From the Field - Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

No Bobcat Yet

I recently took a "busman's holiday" of sorts.  I spent several days with some friends at their cabin in North-central Pennsylvania.  We did a lot of wildlife watching. 

One day I was sitting on a stump in a patch of open woods.  My friend walked in to join me and spooked a flock of turkeys.  They began flapping wings and flying all around me.  In fact, I thought a couple were going to slam into me as they tried to get their heavy bodies airborne.  I got a great look at their breast feathers.

Some of the other wildlife I saw were pileated woodpeckers, golden-crowned kinglets, and nuthatches.  Ravens were spotted each day wheeling in the wind and croaking.  Barred owls were heard at night. 

I didn't see a bobcat however.  My friends see them on their property often, but I have yet to see one.  I have seen two of the three North American cats in the wild, but never a bobcat.  (Actually, I should probably include jaguars and ocelots to make it five species.)  I once had a lynx only ten feet away from me in northern Quebec.  And I once watched a mountain lion stalking prey from only 40 yards away in Colorado.  Both sightings allowed me to see these animals in their natural environment with no awareness that a human was nearby.  They are truly marvelous creatures, sinew and fur. 

You would think that bobcats should be fairly easy for me to see, considering there is a large and growing population in Pennsylvania.  They may even visit Mariton from time to time, although I have yet to find any sign of them.  So, I will keep hoping that someday a bobcat crosses my trail.

Got Goulashes?

I don't need to tell anyone that it rained A LOT yesterday.  At Mariton, we received 2.35 inches of rain in about 24 hours.  Consider that the average for the entire month of November is 3.37 inches, and you will realize how big a rain event that was. 

This morning, the TV weather folk announced that the Pineapple Express will be delivering a series of low pressure areas to the Northwest (U.S.), which will then cross the county to our area.  They forecast some rain every 2 -4 days, or sometime mid-week and then again sometime during the weekend.  Get your boots ready.

Even though I spent most of the day in the office, I did get out on the trails for a couple hours.  Because most of our trails go up the hill, heavy rains can cause a lot of erosion.  I like to check the trails during heavy rains to find the areas that need attention.  We have installed water bars on a lot of the trails.  In fact, Boy Scouts have been very important in installing and replacing waterbars over the years at Mariton.  I was pleased that very little water was running on the trails.  In addition to the waterbars, the thick layer of leaves on the ground were holding the water and releasing it slowly.