I was hoping with the new snow from last night that I'd find some fresh tracks on my walk this morning. I wasn't disappointed. There were fresh ones at the same spot I showed in Friday's posting, starting at the entrance to the burrow near the water's surface on the marsh side, crossing the trail and down the other side. The top shot here shows the burrow entrance with the tracks leading out and up the bank. The bottom photo shows where the tracks ended on the other side of the trail - by the outflow end of the culvert that drains the water from the marsh into the French Basin. Marks left by the creature's tail (I'm guessing a muskrat) are easily seen, coming in from the right edge of the picture and moving towards the water.
Not many sightings of creatures in the flesh on my walk this morning. These Black Ducks were huddled together on the ice at the sail centre cove. Since these ducks are dabblers rather than divers like the buffleheads and the mergansers that remain here over the winter, they have to find shallower spots to feed.
I found a number of Buffleheads on the sewage lagoon this morning, along with another duck (on the left here) that I couldn't immediately identify. After reference to my field guides, I found that it was a female Goldeneye - whether Barrow's or the more common Common Goldeneye I'm not sure. Not a great shot because of the distance from the ducks, but a first to add to the blog for this bird.
A few interesting things on this morning's walk around the marsh. I happened to notice some tracks that crossed the trail, went under one of the benches, and then down towards the water (now frozen solid). When I followed the tracks down to the ice, I found this fairly large opening in the bank. A muskrat's burrow entrance?? I'm not sure. Among the tracks there appeared to be a line that could be made by a tail dragging, so perhaps... Something else to keep an eye on.
I got to the marsh this morning before the storm began. I'm glad I did, as I happened to time it just right to catch a large (100+) flock of Bohemian Waxwings that were perched in some trees. This close-up of a few of the flock shows the distinctive ruddy color under their tails (it is white in the Cedars), plus the yellow and white markings along with the red on their wing feathers. These birds are also quite a bit larger than the more commonly seen Cedars.
I almost stepped on this fellow as I started to walk around the tree to check one of the squirrel middens for signs of use. I lifted my camera to get a shot, and he (she?) disappeared. I didn't notice it climb the tree or scamper away. The only thing I could figure is that it had popped down a hole among the tree roots. After I moved off for a few minutes I returned to the spot, and sure enough, there it was chewing away on a pine cone.
A nice walk around the trail today. No land bird sightings. I did see two pairs of Mallards at the sailing centre cove. The only sign of life on the ice-covered marsh was this cluster of sea gulls: Herring Gulls of differing ages - the dark brown one in the centre I presume is a 1st winter Herring, the medium brown one at the left perhaps a 2nd winter Herring - plus one lone adult Great Black-backed Gull.
I did find some ducks this morning at the marsh, at the sewage lagoon which is still pretty much ice-free -- these Buffleheads. They appear to be 1st winter males. It looks like they'll be spending the winter with us.
On my way up to check for ducks on the sewage lagoon this morning, I noticed that there was definitely foot traffic of the canine variety around the perimeter of the lagoon. The tracks followed the same path the deer take when they move through the area. Now I'm pretty much of a novice when it comes to identifying tracks, but (after reference to my animal tracks field guide) these tracks could be from a fox, with the one on the left being that of a hind foot, and on the right of a front foot.
I traveled the trail today with no problem (and with more ice-friendly footwear). Since the marsh is now ice-covered, and will likely remain so until spring, I find myself looking for signs of wildlife presence when I don't see any in the flesh.
I know that the muskrat population of the marsh is fairly large, which means there will be predators trying to take advantage of that abundance. A couple of weeks ago a fellow marshwalker reported that she had seen two red foxes on the ice, possibly after muskrat, as they are known to hunt them. (Other common predators of muskrats: mink, coyotes, raccoons, owls and hawks.)
This morning I saw the above scene next to the shore of the marsh. I'm pretty sure the holes in the ice were made by a muskrat, who may have a burrow in the bank. The footprints seem to be of the canine variety, so it looks like something was very interested in that muskrat. Since there are no signs of a struggle, it appears that nothing was 'predated' in this instance.
I also saw this fellow on New Year's day - although I heard him first, and followed him around for a few minutes as he moved from tree to tree, trying to get a decent shot. I'm pretty sure, because of his size, that it is a Downy Woodpecker, although I couldn't make out the distinguishing dark bars on his white outer tail feathers. His red head patch is very evident in this shot.
My apologies to faithful followers of this blog for no new postings since the New Year began. I have a bit of an excuse: I fell on an icy spot on the trail on Dec. 29th, so have been wary since then. Thankfully no damage to myself - or my camera.
I did walk the trail on New Year's day, which was sunny and mild. The marsh was all iced over, but I happened to notice a group of Black Ducks and Mallards in a shallow pool of water in the marsh grasses next to the inlet that flows into the French Basin. The inlet was filled with the foam that the wind sometimes blows in, which can be seen at the tops of the photos here. The shot at the top shows the ducks on alert when something caught their attention, after which they returned to feeding as seen in the bottom shot.
