the Way of the Turtle

2 Mile Walk at Five Rivers EEC
Monday, March 29, 2010

Didn't really want to go running today, but it was chilly and at times rainy so riding didn't sound like a very good option either... in the end I decided to walk around Five Rivers a bit and see if any critters were about.

The deer were very active tonight... first in the orchard neat the parking lots, then I saw them again over by the entrance to the service road. Even watched (and listened) to one getting a drink from a puddle. They seemed wary, but they're clearly used to the idea that people don't bother them here.

There were a few noisy pairs of geese in a couple of the smaller ponds, and a larger group down in the beaver pond when I finally got down there. I also heard a kingfisher chattering away and of course lots of the usual suspects (robins, juncos, red-winged blackbirds, and so on) were around.

The frogs calling in the swamp were something else tonight... it's incredible what a racket they can make, even on a chilly spring night.

Spent a few minutes watching muskrats in Heron Pond near the road, then crossed over and headed out on the bridge across Beaver Pond. As I was approaching the bridge I realized that the beavers seem to have dammed the wetlands along the southwest shore... I don't know if that's something new or if the water was just high enough today to make it obvious by flowing over the dam in spots. When I reached the middle of the bridge I saw two dark shapes on the shore on the pond a ways ahead... at first I thought they might be muskrats (BIG muskrats) but when they slid into the water and submerged, the tail-slap made it very clear they were beavers. I spent a while watching them swim around - a third actually joined them for a bit - and even managed to get a couple of fairly poor pictures using the flash on my camera (it was getting pretty dark by then.)

When it came time to leave the beavers to their business I was very glad that the Five Rivers staff takes good care of their trails and that I know the trails well, because it was definitely too dark to see very much. Since I was just walking and didn't have far to go, no big deal... and getting to watch the beavers was well worth it.

JMH