See, I write about Mammals too


Today I went for a very long walk around the Shirley's Bay conservation area.....There's a great deal of it, you know, and I covered several kilometers. I didn't see much in the way of animal life, actually (there was one deer standing by the ruins of an old house. And me without my camera). however, I did see signs of animals. There were, of course, hoofprints aplenty....if I had a recipe for deer track soup, I would never have to go grocery shopping again. There were also dog tracks. Neither of these, however, are what I want to talk about.


Firstoff, the trees are mostly bare now. This allows me to see things I would not normally see. For example, in a swampy bit to the right of the trail that runs nearest carling avenue, i saw a muskrat lodge. Now, Muskrats Ondatra zibethicus are old friends to me. I used to see them all the time in New Brunswick, and while the presence of a common animal is not suprising, it is cheering. Muskrats are, on the whole, pretty amazing little animals. They have, I have learned, a unique nostril, shaped like the number 7, which somehow allows them to breath in oxgen that has been exhaled, while under water. As a consequence, they can stay submerged for some 15 minutes.

I encountered a muskrat while swimming once. I was down in the Ottawa river....not, I am sorry to have to tell you, at a public beach, though I wasn't trespassing either. I was paddling towards the shore in a lazy way, and I saw something there.....a muskrat. So I stopped swimming, and watched it. it came into the water as well, and came within two meters of me. So long as I stayed partially submerged, he had no fear. Quite the experience.


I also saw a classic example of violence in the wild. There were, at one point, a great many very noisy crows, all flocking around one area. Now, it was far too early for them to be returning to their roost, so this could only mean one thing. the crows had found themselves an owl. I don't know why, but crows and Owls, specifically Great Horned Owls seem to loath one another. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the owl itself... the tree was a ways off, and I had no binoculars with me.

I heard frogs as I walked....the Northern Leopard frog, of which I have written before, is giving one last concert before hibernation. It was quite warm today, so I can't say I blame them for being out in force. But the cold is coming on fast, so that might well be the last I see of them for a while.


The Geese decided to make a liar of me today. Instead of flying overhead as I described, a great flock of them decided to paddle about in the river. Clearly they've been reading this. I am honoured.