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| A mature doe ventures out along one of our property lines. Whitetail numbers are strong in the area, but deer behavior in a marsh is unique to deer habits in a woodlot or amidst traditional agricultural land |
The last week has brought much more seasonable temps (30s to 50ish) and finally a bit more pop to autumn colors that were -- until now -- pretty muted by temperatures 10-20 degrees above average. With steely skies and temperatures in the 30s, it felt like Halloween yesterday. And it certainly feels like November today.
The deer got the memo. Our motion cameras -- set-up, in part, to monitor for trespassing* -- have picked up a lot more four-legged traffic these last couple weeks. And if history is any guide, the rut (the annual pursuit of does by bucks) should be in full swing in the next week or so. I, along with a few close friends and family members, do archery hunt the property. But I've found there is a whole new learning curve when hunting in and around an expansive marsh. There are plenty of places to hide . . . and deer have no hesitation swimming to seclusion. In fact, it's somewhat of a rarity that we even see deer during much of the season. And when we do, it's just as apt to be in the water. I've even had them wade right through my decoys during a duck hunt. Pretty surreal.
I watched four mature bucks pursue a solitary doe on my drive home from dropping my son at school this morning. Now that duck season is temporarily closed (as of this past Sunday night and until November 11), I can shift my pursuits. I hope to "get in the tree" (into my tree stand) over the next few days.
The "break" or the "split" between open waterfowl seasons gives us a chance to fine-tune our water levels and take care of a few odds and ends. But the field season is largely winding down. Today, I worked on cataloging my regular photo-documentation efforts -- literally thousands of individual frames (see examples below). I will take my monthly monitoring photos the next time the sun shines (maybe Friday), and continue to transition toward inside work and winter pursuits (planning, design, grant writing, etc.). As with nature, our efforts are seasonal and cyclical.
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| The eastern end of the "Center Unit" of the East Marsh that we just sold to the neighbors, pre-restoration -- October 2016 |
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| One year later: a comparable perspective, after strategic water level manipulation -- October 2017; the resulting diversity and quality of the vegetation in this area surpassed our expectations |
* NOTE: I mention trespassing above. Fortunately, we have not had to deal with too much in terms of unwelcome (human) guests, at least on the majority of the property. We are dealing with a chronic littering/dumping issue on an isolated area near the village (but just outside village limits). We have frequent visits from shoreline fisherman along the roadways. Most probably just assume that the water is owned by the State. And we have had some issues with illegal ATV access. But again, this has been isolated to a specific portion of the property, and I think we have now sent the message that the property is private and that they are to stay out. I will likely speak more on this topic in the future, but suffice it to say, its a challenge. How do you keep a large site visually unaltered without running the risk of a small sub-set of the population taking advantage? All we can do is stay vigilant, be firm if we confront a trespasser, and continue to try to educate.