May 2006 part Four

May 26 when some off and on showers ended a little before 4 pm I took Leslie over to Audubon Pond to see if we could see the baby muskrats. Things always liven up after an afternoon rain so we first paused under the tall oaks along the TIP nature trail to debate whether we were hearing a scarlet tanager or a vireo. Ruled out the former so probably the latter. Then we admired the different grasses, which I find so difficult to photograph. Then something jumped at my feet and I was sure it most be a toad since this is near where I often see them, but it was a leopard frog

that the rain lured up the hill. As we approached the short causeway along the South Bay trail, a heron flew off, always a promising sign. Up in the trees we heard a grosbeak, but saw a scarlet tanager. I whipped up the binoculars instead of a camera to feast on the beauty that the latter never quite captures. Couldn't see the grosbeak. And there were fresh scats at the nearby otter latrine, with wild geranium still in the picture.

As we rounded the bend and walked up the north shore of South Bay, too clogged with fishermen, a raccoon leapt out of the grasses and then climbed up a tree, careful to get a good look at us.

Then we were entertained by two pileated woodpeckers playing peek-a-boo around a tree and hopping up and down it. One flew off and the other followed to try the game on other trees. Then one latched on one of the trees leaning out over the bay, and they both danced over the water before they flew off back in the woods. I should think woodpecker eggs are already layed so this seems a strange time for courting. Further on I happened to notice a large earth warm out on the trail, which I thought odd, then I noticed that it was under attack by an insect that looked like an earwig but was wingless. The attacker kept making holes in the worm

and mud was oozing out of one piece that evidently had been bitten off. The insect was relentless and the worm appeared defenseless

I warned Leslie that the park overseers might have drained the pond and indeed they had, probably just affer I saw the baby muskrats yesterday. But the beavers seem to have repatched the drain and after dropping a foot or two the water level stabalized. We could smell the wet grass. A beaver swam quietly away from the southeast end of the pond, and eventually a muskrat came out from the old beaver bank lodge along the causeway, in recent years primarily a muskrat den, took a look at us and dove -- but not a baby. Judging from the staining of the water, I think the babies were relocated up the causeway. There was a freshly dug hole on the west side of the causeway

and freshly cut grass floating in the water on the east side

I don't think lowering the water level would give the muskrats much pause. I noticed that the beavers continue to cut ash up stream

Then we sat on the bench near the beaver lodge and Leslie noticed a water snake resting on a tuft of dead grass. A nice picture of relaxation that I ruined by trying to get close for another photo.

The beaver that we saw we coming in, reappeared and almost swam over to us. I kept telling Leslie that this beaver would surely slap its tail at us, but it didn't. Leslie headed for home and I headed around the pond to the west to check the otter latrine along South Bay. When I got near the bank beaver lodge on the west shore, as I pondered the muddy water, the beaver slapped its tail. Evidently, now, my being near this lodge is what gets it excited. But just as I was about to conclude that that meant the beavers no longer cared about the lodge near the bench, I saw another beaver swimming in the pond over in that area! But clearly this bank lodge is becoming a main hangout. Not only was the water muddy, but a line of oaks behind the lodge had been tasted.

Seeing both beavers out, and not much ferrying of branches into a lodge, I am not so sure there are kits being fed. I was pleased to see that the otters had just visited the latrine above South Bay and once again was unable to capture the excitement of that with a photo. What to my eyes looks like the impressions of a riot of activity, does not come out in any photo

An otter even seemed to pull dead leaves over and bend down a plant -- all to say I am so nuts I think the otters are designing these scent mounds rather than merely letting the leaves and dirt and scat fall where they may

That the scat seemed so smeared contributed to this illusion of design

which a close look at the scat soon dispels

On the way home I nosed over the other latrines, but even in the imaginative frame of mind I was in, couldn't see signs of an otter visit. I was actually awake at dawn and if I had come out then who knows what I would have seen. I have to get out early soon.

May 27 after working I checked the ponds on the land to see what the beaver might be up to. Leslie thought it had been back in the Third Pond, and there was a mound of wet dead grass, a mark a beaver could make. But it was just above the muskrat lodge, made of wet grass, which made me wonder if the muskrat might not have done it.

Then down at the Deep Pond the only signs of beaver that I saw were some mud pushed up on the low west shore,

and some small stripped sticks. We ate dinner at the land, and after it, I came down to the Third Pond intent on seeing the muskrats, if not the beaver. I decided to sit a little bit south of the burrow into the back bank, which put me in the sun, but also facing the wind. Just before I got to that spot I saw the beaver browsing along the south shore and it turned and plunged into the water. I nestled into my seat and soon saw the beaver floating behind the dam placidly nibbling on a stick. Once again it didn't slap its tail. Then a painted turtle, head up and mouth chewing in the middle of a clump of willows, attracted my attention. Soon enough a muskrat came out and swam over behind the dam. Like the last time I saw it, it skimmed what could be quickly eaten off the surface of the water. Meanwhile the beaver was off in the north end of the small pond working on a willow branch floating in the water. Then it swam back toward the dam and I expected some reaction when they got close to each other, but they seemed to ignore each other and I got a nice video clip with a muskrat dive followed by a beaver dive. Then the beaver pulled what looked like an old limb into the pond behind the dam and tried to eat that, with not too much gnawing success, which is to say I didn't hear the gnaws. However, I think rotten bark brought up from a pond bottom has some attraction for beavers. The next time the beaver and muskrat got close, I thought the beaver moved away faster (usually I see muskrats dive in a panic to avoid a collision.) The muskrat swam back to the lodge, as usual diving too fast for me to get a good video, but it came back out shortly. It didn't seem to notice me. Then the beaver swam over to the burrow near where there were several clumps of willow, but it noticed I was still there, and dove, resurfacing behind the dam where it gnawed the old log and soon took it up on the bank next to the dam and I finally heard some gnawing. I took a photo of two willow clumps that had been half harvested

and also a photo of the unstripped willow sticks along the shore.

I've seen muskrats cut some of the little ones. Maybe these taste better with age. Behind the dam, the muskrat skimmed the scum, so to speak, then came back to the burrow, pausing to do some more skimming -- an eye opener for me because I have never observed this behavior before. It dove and this time stayed inside. Then I looked up to see that the beaver had climbed up the muskrat's grass lodge in the middle of a big willow clump, and was cutting one of the bigger saplings. It managed to pull the sapling down without much trouble and I left it munching on the leaves. Going around the pond I noticed a freshly cut bit of birch on the south shore.

I went down to the Deep Pond to see what might be happening there. The corridor of blooming honeysuckle was a thrill to get through. The pond was quiet -- a muskrat surfaced in the middle, dove, and I didn't see it again. I went back through the blooms and around the Third Pond where I was surprised to see the beaver up in the grasses of the back bank eating them, and then a maple leaf. I left what appeared to be quite a happy beaver.

May 28 After working at the land I went down to the Third Pond and took a photo of the muskrat lodge which the beaver had climbed up.

And also of the old stick it had been gnawing. Didn't look very appetizing.

Back on the island, I kayaked out into the roar of the Memorial Day weekend boaters and checked South Bay. Midges on the surface and herons contesting for tree limbs along the shore were entertaining, but I saw few carp thrashing. I startled a couple as I glided over them, but no spawning behavior to enjoy. I checked all the otter latrines and saw nothing new, but you can't really tell from the kayak. There was a fresh raccoon pat of poop on the rock on the north shore of the peninsula. I startled some bullheads in the mud, but nearby fishermen were grousing that they were not catching any. A proud goose couple led four goslings up on a rock.

We spent the night at the land and I was looking forward to watching the beaver again, really like a little kid anticipating his favorite TV show. This time I sat by the dam, and waited. A muskrat came out soon enough but seemed to know where I was and wouldn't come close. The beaver never came out. Of course, the chorus of grey tree frogs kept me entertained, and fending off mosquitoes. Yesterday, I saw the beaver had eaten some birch so I walked up along the grove of birches south of the pond, but saw no sign that the beaver had been there. Then I went down to the Deep Pond, no beaver and no muskrat. Back up at the Third Pond, I sat in Leslie's little screened-in nook, no beavers to see, but there was a tree frog on the roof that now and then let out a trill. I took a guess that it was trilling regularly every 10 seconds so I worked my stopwatch and found that for one minute at least it trilled at the 10, 14, 22, 28, and 40 second mark, irregular enough to dash my theory. Then I decided it trilled after the nearest neighbor trilled, which did happen twice, and then didn't happen twice. I gave up on science and went to bed. Along with the trilling there was whining in the bushes along the pond and Leslie and I debated what that might have been. Sora rail?

May 29 I should have gotten up at dawn to see where the beaver was, but it rained in the night, and I stayed in bed. My plan is to get up at dawn tomorrow, on the island, and look for otters. So I needed my rest. When we got home I took a long hike to try to get an idea of where the otters might be. But on the first hot day of spring, I like to cross the meadow behind the golf course and scout the ridge for birds. I managed the meadow without getting my feet wet. Then I went up the ridge and crossed the plateau of rocks in my usual fashion. Then at the point where I pick my route through the underbrush, I paused for no real reason because my old route is blocked by a downed tree. I didn't look down, but before I made my next step, a fluffed-out towhee hopped out of the grass in front of me. Because it looked so large and loose and confused, I assumed it was a fledge. Quite possibly my pause saved it from harm. It hopped down my new route so I veered right and followed a granite path deeper into the bush and decided to blaze a new trail. To my surprise it worked out well; I slalomed through the clumps of nannyberry and avoided stickers. I didn't hear as many birds as I expected, just towhees and yellow throated warblers. No grosbeaks. I sat on the north rocks of the ridge; nothing came by. Then when I got down to the valley I heard a scarlet tanager behind me. But now it was swamp time. As I approached the Big Pond dam, I saw that there were no new otter scent mounds, but there was a heron feather beside one. I picked it up and then looked up and saw two little things swimming toward me. I ducked, dropped the feather and got out the camcorder. By that time the mother wood duck had gathered her charges and led them toward the grasses ten yards out in the pond. The ducklings, about eight of them went precious slow, and she whined all the way. One even broke ranks to get a bug. Then I sat down and enjoyed the whirligig beetles racing around in the muddy water next to my usual perch.

Swarming over them were midges racing back and forth about three feet a few inches over the water. No explanation for that. With my new incites into muskrat burrowing, I noted a freshly dug burrow just at the surface of the water. So despite wood duck ducklings in the vacinity, I decided that muskrats were keeping the water muddy. There were no otter scats around, but I had noticed a trail in the grass up to the otter scent mounds -- probably raccoons checking them out. The beavers have been tending the dam but still neglecting the lodge. There was a nice carpet of green on it, a sure sign that neither otter nor beaver has been up on it.

And there were no beaver stripped sticks along the dam. I'll have to walk around this pond soon. There was one heron working the Big Pond, but I counted four in just the west end of the Lost Swamp Pond. Otters would get fed if they visited this pond. Before checking for scats, I sat to see what was happening. Swallows are still racing about in pairs; I saw a flicker; blackbirds and redwinged blackbirds are hopping on logs close to the water. And as it chased a blackbird away, I noticed a kingbird in its nest on top of a short column of a dead birch.

The kingbird seemed to be out more than in the nest. Then I paid my respects to the mayapple flowers coyly positioned so they will never get wet.

There were no signs of otters. And while I didn't see any beaver gnawed logs, the dam was well mudded.

One turtle nest had been raided, much lower on the slope this year. The Upper Second Swamp Pond continues to grow, deeper than it has ever been thanks to a higher dam built principally with mud. And there are stripped logs on and around the lodge

I thought of trying to get to the other side but it remains wet below the dam. The beavers have also been working on the Second Swamp Pond dam and that pond continues to grow. Not seeing any new scat in the latrine just over from the Lost Swamp Pond, I didn't check the Second Swamp Pond dam for otter signs. Convinced that the otters had not been in the ponds recently, I headed for South Bay to check the latrines there. No signs at the New Pond knoll, nor at the old dock or docking rocking. Then I saw two guys with back packs and notebooks under the power lines that parallel the trail. I couldn't believe power line workers would be out on Memorial Day. They proved to be geology student mapping the island for a class project. I chatted with them and was pleased to have my current pursuits put in perspective. Some exposed granite rocks on the island are probably 1.3 billion years old. I checked Audubon Pond where all was quiet, but seeing my first blue flag irises was worth the detour.

We have had a good bit of sun and quite enough rain. This should be a good year for them. I scouted the shore for muskrats and while I saw none of them, I saw that they had returned to the embankment where I saw the babies. In the upper right of the photo below there is a freshly dug hole just along the surface of the water.

Another curiosity I've noticed, but haven't reported. is a large number of dying junipers. No signs that this one had been browsed by deer. These shrub are capable of forming a three foot high jungle, strange to see them simply die.

I ended my hike at the otter latrine above South Bay, and here I found new otter activity, more scent mounds and scats lower on the slope closer to the plunge down to the rock and South Bay. Yet once again, I couldn't frame a photo to capture the excitement of what I saw

I hoped to find scat at the little causeway along the South Bay trail -- marking the end of South Bay, but there appeared to be nothing new. Today I thought I heard a scarlet tanager there, but didn't see it.

May 30 My plan was to wake up at 4:30 am but didn't get up until 5. It was a foggy morning which delayed the dawn. I rode the bike over to the gate to the state park and then scanned South Bay from the little causeway. I saw what looked like rippling and as I followed that, I saw something dive into the water, very much like an otter. I scanned the rippling again to see if there were more -- none and then saw no more diving in the water. I checked the nearby latrine and it was light enough to see that there was nothing new there. I walked along the shore of the peninsula and soon saw that the bay was alive with spawning carp. But when these huge fish propel themselves out of the water they don't roll like an otter or beaver. They fly up and flop down. I also saw that what I thought was rippling was actually vegetation poking out of the water. I continued around South Bay and saw that while the fog was lifting in the coves, it was still thick at the entrance to the bay. There were a few geese and mallards out in the bay, but no beavers or otters. Then at the docking rock I saw something curious. I had noticed mud pats there, left by beavers, and this morning I could see a fresh wet trail up to the old mudpats and a new mudpat left behind.

But the wet prints up the rock looked more like otter prints than beaver. But why would otters sniff beaver mud? There were no new scats near the docking rock. I checked Audubon Pond and nothing was happening out there. By 6 motor boats were about, most coming from other islands to Wellesley Island docks, but the fog still shrouded them much of their way. At the latrine over the entrance to South Bay, which I had checked yesterday at about 4pm, there were fresh otter scats at 6 am,

once again closer to the edge of the little precipice down to the bay.

So I had just missed the otter or otters. I sat down doubting if otters would materialize out of the fog and enjoyed the pinks of the sunrise in the cumulus clouds above the fog-- a storm was nearby.

On the way back, I checked the willow latrine which was not far from where I saw the diving beaver or otter, I saw neither fresh otter nor beaver signs there. Blue flag iris are growing over the otter scent mound there.

So? I also noticed that the diving animal I saw was actually further up the shore, actually right where I expect the mother otter to bring her pups! So I resolved to come out at 4 am, bike to the yacht club dock where I would leave my kayak and then float in South Bay in the early dawn hoping that the carp would stay quiet and I could hear if not see an otter or otters. Good luck. The rest of the day was beastly hot, near 90, but I had done my work and could keep cool the rest of the day.

May 31 I was up at 3:59 am and got over to the kayak with it still quite dark but the birds were singing. I had an auspicious beginning. In the shallows east of the yacht club dock in South Bay a heron croaked and flew off and a beaver splashed its tail. After I got in the kayak, I could still see the wake of the beaver heading to the north shore of the bay. I didn't follow. I headed for the end of the south cove, where I fancied that I saw an otter yesterday, pausing after every ten strokes of the paddle to listen. Unfortunately, the carp were active and so I had to ascribe everything I heard to them, and then when it got light enough to see the splashes, I could see their fins and tails. But it was still dark when I paddled west, so I headed for the entrance to South Bay hoping to intercept otters going to or from their latrine there. It was not a quiet morning but the churning from the sewage treatment plant was less than half of it. There was a roar from the midges hovering over the woods along the north shore of the bay. I fancied myself an otter swimming in the dark judging distances by the noise and spotting latrines by the lightness of granite compared to the dark vegetation. I was also impressed that the herons were flying about with so little light. But the light came quickly and by the time I reached the Narrows, I could see the midges all around me and everything else. I paddled through the Narrows and took a peak into Eel Bay -- no sightings of otters. I thought of going out to Picton but decided to go back to South Bay. Many a time I had not seen otters until it was light enough to see well. Plus going toward the sun made it easier to see every ripple and splash. In my mind, I sorted out the differences between an carp and otter splash. The former is a slap up, a flop down, a splash not a wake. An otter would make a series of splashes some connected by strong wakes. And so as I approached the point, I saw a wake in the water heading toward the south cove of the bay. However no otter head peaked up out of the water. After about 30 yards tailing it, the carp stuck its nose up and then there was a brief thrashing. It is nice to form at theory at 5am and have it blasted by 5:10 am. As I continued down the bay, where I hoped to see otters, instead carp hit the bottom of the kayak and I hit carp, quite accidently, with my paddle. I saw one of the torpodos -- probably about the size of an otter in the water and probaby heavier. What pleasure could an otter get dodging carp! After convincing myself that there were no otters in the south cove, I paddled over to the north cove, where there were more intimidating carp. Then having just concluded that carp ruled and no aquatic mammal would be foolhardy enough to hazard swimming with them, I saw a muskrat spinning its tail as it left the rock where muskrats and otters often mark, and swam into the marsh. There were no terns about, which is strange. As I crossed the bay back to the dock, the orange sun finally appeared -- with my work for the day almost done. I biked home and got into the motorboat and headed out to Picton Island curious to see if an otter had visited the latrine there. It appeared that the west latrine had a few new wrinkles in the grass

and one scat perhaps a day or two old,

but nothing fresh. The east latrine seemed a bit more dug out,

but no new scats. Where the middle latrine had been, tall green grass covered the old otter scent mounds -- no rolling there.

And so as I headed down Eel Bay, huge Eel Bay, I got a renewed sense of the possibities otters have in this river. They didn't need my neck of the bays, marshes and swamps. They could come or not come and I could stay awake and paddling for 24 hours and perhaps not see them. And to prove the point, I docked the boat below the latrine at the entrance to South Bay, where otters had left new scent mounds and scats about 24 hours ago. I should add that by now, the midges were mostly gone to sleep under leaves. I expected to see more dead in the water, but saw waves of tree pollen instead. I climbed up the little slope and saw immediately that an otter or otters had just been there. The grasses were parted in new ways

and there were two fresh scats

-- all lower in the latrine, closer to the water. So otters had been in South Bay! Perhaps they forage here after dark, perhaps I have to get up at 3 am. I checked the rocks below the latrine looking for scats and fish remains, but saw none.Then out in the shallow water I saw several bleached crayfish.

I'll have to come back in the kayak and fish some out. I'll also have to check the latrine at the little causeway at the end of South Bay, if otters had been there in the last 24 hours.... but first breakfast and a nap.

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