northeast-flora-and-fauna

After being told about it, I took this picture of a Fairview Farm walkway that was apparently "dammed" by an American Beaver . Although this now looks like some sort of rodent-esque obsessive-compulsive disorder, I suppose I should acknowledge that it's possible that a small amount of water might flow down this trail when we get a sufficient amount of rain [1]. My suspicion is that this dam wasn't particularly effective at curbing water flow; the boards are slightly elevated, and unless the beaver stuffed sticks under the boards in addition to on top of them [2], I'd expect water to continue to flow.  To the right of this picture there's a small (possibly man-made) pond where the beaver presumably lives/works. Unfortunately the beaver itself wasn't available for a photo-op. June 21, 2023 at Fairview Farm [1] The boards are presumably there so people can avoid the worst of the mud when things get wet here. [2] I didn't think to examine the bottom of the...

Last March I briefly met this Muskrat who appeared to be foraging in the river on the outskirts of Duke Island Park. I don't encounter Muskrats all that often, though sometimes they seem fairly tolerant of humans. As always, I try and get a look at the tail to make sure I'm not seeing a smallish American Beaver . This Muskrat swam past me twice and didn't seem very concerned about my presence, making it much easier to get some pictures. They do have lodges similar to beavers, though it doesn't sound like they store food in them like beavers do. They don't hibernate, and it sounds like they generally forage for food throughout the winter, though in a pinch they might eat part of their lodge. (This sounds like a desperate measure to me, trading off shelter for food.)  March 16, 2023 at Duke Island Park Photo 267709653, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's an American Beaver I met on New Year's Day. (Like most of you, I spent New Year's Day looking to get some nature pictures. 😉) With a name like American Beaver, you've probably guessed that there are non-American beavers out there, and you'd be right. Eurasia has its own beavers, the aptly named Eurasian Beaver . Together they comprise the true beavers . (The beavers don't like to talk about the Mountain Beavers , which are really more closely related to squirrels.) Relationship confusion isn't limited to Mountain Beavers either; despite being the 2 most well known aquatic rodents in North America, and despite some visual similarities, they also aren't particularly closely related to Muskrats .  I met this beaver at the tail end of a fairly uneventful walk at Duke Island Park. As I was approaching the pond near the parking lot I saw something brown that I couldn't identify. A bush shouldn't have been that dark. My 1st (very distant) look ...