Busy beavers, and muskrats !
With the unseasonably warm weather at mid-November it seemed the beavers were busy taking advantage of it to build up their larders, and new lodges. The beavers had been busy trimming/pruning the smallish trees everywhere. They didn't always finish what they started....
It seemed they don't always look up to see what they are trying to fell. This was a small base of a tree that they had trimmed thoroughly in a previous year. The beaver didn't finish the job, but it was just as well as there was nothing there for him
The owner of the lodge on Turtle Trail has build a huge larder, he'll have lots to eat all winter
There's a new lodge on the Basswood trail that the proprietor has built from his private woodlot just behind the lodge. The beaver had established a path through the tall grass , across the trail and into the water.
There were at least five muskrats busily attending to things. I saw seven, but two of them might have swam underwater and came up far enough away that it could have been two already counted muskrats. There are five (or more) muskrat lodges in Turtle Pond, two of which that mallards seemed to have adopted as a resting spot. The muskrats build their lodges with reeds, not twigs and sticks like the beaver.
Muskrats seem to have better eyesight than beavers. A muskrat surfaced about 15 feet away, spotted me, and immediately dove, making a large splash like a beaver.
The Canada geese hadn't left for the fields yet, there were large groups of them in the channel west of the culvert. The low lying fog or mist added to their photogenic qualities
It wasn't long before the geese started to head out. In small groups first, then larger disorganized flocks, and some in nice;y formed skeins flying through the mist
There was a small group on the river that seemed to have decided just to hang out there for the morning
Mallards were well represented, some swimming quietly in the marsh, others looking for breakfast in the bend over reeds, and others making use of the turtles' basking boards
Four female common mergansers were heading out from the canoe launch area (One opted to not stay in the photo)
Not only waterfowl birds were making their presence known. The upside down bird (nuthatch) and chickadees made sure they were noticed
Both were happy, insistent, to receive handouts, but it had to be separately...
The lack of leaves revealed robin nests in a few spots
A few crows had stopped for a drink on the river shoreline and then flew off as we approached.
It was very late in the year to see a moth flying around, but a Bruce Spanworm Moth was slowly moving about in the very cool temperatures
Bittersweet berries and highbush cranberries stood out when the sun came out from behind the clouds
A few leaves were persistent and showed off their fall colours. Maple leaves, blackberry and Japanese knotweed
The red bark of the dogwood provided a backdrop for the asters having gone to seed.
The ferns and burdock looked to be down for the count, but the burrs were ready to hitch a ride on someone's clothing
The cloudy sky patches reflected nicely in the water
The dark clouds to the north and the bright sun to the south accentuated the bareness of the trees on the Quebec side of the river
Too late in the year for mushrooms, but I did spot some turkey tail fungus on a log
The fishermen's over-enthusiastic casting shows up in many spots on the Islands
I'm sure the owner of the musky ice fishing hut is anxious to take it, and it's reflection, out for winter fishing
