The Marsh Project Week #36

I'm getting a little behind in my marsh project documentation, and some of it is my fault, but forces beyond my control are also playing a role- we've had a huge amount of rain, and the marsh area has been flooded and inaccessible.  Fortunately, I was able to access the trail for a short afternoon walk yesterday, and it was a mess- leaves and branches everywhere, and lots of mud.  I was really glad I was wearing my waterproof boots.

This area is located right below a large dam, and sometimes water is released from the dam at a rapid rate, and it attracts pelicans, cormorants, egrets and herons to feed on the fish.  The pelicans wait just past where the rapids of the water coming out of the outlet gates subside; they are entertaining to watch as they fish, bob on the water, and defend their fishing grounds from other birds.  However, the area is also popular with the two-legged fishermen.  Usually we can all co-exist together, but unfortunately sometimes challenges emerge- sometimes birds get entangled in the plastic fishing line, and they cannot always free themselves.

On Friday, a nature-loving friend of mine posted on his Facebook page that he had seen an American white pelican get entangled in line below the outlet gates, and the pelican had to be rescued by the local fire department.   I've cleaned up enough fishing line in the last few years to fill up several large trash bags, and I've developed a loathing for the stuff.  I wish I knew the magic formula for getting people to pick up their fishing line (and other trash) but I don't, and it seems so unfair to the birds who unwittingly get tangled up in fishing line and have to fight (sometimes unsuccessfully) to get free.  We can't fix all the world's problems, but picking up trash and fishing line is always a step in the right direction.

I was expecting not to see much wildlife on my hike, except perhaps for some gulf fritillary butterflies, some winter sparrows and some late fall dragonflies- the last few Eastern pondhawks, a few common green darners, and the variegated meadowhawks. What I wasn't expecting to see was a red saddlebags, hanging on.  Of course, it had chosen a perch with lighting not conducive to great nature photography, but I did my best.

I had another surprise waiting for me as I got closer to the end of the trail- a cottonmouth snake, curled up on a fallen tree trunk.  The striking thing about this snake was that it had different coloration than what I'm used to seeing.  I got several photos (from a respectful distance, as always) before it slithered off the log to go about its snakey business.

This morning, the outlet gates were being opened further, so the trail will be inaccessible again, but fortunately there are other trails to explore; the winter birds (the kinglets, the sparrows, the wrens) are coming; I can hear them tweeting in the branches, so we'll be playing hide and seek all winter.