At The Muck

Another stop on Saturday was The Muck and IBA (Important Bird Area) along Route 287. The Muck is a marsh in every sense of the word. The area I visited is overgrown with cattails and various other marsh reeds. It's home to muskrat and beaver who are constantly altering the water levels to meet their needs. Several species of rails, herons and ducks make the area their home while trying to avoid the ubiquitous and contentious Canada Geese!

Since birds were at a premium on Saturday, I looked around for other things to photograph. The muskrat I saw was too quick to duck under the reeds and the turtles were not out sunning themselves. That left the plants.

Along the side of the boardwalk heading out to the blind, there are several patches of alders. Line the pines, they produce a small cone--if the beaver lets them live long enough.

Alder cones.

There are also thick patches of wild roses (Multiflora Rosa). Surprisingly there were still some rose hips on the ends of the canes. Normally, these are eaten by the birds. I've seen flocks of grackles, robins and starlings strip the plants bare in an hour or two. I've also seen turkeys leaping into the air to snatch the last few hips on the tippy-top canes. Like most rose hips they are chock full of vitamin-C, but these are too small for me to go nibbling on. Only the size of a raisin, there's only a thin skin of "meat" surrounding a large, hard seed.

Wild Rose hips.

And, being a marsh, there are Cattails. These are a little further gone than the ones I photographed up at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge earlier in the week. Perhaps, the birds have started to shred them fro nesting materials. They are also a bit plumper.
Cattails at The Muck