This week was a week of discoveries. I discovered, first and foremost, a barred owl and most likely where it roosts. I have taken to calling him Barry. The location of his home has to be kept a secret so he is not disturbed. I feel bad exploring the area because every time I walk through it I know he is there, and even if I don’t see him I know he knows exactly where I am.
Actually finding him was quite an experience. I have seen him three separate times now and two days in a row. The first time I spotted him I was only able to observe him for ten minute before he left and I lost sight of him. The second time my friend and fellow NR1 student, Luke, saw him just as we were leaving the woods. He was asleep in the cold rain just over where we had walked. We proceeded to find a seat under a sugar maple in the pouring rain and watch him sleep for forty minutes before he woke up and began to prune himself, much like a cat. This little display yielded about three hundred pictures only a few of which were acceptable.
The next day we went back and found him in the same general area. We came in looking for him and had no luck, but as soon as we decided to give up hope and look for some pileated woodpeckers he swooped down right in front of both of us, leaving our mouths agape and our eyes in awe. He looked like a stealth bomber gliding and weaving among the trees effortlessly. He quickly disappeared into the dense brush and we lost sight of him. Minutes later we heard an eruption of bluejays, cardinals, and chickadees. Making our way to the spot of all the commotion we found him again being pestered by a jay. The birds’ alarm calls lead us right to him. He was much more active this time and we assumed he was hunting so we left him be for an hour or so. As we returned to where he was last seen we had little hope he would be there. However, Barry gave us one last show. In the almost pitch black he was silhouetted against the sky and just as we noticed him he dropped off his perch gave three silent flaps of his enormous wings and was gone into the night. There is nothing more mysterious, exciting, scary, and awe inspiring then seeing an active owl at dusk.
The second discovery was of a beaver living in centennial woods and his dam. The same day Luke and I spent some time with Barry we spotted a large furry creature in the retention pond on the edge of centennial woods. After some further research mostly involving asking Professor Poleman we realized it was a beaver.
Today I found more evidence of beavers living in centennial. Walking down the hill past the retention pond I am always looking around with my eyes peeled for birds or interesting creatures. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a great blue heron gracefully soar out of the marsh. I decided to try and find some evidence of this heron because I see it quite often but I am unable to get a decent picture of it. After fighting through a thicket of small black locust trees with massive thorns I make it to the small clearing in the marsh where centennial brook meanders and the banks are free from vegetation. I scan the banks looking for heron footprints in the mud, no luck. However I did find some initially unknown tracks along with some deer footprints.
I decided to follow these footprints which was no easy task. Avoiding the brook, tracks, and vegetation lead to quite a few slips and some wet socks, but eventually I made it to the middle of the marsh. Looking up from the tracks the stream widened and there was a small pond in front of me. At the far end of the pond was what I assume to be a beaver dam! It turns out that this dam is less that one hundred yards away from my spot up the marsh. The heron was what lead me to the dam and now he and I are able to reap the benefits from it. The heron gets a pond for hunting and I get a place to watch for heron, beaver, and to learn more about how beavers affect the ecosystem of centennial woods/my spot!
The third discovery was less exciting but only slightly less important. I was able to see a hairy woodpecker and a downy woodpecker in close succession. So, now I know the difference. I was only able to get pictures of the downy woodpecker, but the hairy woodpecker is larger and has a longer beak.
Nice observations. Are the tracks in the mud from a beaver?. Any deer?. Do you ever go down too your support in the dark of morning and watch the animals as the sun comes up?.