Date: November 15, 2018
Time: 3:54 PM- 4:30 PM
Temperature: 53 degrees Fahrenheit
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Mill Creek Nature Preserve
Hello again,
Today was an interesting day that didn’t go as I had expected. I arrived, as I do every week, at the Mill Creek Nature Preserve at 3:54 PM. As always, the entrance had some Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) climbing up and down the cedar trees, chasing each other on the ground, and scavenging for food. Continuing to walk along the path, I saw 8 female and male Mallard ducks (Ana platyrhynchos) floating on the farthest end of the lake away from my location. Walking along some more, I look on the left, on the edge of the bridge, I saw the most beautiful pair, male and female, Wood ducks (Alix sponsa). The male Wood duck that stuck out was incredibly colorful. There was a round head with a drooping crest, a bright white “bridle”, and a long tail. The drooping crest is a green color on top, but at different angles and different lighting, the drooping crest looked a blue-purple-green mix. The eyes were red and round. The bill is orange with a black stripe along the top of the bill. The sides of the head is white and black, and the neck, breast, and rump is a red-brown color. The sides of the body has a small stripe of white and black, then a block of yellow. The back of the Wood duck was a mix of Black, white, blue, and purple. The female Wood duck had a white spot around the eye, and grayish, pale spotted flanks. The bill is a dark grey color, the main color of the head and body is gray. The breast and along the side of the body is spotted between light and dark grey. The back of the female Wood duck was mainly grey, until the end of the tips was a bluish purple color. From both sexes, there is a small bill, a drooping crest, and a long broad tail. The Wood duck is smaller in size than the Mallard duck. From the 50m photo, the trees are becoming more bare and the location is looking more depressing as the leaves are gone from the trees. The grasses are now turning yellow, but still mainly green. At the 1m photo, all of the fallen leaves are not a grey color and beginning to rot.
Photo of male and female Wood Ducks (Alix sponsa)
Photo of Male Wood Duck (Alix sponsa)
Photo of Female Wood Duck (Alix sponsa)
Photo of all Mallard Ducks (Ana platyrhynchos) and Wood Ducks (Alix sponsa) paddling in the lake
Update photo at Mill Creek Nature Preserve at 50 sq. m.
Update photo at Mill Creek Nature Preserve at 1 sq. m.
Poem #1
I am wet and moist, slimy and gleaming
Slowly inching down a mossy filled rock.
Leaving behind a shiny trail.
I do not have a home on my back, like my lucky relatives,
But I seek refuge in the moist places such as fields, woods, and gardens.
I am also found under rocks, vegetation, and shaded areas.
When I extend, I am long and slender
But, I am small and thick when I compress.
I see with two long skinny drumsticks,
And smell with two small skinny drumsticks.
All of which move independently.
They move outward and inward,
Left and right, up and down.
I forage on leaves of plants.
Note: This is a description of a Garden Slug (Order: Stylommatophora) on a mossy rock.
Poem #2
Cloudy and gloomy, as clouds hover over me
Taunting with the moisture of rain
Slight breezes cuts at my skin.
Leaves of the Bigleaf Maple and Red Alder scatter across the ground
Creating a speckled path between leaves and pebbles.
The leaves connected on the trees turn colors,
Red, yellow, and orange,
Waiting for their time to graciously flutter to the ground
However, leaves that remain on the ground lose colors
From their red, yellow, and orange to brown to grey
The grasses are green beginning to turn yellow.
Note: This is a description of my broad landscape at the Mill Creek Nature Preserve.
Poem #3
Scurrying across the fields and grasses,
Climbing up and down the Western Hemlock trees,
Chasing one another as two friends play.
I scurry away when I sense danger is near, I hide away when predators are close.
During the winter, I eat and eat to get fat and stay warm.
I open the nuts with my small like hands, and carry my food in my cheeks to be eaten later.
The trees is a place called home for me and my friends and family.
I am most commonly seen throughout the day.
When I am seen, I have a bushy tail curled in the shape of a question mark,
I am usually a grey blob at first glance.
The way I move is in hill formations of “m’s”,
Hopping from my hind quarters and landing on my front quarters.
Note: This is a description of Eastern grey squirrels (Order: Rodentia) playing and chasing together.
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