A new month meant sustained cold. Only 10 of the 28 days got above freezing and most of those were on the front end of February. Lows were routinely in the teens or single digits, and we even dipped below zero on a few occasions. While we speculated whether we'd even get "walking ice" or a sustained stretch of "real winter," both ultimately came -- and in earnest.
Toledo tied an all-time record with 19 inches of snow on the ground on February 18, 2021. Most of that was thanks to a single event that brought more accumulation in a single snowfall than any other in my life's history (even more than the fabled "Blizzard of '78").
Most of our attention turned to planning for the upcoming field season. But even as the marsh froze solid, there were tons of opportunities to see the strong pulse of life alive amongst a persistent blanket of snow and ice.
Big ducks (mainly mallards with a few pintails) rise above a mostly frozen early February marsh to a rising sun and a setting moon.
"Our eagles" start to show consistent nesting behaviors in the massive tangle they have carefully constructed in the cottonwood next to the estuary.
It must be even colder up there in that seemingly constant wind.
Pretty hard to miss the nest (or even the protruding head/s of eagles) from afar (as always, click to enlarge).
Despite sometimes biting cold, Roy never misses the opportunity to take advantage of conditions to keep the place up. Here, brush mowing helps to maintain dikes and access while not interfering with nesting songbirds.
Even a stark haircut will grow back fast, but it keeps large, potentially destructive trees from getting established on dike slopes and it also gives visual evidence of spots that need special attention.
We were able to take advantage of a completely frozen dike and a few thousand residual dollars in an open grant to carry on the erosion protection we started last August.
This work took place to augment the installation and operation of Structure 2, could be squeezed in between major snowfalls, and can be tidied up as needed this coming summer (although something tells me Roy will find a way to get it done before then).
During the coldest of the cold, Roy spent a couple days exploring with his camera. His finds are worth highlighting here (including this active seep on the edge of the West Marsh, a groundwater spring that remained open all day and night despite temperatures well below zero).
Roy caught these candid shots of a coyote crossing over the south dike with a snowy package of mystery meat -- maybe a muskrat? -- being downwind with lots of fresh snow must have helped keep Roy "concealed" from the distracted canine.
Coyotes are plentiful at Standing Rush (as evidence from our active trail cameras), but it's not very often we even catch a glimpse during broad daylight.
A couple cool shots of another common (but largely nocturnal) mammal of the marsh.
Even in bitter cold, moving water near Structure 1 kept small areas open with shad (in beak above) swimming beneath. This made for some distant (and therefore grainy) images of canvasbacks.
Speaking of grainy, we're still yet to get a good crisp image of one of my favorite marsh birds, the "marsh hawk" or northern harrier. Roy saw individuals scanning the fresh snow on several occasions.
Unfortunately for this mouse, it was oblivious both of Roy and of the dangers lurking from above. Maybe it was distracted by the sub-zero temps that had it out feeding in the sun when this image was captured.
Roy's return to the same vicinity the next day gave evidence that the mouse (or at least a mouse) and the marsh hawk (or a marsh hawk) were "introduced." (Click to enlarge)
Check out a new video that we just posted to our YouTube channel -- we just made updates to make it more publically available
When I first contemplated how to begin this blog project over two years ago, one of my first challenges was to come up with a fitting name. Moment in the Marsh came to me pretty quickly actually because I wanted something that would communicate my most fundamental goal -- giving any and all readers the chance to be transported from wherever they viewed their screen to give them a sense, even for a moment, for what it would be like to be in the field that day.
A somewhat rare glimpse of a coyote during full daylight, blurred by hasty
movement across the camera's view (click to enlarge)
My writing offers some additional opportunity to inform readers with context. The written word provides a venue to communicate challenges and lessons learned and/or simply allows me to journal (something I hope I can look back on years from now to appreciate even more). But it became pretty clear pretty fast that what readers really want to see -- understandably -- are the photographs. Short of being there in person, they really are indispensable as a means to communicate current conditions. Plus, they just convey life in their own unique way, especially when plants and animals are involved.
That's what makes this post so fun. Late last week, I came across a trail camera in our West Marsh that had a memory card that hadn't been fully downloaded in a while -- as it turns out, a long while. The files that I accessed this past fall where in one folder, but there was another folder with a mysterious name. When I clicked it open a couple days ago, I discovered that it had several THOUSAND images from the same vantage point, dating from just before Christmas 2017 through late May 2018. That's several thousand moments; and they all help tell a story.
One of my favorites of a doe in early spring light;
note that she's not alone
(click to enlarge)
A snapshot of nearly every day was photo-documented over this ~five month season. Not surprisingly, many of the stills are simply shots of passing deer, solitary birds flitting past, or grasses blowing in the wind. In all, the list of mammals included not just whitetails, but coyotes, red fox, raccoons, opossums, mink, squirrels, mice, and even a feral cat. Bird species included cardinals, blue jays, red-bellied woodpeckers, song sparrows, marsh sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, catbirds, and yellow-rumped warblers. The cattails, reed canary grass, dogwoods, and lesser-dominant plant species transitioned from snow-covered and dormant to lush and green.
None on this list is particularly noteworthy. Most sightings are actually fairly common. The collage above was assembled for a different reason: I was drawn by the tremendous diversity of visible life that was attracted to one solitary downed limb (toppled by wind and then cut by chainsaw). Starting with a common fox squirrel, I counted twelve species of birds and mammals perched on this woody lookout over just five months. In fact, I counted a fox squirrel -- maybe the same fox squirrel -- on 46 days out of roughly 150. Seems this little critter likes the view at Standing Rush as much as I do.
Even by early July, the familiar vantage point looks pretty markedly different than it did back in December (or any time in
the winter or spring, for that matter); the max temp (in the direct sunlight) is also a pretty sharp contrast from the lowest
recorded temp on this camera series (-12 degrees F) on a snappy overnight in late January
Despite the fact that we see plenty of evidence of coyotes on the property (mainly in the form of scat and tracks),
a motion sensing camera has proven to be the most reliable way to verify their presence
This evening had to mark some kind of a personal record. In just over 90 minutes in a tree stand (4:15 p.m. till dark), I literally saw seven mammals underfoot: white-tailed deer (three -- none in range), coyote, red fox, Virginia opossum, muskrat, fox squirrel, and cottontail rabbit. I would love to know how many mammalian species frequent the marsh in total, but even with several bats, mice, shrews, etc., I'd be surprised if we could get much past a couple dozen.
Seeing the red fox and the coyote during the same sit is noteworthy -- especially when seen just 10 minutes or so apart. While the ODNR lists Erie County as "Medium" in terms of population for both canines, the statewide (and more regional) trends differ pretty dramatically for both furbearers.
Relative abundance based on bowhunter survey indices, 1990-2015 (ODNR, Division of Wildlife);
I placed them next to each other, for a side-by-side comparison (click to enlarge)
The regression lines above demonstrate the broader trend: coyote numbers have been on the increase across Ohio and the Midwest over the last twenty years, while red fox numbers have declined precipitously. I have heard anecdotally that the two species -- while significantly different in size and behavior -- do not commingle nicely. I'm not confident of the science behind this, but I do know (1) coyotes are highly adaptive to both habitat and food sources, and (2) the red fox was struck by a nasty and persistent bout with mange in the early part of the timeline detailed above.
While I can't readily put my fingers on population guestimates, I know from experienced local trappers that numbers of foxes went way down (like to near non-existent) maybe 15 years ago in northern Ohio. Now, they seem to be rebounding. Especially considering the fact that we have picked up as many as six coyotes at a time on the same trail camera (2016), it was fun to see both species tonight. This is only the second time I've seen a red fox on the property in going on three years.
Sunset from my stand this evening -- in addition to my furry visitors, I witnessed dozens of swans (tundras and trumpeters), hundreds of geese, and maybe a thousand ducks enter the marsh -- not to mention the eagles . . . not too shabby
As an aside, I should mention that I saw a groundhog as I pulled into the bunkhouse before hunting (mammal #8), saw a red-tailed hawk glide past with some kind of a miniature rodent (species #9) in its talons, and fittingly, caught a glimpse of a skunk (species #10) as I was pulling out to leave.
The seemingly ever-present raccoon was the only common mammal -- other than maybe a chipmunk or red squirrel -- that I didn't see tonight. My brother did see a mink from his stand last Sunday evening. And with recent signs from beaver (see previous post), our four-legged furry friends seem to be active as of late. I'm still waiting for visual confirmation of this last one. I'm also told an otter isn't completely out of the question.
For a comprehensive list of the most common mammal species found in Ohio, along with some basic information about each, see the ODNR's Species Index Guide.
