I haven't been visiting Fontenelle Forest this winter. It has been bitterly cold. Omaha has been one of the coldest cities in
the nation several times. It has been
below -13 degrees but it doesn't feel that warm when the wind is strong. It seldom gets above freezing during any time
of the day. Today's forecast was for 54
degrees. It was perfect weather for a
walk in the woods.
I didn't expect to see much wildlife. The deer are hiding - they aren't aware that
the hunters have left. All the ducks,
geese and water birds are gone - it's hard to swim in ice. Most of the birds have migrated. I usually have more birds at my feeders than
I see in the forest this time of
year. My best chances for
wildlife would be a muskrat or a hawk.
I did see a nuthatch, a junco and a Blue Jay on walk to the
stream. I saw plenty of other people
enjoying the warm day. When I was
approached parents with a couple kids running everywhere but on the trail,
I knew that the wildlife would be hiding today. Apparently not, the father told me that they
had seen a beaver walking along the trail.
I knew better than that, the beavers are never out until dusk. I was sure that they had seen a muskrat. Even so, if the muskrat was out, it was what I
wanted to photograph today.
I carefully scanned the stream as I slowly walked down the
path. No muskrat. I didn't see the beaver next to the path
until I was way too close. I was too
close to focus. I was too close for
comfort. Why was the beaver out and why
didn't it run when it saw me? Was it
that hungry or was it sick? Did it have rabies? I backed up as far as I could go and still see
the beaver. The light was harsh and
there was plenty of brush in the way so I didn't get very good shots. He decided to much on one of the few
remaining cottonwood and was out of my sight.
While I waited for the beaver to reemerge, I photographed a
distant cardinal. I took a few shots of
a couple of distant bald eagles - the first pair that I have ever observed in
the wetlands. As I waited, I tried to
decide what was up with this beaver. A
couple of other people came by and walked within a couple feet of it. It ignored them until it decided to cross the
path and back into the stream. This was
the shot I had been waiting for but the spectators were in the way. When the beaver left, so did they.
I was totally frustrated and decided to wait to see if it
would come out again. As I continued to
wait for a better beaver shot, a hawk circled above. I took a few shots before it circled away and
discovered that the beaver had crossed the trail again. This time, he found a branch and pulled it
across the trail to the water. I wasn't
able to get a clear shot. Once he was in
the water, he nibbled on the branch. I
took photos but conditions were bad.
The weather man was wrong.
It didn't get up to 54 - it got up to 60. While I was disappointed that I didn't get a
good shot of the eagles, I thoroughly enjoyed a warm day without mosquitoes in
the wetlands. If today is any
indication, 2014 is going to be a very good year.
