maybe Ann's boots were water resistant.) So we made our way through the mud and water and eventually came out on a nice stretch of beach. There was a house not far away heading east, so we walked down the beach in the opposite direction for a while, checking out the waves and all the rocks and shells that littered the sand.

After that all that was left was to make our way back through the mud and water... we stopped at the banding station but no one was there, so we headed back out of the woods and home to dry socks and shoes.

JMH