Still no turtle--and a two for one special

Still no turtle. And that reminds me that I've also never caught a skunk on film.

I wonder why that is. There must be skunks in the area. They live in a variety of habitats and eat most everything.  And apparently their population is growing like crazy in many cities. See this fascinating article in the most recent Outside magazine. 

Someday, maybe, I'll capture a skunk.

Meanwhile, where I can't find a turtle, I have found some other animals. 

You'll recognize this raccoon. And you may think that it is washing it's food--that's a commonly held belief. So commonly held that it's Latin name is "Procyon lotor". The lotor means one who washes, or washer. 

Current thinking, however is that the raccoon is not washing its food, but that it has very delicate feeling in its paws. So it hunts by feel.

In the photographs to the right, the raccoon is hunting for food in the pond. Crayfish and other food found in ponds are a major part of the raccoon's diet.

The home range of the raccoon varies, but seems to be seven acres at a minimum. They especially like to be around water. Cromwell Valley Park has over 400 acres and a lot of water, so I expect has a pretty good raccoon population.

And here is a very wet mammal. I'm pretty sure it's a groundhog, probably the same one we saw in my last post. I didn't know groundhogs like water. But this one, at least, does.

My last picture is a two for one special. 

You can see why another name for the raccoon is ringtail. 

Take a close look at the center distance. 

See those eyes?

Apparently the raccoon also saw those eyes.

It appears to have exited the scene to the right, and pronto.  Then a fox ambles in to the scene nonchalantly.

Stay tuned. The camera is now looking for the mean troll under a bridge. Think I'll find one?

No luck yet....

While I was casting about for a place to put the camera, the Naturalist suggested I try for a turtle.

I tried for a turtle.

I failed to capture a turtle on camera.

But I did get a groundhog, a deer, and a mystery.

. 

Enjoy the videos.

I'm not entirely sure what this is. I think it is a moth flitting in and out of the image. 

I have placed the camera in a couple different configurations, all overlooking the spring-fed pool along the blue trail. It looks like a place that ought to have quite a bit of wildlife. I suspect the problem is that I've put the camera at a couple odd angles. Not much for it though, as that's how the trees are growing. The camera is now looking at the pond from a different angle. Maybe I'll get that turtle yet. 

Go outside and play.

It wasn't entirely a failure....

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. After the beaver dam was washed away by the flood, I thought it might be fun to see if I could capture activity in the bluebird boxes.

Several dedicated volunteers in the park have maintained a trail of 27 boxes starting in 1994. For a variety of reasons, mostly habitat loss and pressure from invasive species, Eastern bluebird populations have plummeted. From this trail alone, though, over 1000 bluebirds have been fledged.

Huzzah for volunteers!

So, I found a tree close enough to a box that I thought I might see some fun bird activity. After two weeks, and fiddling with the location--no luck. I think this is because the birds are too small to activate the motion sensor on the camera. But I did find another fox.

Cromwell Valley Park is apparently fox heaven.

The second location

Then I thought that maybe I could find some bird activity with another strategy. I placed the camera overlooking Minebank Run. In the background, barely visible is a Belted kingfisher nest. I later learned that that nest was destroyed by a flood, and that the eggs in it are dead. Didn't know that at the time, though. The camera is set on time lapse. That is to say, it takes a photograph every five minutes all day.

I found a place with remarkably few animals. But I did find an interesting rain event.

On the 27th of May, at 5:42 pm and 5:54 pm there were two thunderstorms recorded, followed by rain at 0.05 inches of rain at 6:33 pm. Some more rain fell that evening, for a daily total of 0.30 inches. That is a trifle less than a third of one inch of rain.
 (See httttp://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KBWI/2014/5/27/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Baltimore&req_state=MD&req_statename=Maryland)

This video shows what that amount of rain looks like in Minebank Run.

You'll notice the rain in the first pictures. These small puddles correspond with the thunderstorms. Then, at 6:25 pm, about 30 minutes after the second thunderstorm...the water rises dramatically, and carries trash downstream. (See 7:05 pm.)

This rush of storm water, going too fast, carrying too many pollutants, and washing away the stream bottom, is one of the main causes of urban stream syndrome. (http://www.epa.gov/caddis/ssr_urb_urb2.html)



This is not a problem without solutions. A section of Minebank Run itself has just been restored by Baltimore County  The city of Baltimore is making significant strides to reduce the amount of impervious surface in the city limits. What are you doing to help?

Go outside and play.

Not much to report

Hi.

There is no sign of beaver activity in the park. I've no idea where they have gone, but I hope they are happy there. It'll be interesting to see how long it is until they return, or others move in to the park.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/baltimore_oriole/id

Meanwhile there are Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, and lots of other birds in the park. Why not stop by and see why the local baseball team picked those colors for their uniforms?

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/blue-gray_gnatcatcher/id

A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher has built a nest in a tree close to the Nature Center. Extra credit if you can find it as they are well disguised nests.

Beginning of a Chickadee nest. 17 May 2014.

And the camera is still out there. Last week I tried to capture an Eastern Bluebird on film and failed. I think because the camera was too far away from the nest box. Poking around today, I found the beginning of a Carolina Chickadee nest in one of the boxes.  They are beautiful nests, made mostly of moss.

If I'm lucky, I will have some fun videos of a pair of Chickadees building a nest and feeding their young. Stay tuned.




Go outside and Play.

Another flood, another dam gone

Where the dam was. 

And this time the dam is gone gone. Every single stick of it it gone.

You might remember the heavy rain we had last Wednesday. As you can see from the stream data that rain caused very high water. And that washed away the dam.

I poked around the area and saw no signs that the beavers are still there. I looked in what I believe was their bank den and didn't see any tracks.

This is, of course, very disappointing, but not really surprising. Twice before in the last three years, beaver dams have  been destroyed by flash floods in the park. Those flash floods, and the damage they do, are one of the reasons that Maryland has adopted a stormwater fee. But you probably know that already, don't you.

Please let me know if you see any beaver sign along Minebank Run.

I just read a fascinating story in a recent Bay Journal. It discusses, among other things, the positive impact that beavers have had on the bay.  Here is a link: http://www.bayjournal.com/article/core_sediments_reveal_when_a_wetter_bay_was_wildly_healthier



Meanwhile, back at the ranch....Last Sunday I took the youth of my church to the park to see what there was to see. We looked at the camera and they held a vote on where they would like to place the camera. They chose an animal den on the slope about 40 yards from the dam, on the east side of the run.

We captured some videos that I hope you will enjoy.

So, we are off on another mission. Stay tuned.

Go outside and play. 

The beavers are still there, and it's a beautiful spring day

19 April 2014. The dam is in the right background.

It's a beautiful spring day.

The dam is still there, and survived the recent heavy rains intact.

While I was looking around at the dam, I noticed a large log, probably five inches diameter and five or six feet long leaning against the front of the dam. It struck me that it was too big for one of the beavers to have put it there. I thought probably a person did.



Later, at home, I checked the pictures.You'll never guess, even in a million years. Turns out that a beaver did move that log. Look closely at the sequence below, of three photographs taken only seconds apart. You'll see that the log is being moved by a beaver. The beaver itself is barely visible on the left end of the log. It's barely more than a gray shadow, but it's there.

The other animals in the park are also out and about. The bluebirds and tree swallows are starting to nest in the boxes. I believe some have laid eggs already. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Easter.

Go outside and play. 

Gratitude

Wow, I'm knocked off my pins, thrown for a loop, and otherwise quite pleasantly surprised.

It seems that several people other than me didn't like the fact that my camera was stolen. So they passed the hat around and collected enough cash to buy me a new one.

I really am at a loss for words. Thank you very much, I am very grateful for your generosity.

So, we're back in business.

The dam. 6 April 2014.

The dam is still there, and still looking very strong.
The pond is getting active with the spring weather. I noticed several water striders and one turtle enjoying the still water of the pond. Not to mention several people.










I also noticed how clear the water is downstream of the dam. Part of the reason for that is that the dam acts as a silt fence. A silt fence installed at no expense to the taxpayers, I might add.

I took this photograph just upstream of the dam. Perhaps you can see the silt collected by the dam. You can also see tracks left by the beaver as it swam to the dam, probably to add leaves and sticks to it. The tracks run through the stream bottom from lower right to upper left.


Beaver ponds have an effect on aquatic insects because they slow down the water flow. Some insects like to live in fast water, and others on slow water. (http://www.ecology.info/beaver-invertebrates.htm) So, I anticipate that a stream like Minebank Run which is primarily fast water will see a wider variety of insects with the dam than without.

It's a beautiful day.

Go outside and play.