The beavers would have stayed in their den for most of the winter. They likely have caches of young tree branches, bark, and twigs at the bottom of the bog around the den and under the ice.
The ice cover quickly disappeared over the past two weeks and I expect to see evidence of foraging in the woods surrounding the bog now that it is Spring.
After three days staking out the beaver den in the far bog, we spotted the two beaver inhabitants patrolling around the den. Here is beaver1.
The other half of the pair of wood ducks spotted on Saturday. The edge of the beaver den is at right foreground. We have not seen any beavers this Spring so far but we have heard several loud tail slaps when we approached during mid-week. There are no obvious fresh tree cuttings around but we think there are beavers still here.
I visited the far bog to check out the beaver den yesterday during mid-afternoon. I did not have high hopes of a beaver sighting but thought I could spot some ducks, perhaps Mallards or the more exciting wood ducks. It was not even five minutes into my stakeout when a pair of wood ducks paddled past the beaver den. Here an adult female calmly moves through the thicket beyond the den.
An unruly flight of wood ducks repeatedly cruised over the bog this afternoon. Perhaps they were dismayed by the remaining snow and ice. Didn’t they enjoy the 60F temperature? Maybe these boys of Spring were looking for some ladies?
Spring in Maine is typically a transition. A group of ducks adjust to the realities by sunning themselves on an ice field near Cobbosseecontee Lake, Maine.
A pair of mallards cruise the flooded creek near our house earlier this week.
After seeing an adult night heron hanging around the pond, we spotted this young one a few days later. This bird seemed totally oblivious or unconcerned about our creeping along the shore.
john's f-stop 