It was cold this morning. A wispy mist trailed over the ponds near Rocky River Nature Center. We emerged from the woods and stood, watching for movement on the water or along the banks that might give away a beaver. We were just starting to move away, when Grace grabbed my arm. Beaver!
We see beaver pretty regularly, but this one was right near the bank and mostly out of the water. We had a clear and close up view as he gnawed on a branch and foraged in the mud for tasty morsels. He finally noticed us and swam into a more secluded spot. Fortunately, we could stand above him and continue to observe. Chuck sat down next to me and didn’t move a muscle! Eventually, the cold started getting to us and we had to stand and move around. The beaver looked at us, and slowly slipped into the water and made his away to the lodge.
We spotted an eastern bluebird, its feathers fluffed against the cold. It looked toward the morning sun as if encouraging its warming rays. We watched ducks and geese putter around the pond. A few geese already seem to have claimed nesting spots on little islands of sticks and debris.
We’ve been watching a pair of red tailed hawks preparing their nest and we stopped to see if there was any activity. A passerby told us the nest had been abandoned, but Grace didn’t believe him. She stood, watching with her binoculars, waiting for our friends. Chuck and I wandered up the path a bit. We stood near the bank of the pond not looking at anything in particular. Suddenly, a flurry of wings and fur came flying up the bank and wheeled abruptly right in front of us!
The red tailed hawk was in hot pursuit of a little black squirrel. It had the squirrel in its talons, but somehow the squirrel wriggled free. We watched as the hawk pursued its prey all around a tree. It perched, tilting its head and listening for movement. It swooped down, trying to startle the squirrel into running away. But the squirrel stood its ground. It chirped nervously, and flicked its tail from time to time, but otherwise was very still against the trunk of the tree. Finally, the hawk gave up and took off to pursue another meal.
