September 2 to 7, 2003

September 2 we got back from a weekend trip to Pennsylvania and found it warmer here, and quite humid. I went to check the ponds. Nothing new on the knoll above the New Pond. Back on the East Pond trail I saw a caterpillar not only dangling in the wind from an strand of silk, but seemingly dancing

At the East Trail Pond there were no new scats at the latrine by the dam, but I did see otter prints in the mud now exposed at the edge of the pond.

It looks like just one otter went down into the pond -- no prints coming out. I couldn't resist taking a photo of an old scat, with all the black washed away leaving a riot of bones and scales

This had been a very soft gray scat. It must have been cold last night because I stepped on a watersnake sunning on the bank. It, of course, leapt into the water, and looked up to see what happened

I walked slowly around the pond and close to the old rolling area by the fallen tree trunk, I found a small, fresh scat.

Instead of continuing around the shore of the pond, I was lured up the ridge by several cut pile worts. My impression was that beavers cut them since the bites were low on the plant. But, as far as I could see, other than being cut
nothing was done with the plant.

Despite the water level in the pond dropping, there is still water enough for using the canals in the upper pond, so I should check for scat down there. I continued around and down to the Thicket Pond, which still has enough water for beavers,

but no signs of fresh cutting. At Audubon Pond, I noticed a large mud scent mound near the bank lodge,

but again, no beaver came out. I walked around to the west shore of the pond, hardly getting a young doe to budge from her patch of tall grass, and checked the area where I saw the suspected otter scat. This time I saw goose droppings along with the smaller looser black scats. However these black scats maintain what shape they have, and the black doesn't wash away as it does with otter scats. So I think they are goose droppings.

Otherwise, little sign of fresh activity around the pond by any critter. The water level has dropped enough so there is nothing draining out. Going along the South Bay shore I kept moving perching buzzards along -- not the greatest display of bird sagacity as they would fly up and perch again in the direction I was going so they would have to fly off again. This humid day heavy with cricket song, with its early darkness, and the quiet boat-free river, signifies a new season.

September 4 I headed off to the ponds on a cloudy cool morning but before I got to South Bay the sun was out, and a west wind began shifting more to the north, which has always been a good wind for blowing up otters. At the little
causeway over the first creek I saw the bold pink plant as I do every year, and as I do every year, I forgot its name, autumn wild onion?

Meanwhile a flock of warblers was working the bush, and I almost got a good photo. I checked the New Pond knoll for otter scats, none there, and as I inched forward I sent a score of ducks off the pond. I might as well not do now, or at least not so often. At the foot of the East Trail was a grape vine quite burdened with fruit

I sat on the big rock overlooking the East Trail Pond and soon saw a beaver swimming just beyond the lodge in the middle of the pond, and it continued directly into the tall grass at the west end of the pond. Seeing this at 9:30 in the morning, I assumed this was a beaver heading for bed, but a better lodge to doze in would be in the opposite direction. Then I glanced down toward the dam and saw a beaver swim off the shore heading for the bank lodge near the dam -- now that made sense. A kingfisher was working the pond, but no otters. I eased down the rock first to check the tree the beavers had brought down a week ago which doesn't quite look like a cherry, but doesn't quite look like a serviceberry. I know it is not an elm -- and what is the hurry about identifying these things. I am alone, as usual, and there is no contest. I saw one bit of pilewort that might be said to have been segmented. But I can't believe that a beaver would exhaust itself with these plants. I assume they were cut to clear the path. The otter latrine looked matted down but I
couldn't find any fresh scat. Then as I continued along the shore a green heron squawked and flew up, followed closely by a hawk that perched in front of me, so that it's possible the hawk scared the heron and not me. The heron didn't fly far, perching on top of a dead tree trunk, posing a bit, and then flying away. The hawk also flew off, around the pond and out of my view. Where I had seen fisher scat a few weeks ago, I saw more stringy scat, but more of it and it was rather wet.

As I bent down to ponder that, a beaver splashed me. I looked up and saw a baby beaver giving me the eye, the nose and then the tail, not tiring of the exercise in the least.

I took photos and video and then began hearing the weirdest creaking and squeaking in the trees above the big rock. Blue jays were going beyond the call of duty in giving their wry commentary on the world. The beaver may have been especially upset because I was near an area where there were small stripped sticks and big uneaten leaves.

After several splashes it dove and judging from the bubbles on the surface of the water it was making a serious effort to escape. I continued around the pond, toward the dam and it popped up again and splashed me.

When I see a beaver like this I try to capture it in both the camcorder and camera; getting such an interesting photo of its splash was pure luck and how the hind legs fly up like that, I cannot pretend to know. I kept moving on to the dam and there I saw a good bit of fresh wet otter scat

which immediately persuaded me that the other wet stringy stuff I saw was left by an otter. It was so fresh, I also decided to sit down and wait for otters to reappear. As I sat in my usual spot below the big pine, I saw that there was a tiny scat there. In the past, I have thought otters had made a point to poop where I had last plopped myself. Meanwhile the beaver kept an eye on me, and then I lost it. No otter appeared, and I resolved to go off to the Lost Swamp but first went up to check the slope on the other side of the dam. No otter scats there but I thought I heard a beaver gnawing in the thick grass in front of the big rocks there. So I decided that there were so many loose threads around this pond that I stayed around for another half hour -- but nothing happened, no beavers nor otters, only the kingfisher splashing, rarely cackling. I heard the osprey from Otter Hole Pond, but none flew over me at the East Trail Pond. Then I heard a strange sound behind me, reminding me of my hoarse and whinny attempts to hum like a beaver. I went
back into the woods to check and saw a large raccoon sleeping high up in a tree

-- it must have been singing in its sleep. There was no longer time to go to the Lost Swamp so I decided to cross the middle of Otter Hole Pond, which I assumed would present a good bit of dry terrain. On the way I saw the fresh
beaver work in the little pool below the Second Swamp Pond, muddy water and gnawed trees.

But no sign at all that any beaver has ventured further down to Otter Hole Pond to patch the dam and thrive. The old bank beaver lodge, which five years ago had been surrounded by water and where otters and beavers had sunned themselves, was now choked with high grasses.

Not far from the lodge I found a frog up a little dead stump, struck dead at the pinnacle of its success.

The area was not as dry as I expected and one misstep even got one pant leg wet. After that my return home was uneventful, save for seeing a large fish head under the tree where the osprey like to roost. An encouragiug hike, the beavers
continue their curious behavior evidently leaving a baby quite alone, and more otters are back in the ponds.

September 5 I got up an hour earlier and got to the East Trail Pond at 8 hoping to catch the otters at the end of their morning feed. I saw ripples as I came up on the big rock and then a heron's wing as it took off. Like yesterday I saw at least three beavers, only this time an adult beaver splashed me. It splashed me and disappeared; then the baby beaver came out -- about ten minutes after the big splash, eyed and nosed me, but did not splash. The kingfisher was active again and a pair of wood ducks. There were no fresh otter scats. When I left the rock I noticed a small oak cut and segmented, almost as high up the ridge as where I usually sit.

With time to contemplate the big tree they cut down a couple weeks ago, I decided it was a serviceberry. I think I recall seeing the blossoms in the spring. I headed for the Lost Swamp Pond but decided to go via Otter Hole Pond, crossing below the dam. At the foot of a small tree I found this caterpillar which looks like the usual white tussock moth caterpillar enlarged several times.

A heron and a kingfisher were working Otter Hole Pond which is low but not as low as it could get. No sign of otters nor beavers. I had seen quite a few deer throughout this hike and as I approached Otter Hole dam, two deer ran off, but two stayed, acting very much like fawns, the same approaching curiosity, but they had no spots.

I moved closer slowly, then there was a high pitched snort from another deer, and the two moved off, with a few leaps at first, then slowing down in the high grasses. Fortunately for me, the deer have made some paths through the thick pilewort below the dam. But when I tried to go up to the dam about where some old otter dens are I was defeated by lines of button bush, then vervain, and what I feared were huge stands of nettles.

So I went back below the dam and came up to the main spillover, and if anything had crossed over it, that thing was thin and didn't cross back.

Perhaps the solution to my where-are-the-otters problem is that they are orienting to the east and not using South Bay at all. Crossing through the grasses I stumbled upon an intriguing bug on the vervain, yellow and brown and shaped like a seed. When I first saw it, legs seemed somewhat concealed. After I bugged it, it took on its buggy shape, a kind of Pentatomidae, I guess.

I also noticed, since they were right in my face, that the cattails are fuzzing up.

Then I couldn't resist a close-up of a button from the button bush as it ripens.

After crossing, I had an easy walk up to the Lost Swamp Pond and what to my wandering eyes should appear, well, not so wandering because I always first look at the old otter latrines, but a huge plate of otter scats a day or two old judging from how they had been baked by the sun.

There was another small scat, but not fresh. The scats were closer to the pond than usual, though on the route the otters have used for years. I walked up to the dam and there was no sign of the otters going up there. I waited a bit and saw two kingfishers, a heron. Not as many ducks as usual. I walked around the dam and when I reached the new bank beaver lodge something swam out but didn't surface, and perhaps another swam out, unless that was the first beaver swimming back in. They have built their bank lodge up more.

I found some beaver work on two old tree. A beaver cut a branch off an ironwood cut last year,

and cut some off or gnawed on the dead gray top limbs of a downed maple, if I recollect rightly.

I get the impression that the beavers that were here, all moved out and that these beavers are new to the pond, but I'll have to spend more time up here, and with the otters leaving such big scats I probably will. That left the Big Pond, the most challenging crossing. At least it is a little drier below the dam and at the end of my dumb trudge through smartweed, there were no scats at the end of the dam.

It clouded up in the afternoon and then when the sun came out again at 6pm I couldn't resist a quick kayak trip to South Bay: the bryozoa continue to flourish and the lilies are finally blooming, about 20 of them. The water level
has dropped three or four inches.

September 7 a short hike between 5 and 7 pm to check for otter scats. I went to the East Trail Pond first, up on the big rock, and save for a few ducks flying in and then flying off, all was quiet. I noticed more of a beaver trail up the ridge, but not any more work on the ridge. Then I got around to the otter latrine and saw a generous spread of scat, still soft and malodorous, but not juicy fresh.

Like the last scating, this was near the rolling area they had used a month ago, and the rolling area looked recently used. Bark that had fallen from the tree had been moved away.

All that required me to sit, but if I was going to check the Lost Swamp Pond for scats I couldn't sit for long. Before I moved on, I walked up the ridge trail and found no scats up there. I crossed below the dam and saw some ripe
jack-in-the-pulpit berries

and a patch or two of turtle head flowers.

I went behind the rock dens on that side of the pond and looked for a likely trail out of the pond toward the Lost Swamp pond. I did find a big trail but beavers obviously made it

as it led to fresh work on trees cut or girdled a while ago, including a huge ash which still has a full crown of leaves despite being almost completely girdled last year or in the spring.

After the beaver trail ended, I followed a narrower trail to see if it might lead to otter scats, but it was probably a deer trail. As I walked up the Second Swamp Pond I passed gnawing on an ash,

and more trails into the pond and along the pond.

Deer are also quite active around the ponds now, probably thanks to our 10 day old drought, but here and there I saw beaver bites. I soon saw part of the reason. The upper pond is almost dry

and now of less use to beavers and judging by the tracks in the mud more frequented by raccoons. A few prints might have been left by otters, but certainly no stampede that four or five otters would make. The trail from the canal up to the Lost Swamp Pond was punctuated by raccoon scats. Despite access to the pool with its fishy things, the raccoon scats were laced with berries.

Only one duck flew off when I got to the Lost Swamp Pond, and while there had been much movement along the edge of the pond, only raccoons left their scats, until I got down to the otter latrine where there was a generous spread, new but not fresh because it was all hard.

It looked much like the array I saw at Audubon Pond which I finally decided was goose scat. This is definitely otter scat and tomorrow I will take another close look at what might be around Audubon Pond. I also noticed some big lumber outside the new beaver lodge

and one log outside the old one which looks so low in the water now.

I went back home via Otter Hole Pond and saw no signs of otters there. I was pleased to see that the old familiar fall mushrooms are coming out, seemingly oblivious to the mushroom mania of a month ago. First I saw that dusty brown tree hugger, Ganoderma applanatum

Then on the TI Park trail, I saw a small bit of chicken of the woods. I picked the top part which revealed a moist underworld

where beetles luxuriated in the prized wetness.

So tomorrow morning I'll go to the East Trail Pond and then Audubon Pond. I took a sail with Ottoleo around Grinnel Island and asked about the spear fishing the teenagers enjoy doing. Watching them reminded me of watching otters fish. He said there were simply not as many fish as usual and they stopped going out. Perhaps this helps explain why the otters seem to have ranged farther off this year. Not only were the ponds low on fish due to the cold spring rains, but the river was less giving, though from my vantage point looking into the river, I thought I saw more fish then usual.