I hope some of you skilled outdoor folks can tell me a bit about beavers....like what they do when they want you to go away sooner rather than later....
Another birder, more skilled than I, recently started walking a really nice state trail along the former Erie Canal towpath. It's the most incredibly awesome place you could imagine, lined out along the remains of the old canal, featuring an antique lock of impressive proportions.
In pursuit of the good birds she sees there, and maybe a few of our own, we walked it the other day. It was fun but the boss didn't have a warm enough jacket so we stopped and went home.
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| Doesn't this leucistic Canada Goose look like a granny wearing a mob cap? |
Then last night he sat in the car while I wandered down it at the end of a long day of quarantine related confinement to quarters.....thanks, I needed that!
It was amazing. Full of peace and calm and wild glory. I didn't see a single human soul for the better part of an hour. I won't bore you with the wonderful birds that literally accompanied me (geese and a Wood Duck, carefully preceding me up and down the canalway, keeping just the right distance from my danger). Trust me that they were many and varied.
However I had an encounter that was somewhat uncanny. I was standing at the very end of one bit of walkway right next to the big lock, glassing over a large swampy area lined with water-killed trees and festooned with swampy vegetation.
A rustle in the tall grass RIGHT NEXT TO ME caused me to notice a beaver a few feet to my right. I turned to look and grab a photo as it walked up the bank next to a bit of limestone foundation there.
It stood up on its hind feet, threw its head back and began to hiss like a tea kettle. It was most alarming.
I grabbed a couple of quick shots and backed away precipitously as it waddled slowly down the bank, hissing the while, and slipped slowly into the water. Then it swam around in a little circle sounding more like a rattlesnake than a big rodent.
As I hustled away without getting even half a look at the swamp it blasted its tail down upon the mirrored surface as it to say, "Take that!"
And again, "Take that. And that! And that!"
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| Wood Duck giving me the stink eye as he slowly glides just so far, but no farther away from me down the Erie |
I can't lie. I wasn't exactly terrified, but I sure was concerned that it was going to come after me and bite me. Not sure if I accidentally walked too close to it...having not seen it...or if it came out of the water to threaten me.....However, I was quite happy that it went east while I went west.
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| Canada Gosling |
And that is all. I think the next time...and I surely hope there will soon be one....I will cross the little wooden bridge and admire the swamp from the other side of the lock.
Here is my checklist for that excellent walk through the waning hours.
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| Taken at a different swamp, but this is what those teeth can do. |
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6 comments:
They can get very large too. We saw one of them that lived in the water at Beaversprite when it came through the canal built for them in the house. Very interesting. Love, Mom
" . . .threw its head back and began to hiss . . ."
WOW! W0W! WOW!
Mom, I remember when you went there. What an awesome opportunity! Love you!
Cathy, it was downright disconcerting, but I always wanted to get a close up of a beaver....lol
How cool. We randomly see beaver dams, but I have never seen one up close. Sounds, like you, must have gotten too close to 'babies' maybe.
the end of a long day of quarantine related confinement to quarters----O! DO! I! UNDERSTAND!
I wonder if the beaver was extra hostile because it had young ones nearby. Any wild animal that doesn't immediately scoot away can be disconcerting. We used to have raccoon families that lived in our backyard trees, and one night I stepped off the back porch and interrupted some youngsters at play. When they saw me, they came running toward me. Yikes! Who's afraid of a baby 'coon? Well, I sure was! The behavior was so unexpected, I didn't know what to make of it. I ran back inside!
I'm glad to hear you found a marvelous place to walk and observe wildfowl that is not crowded. All my usual haunts are mobbed these days, but my son showed me a secret trail along a creek right in town, we had it all to ourselves, and I found very interesting plants there, as well. Happiness!
Linda, I suspect that you are right about the babies. We are surrounded by beaver structure wherever we go. They make quite an impact here in the foothills of the Adirondacks. It's an endless battle for the road crews to keep them from flooding side roads and highways, and one that they often lose at least temporarily. Never experienced anything like this though! On the quarantine thing. Liz is working two jobs and there is no school, so we spend a good amount of time watching over Peggy. A pleasure for the most part, but I do miss wandering around looking for birds.
Jacqueline, I can't imagine being approached by raccoons like that! Wow! I have had very few wildlife encounters where I felt uncomfortable. A couple hard stares from coyotes, but usually only when I was on a tractor. They were probably trying to figure out if I was a threat or what I might have been. And there have been times when an after dark rustle in the bushes raised a prickle on the back of my neck. However, the beaver had me backing away and getting gone really quickly. I will be more careful the next time we visit that lovely little trail. Glad you found a good new one and I am about to go read your blog story about it. Take care!
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