I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Our everyday lives obscure a truth about existence – that at the heart of everything there lies a stillness and a light.
~Lynn Thomson
After a rainy first day at Pungo, I headed to the coast, hoping for better weather the next day. On my way to Pea Island, I stopped at Bodie Island lighthouse early the next morning under gray skies and a steady breeze.
Bodie Island lighthouse a day after heavy rains (click photos to enlarge)
Over the years, I have had good luck birding here, especially on the large marshy ponds out past the lighthouse. But this day yielded almost no birds out there, at least none close enough to see. But the heavy rains the day before had left large pools of standing water in every low spot on the grounds, including a very large pool out by the parking lot. I pulled the car alongside just off the road enough to allow others to pass, and I sat for well over an hour, observing and photographing the birds feeding and bathing in the pool.
A trio of White Ibis feeding at the edge of the grassy poolThe dark water made for good reflections
— The ibis continually probed the soft ground as they walked along, probably picking up worms.
— Some birds came to the pool to bathe.
A Killdeer hunts farther from the water in the short grass
My favorite subject at the pool was a group of Greater Yellowlegs feeding in the shallow water. They did not call so the best way to identify them as Greater Yellowlegs instead of their smaller cousin, the Lesser Yellowlegs, was their stockiness and the bill length relative to their head depth. In greaters, the rather stout bill is 1.5+ times the depth of the head. In lessers, it is just a little larger than the depth of the head, plus the bill is noticeably thinner its entire length. They were masters at catching earthworms that had no doubt come to the surface of the soil due to the flooded conditions.
A Grater Yellowlegs catches a wormThat bill is a delicate but deadly instrument for handling their preyGreat Black-backed Gull dipping its beak in the waterA Boat-tailed Grackle high-stepping it through the pool
The birds seemed totally unconcerned by my presence (and by a couple of other bird watchers out of their vehicles), but did fly off in a panic when two Bald Eagles came flying through, one chasing the other. They moved through so fast I missed my chance at a photo, but, after that, the only birds that came back were a few gulls and some grackles. But, a good start to my day on the coast. More about the other critters I saw in the next post.
Our public lands – whether a national park or monument, wildlife refuge, forest or prairie – make each one of us land-rich. It is our inheritance as citizens of a country called America.
~Terry Tempest Williams
Last week was another of those times I really appreciate our public lands. I spent four days on the road in eastern North Carolina doing what I love to do – watching and photographing wildlife and sharing it with others. I started out Wednesday morning at the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR. It was sunny when I arrived and one of the impoundments finally had some standing water in it so there were some swans hanging out close enough to observe and photograph.
Tundra Swans milling about in Marsh A on the Pungo Unit (click photos to enlarge)
The day started to take a turn as mid-day approached with light rain showers developing and a rainbow out across the fields.
Distant swans in a rainbow
The rest of the day was the kind of weather where my camera stayed in the car. Unfortunately, I didn’t, and before the day was done I was soaked along with a couple of folks hanging out with me. It wasn’t a total loss (it never is) as we did see a nice young bear and a wild canid. I am pretty sure it was a Red Wolf (that would be the 15th I have seen at Pungo over the years) but I can’t be 100% sure as it was about a hundred yards away when it dashed across a grassy road giving us about a 5 second view. In all my trips to Pungo, I have never seen a coyote but I know they do occur. This canid looked large and leggy, so I am pretty sure it was one of the few remaining Red Wolves in the wild.
The next couple of days were spent further east and I’ll share those highlights in the next post. Friday I was back at Pungo and enjoying the gang of four otters that have been a mainstay of the Pungo wildlife show this winter. One had caught a Bowfin and was munching away in a tangle of brush.
River Otter chewing on the head of a Bowfin
Two other cars had stopped and were out photographing the otter, so I moved on. Later that afternoon, I encountered the otter again and this time they climbed out on the bank and I was able to grab a portrait of one before they all disappeared into the canal.
Otter portrait
At sunset, we were out in the fields near the maintenance area where several thousand Snow Geese were already landing for their evening snack of corn. It is such a privilege to witness this gathering of birds and to share it with others.
I have been lucky to have seen this sunset show well over a hundred times in the almost 40 years I have been going to Pungo and it never gets old. And I love the reactions of people witnessing it for the first time. It is something they never forget.
The next morning was very cold, but sunny. Birds were flying, we had glimpses of the otter again, and a friend spotted a bird I don’t see very often – a King Rail. It was feeding along the bank of D-Canal and allowed us to sit and watch it for several minutes before disappearing into the tangle of vines and debris in what looked like a Muskrat or Nutria burrow entrance.
A King Rail was a highlight for me at Pungo
Mid-day found us driving over to Mattamuskeet where there were many more visitors and tons of waterfowl in the impoundment. Many of the visitors looked like duck hunters and I always wonder what’s going through their minds as they stare out at thousands of ducks. Northern Pintails are particularly abundant this time of year. The whistle calls of the males can be heard everywhere along Wildlife Drive. Anytime an eagle flies over, hundreds of ducks take flight and circle until the threat is gone.
A Great Egret stalking small fish in the shallows
The water level was high in the impoundment, so the ducks had free range over most of it and the waders tended to feed along the edges or at grassy islands. Great Egrets and White Ibis stood out in their white outfits against the dried grasses and blue water.
A pair of White Ibis crisscrossing their bills for the photo
Back at Pungo, we looked for and found the King Rail not far from its morning feeding area. It continued to skulk up under the overhanging tangle of vines and grasses along the canal edge…no wonder I rarely see them.
The King Rail was only a few yards from its morning spot when we returned from MattamuskeetThe golden glow of late afternoon light on a pair of Tundra Swans in Marsh A
We walked down “Bear Road” seeing a couple of bears across the field and enjoying the beautiful crisp winter day. A few swans flew over, serenading us with their mournful whoo-whoo calls. I ran into several folks I know (I guess I am partly responsible for all these refuge visitors) and then headed out to the front fields, hoping for a show of several thousand Snow Geese. I stopped at the observation platform and did not see the birds out on the lake, so we rushed to the front fields where we found several hundred geese mixed in with feeding swans in the field. Where were the others?
Snow Geese swarming over the fields after a pair of Bald Eagles made the scene
We had not been there very long when I saw waves of birds flying in from the north. They had either been off refuge or around the bend in the lake, invisible from the platform. This was a huge flock of several thousand, flying in with their noisy nasal calls, swirling around the field with the late day sun reflecting on their bodies in a soft rainbow of colors. We were on the west side of the fields this time (I had been on the east side the night before) so the light was very different. The flock was landing about midway in the field, but when they would swirl around, hundreds of birds flew near us, squawking as they tried to settle down to feed. A couple of Bald Eagles flew across, chasing one another, and the geese exploded into the air (the swans stay put when eagles appear).
The magic of Pungo…
I believe there were more cars that night than I have seen at the sunset show (at least twenty scattered on both sides of the field), but, quite frankly, I’m amazed there aren’t a hundred cars every night. But, the birds are not always predictable and the weather can greatly affect their behavior. When conditions are right, like this past week, there is nothing like this anywhere else in North Carolina. Thank you, public lands managers.
Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.
~Charles Dickens
This past Thursday was our annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count at Pettigrew State Park. As usual, Melissa and I covered our part of the count circle, much of the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. We had planned to camp at Pettigrew State Park the night before, but predicted rain convinced us to just get up early and head down and start close to sunrise. The day dawned cloudy with the potential for rain and conditions on the refuge were not ideal for seeing birds (the dark gray skies make seeing any color or patterns difficult). We started with two bears ambling along the edge of a cornfield as we entered the refuge (I know it is supposed to be a bird count, but we can’t help ourselves). A little farther along, we were seeing a bunch of sparrows and other songbirds in the thick vegetation along one of the canals when I spotted a bunny sitting quietly on the bank.
A rabbit sitting quietly along a roadside canal (click photos to enlarge)
The weather wasn’t the only thing making our observations difficult. The drought and some much needed road construction that impacted one of the feeder canals has left the managed waterfowl impoundments dry this year. This makes it much more difficult to observe the waterfowl up close and it looks like it has caused some of the birds to move elsewhere this winter as swan numbers seemed quite low compared to previous years.
Marsh A is almost totally dry this year (iPhone photo)
The roadside canals were also very low with many having dry spots or mounds of vegetation. Those with water had hunting herons, kingfishers, and a group of otters taking advantage of the concentration of potential prey. We stopped at one spot to look for songbirds and Melissa spotted a wake in the canal, most of which was obscured by overhanging vegetation. She then saw the wake maker – an otter, then 2, 3, and 4 otters appeared. We followed them for awhile and they eventually piled onto a ledge in a tangle of brush and brambles and started rolling around and grooming, occasionally glancing our way. Certainly not the ideal photo, but cool to watch.
The gang of four otters lounging in a tangle and of branches on the bank
Oh, yeah, back to the birds. I look forward to spending time up close to the swans every winter on Marsh A (the usually flooded impoundment with easy road access and plenty of space so people can space themselves out). But the drought and road construction this winter (which hindered the re-flooding of Marsh A) has left it high and dry with only a few puddles scattered over the vast area that typically has a couple of thousand swans in it every day from December through February. It is interesting to finally see how very shallow it is, making it ideal for puddle ducks and the swans. There are a couple of species that have taken advantage of the new giant mud flats – Killdeer and Wilson’s Snipe were scattered about. It is amazing how well both species (especially the snipe) blend in to this type of habitat. We started glassing the area after finding the first few snipe and eventually counted over 50 strewn across the rumpled terrain.
Wilson’s Snipe blend in very well to the mud and dried vegetation covered landscape of the dry Marsh A
The unusually warm temperatures gave us the odd combination of winter birds and spring time reptiles and amphibians – lots of turtles out basking, spring peepers calling, along with numerous flying insects (even one Sleepy Orange butterfly).
A male (right) and female Yellow-bellied Slider chilling on a log. Note the long claws on the front feet of the male that he uses to stroke the neck of a female during courtship.
One of the day’s highlights was spotting a group of nine Sandhill Cranes far out in a field feeding alongside swans. The cranes have been regular winter visitors at Pungo for several years now, starting with a group of three for a few winters, then up to five last winter. Nine is a new high for us on the Christmas Count. I guess they’re telling their friends about the wonders of NC.
Seven of the nine Sandhill Cranes we observed
The unseasonably warm day wore on without a lot of bird activity. Luckily, we were given a Special Use Permit for access to a viewing area on Pungo Lake where we spent quite awhile scanning the water for ducks (without that permit, our grand total for ducks observed would have been two mallards since everything was in the lake due to the dry conditions). Satisfied we had seen most of the waterfowl on the lake, we headed back to look for species we thought should be on the refuge that we had not yet seen. But we were soon distracted again by our gang of otters.
The otter gang (photo by Melissa Dowland)
We drove up alongside the group as they were swimming in one of the canals. They were on Melissa’s side of the vehicle and she managed a rare shot where all four heads are visible at once. I drove ahead and we waited as they approached us and a large mat of vegetation in the canal.
One otter coming toward me
As is often the case, when they reached the vegetation-clogged area in the canal, they disappeared for a few seconds. Then, one by one, they popped their heads up and looked at us, occasionally snorting their disapproval. This went on for about a minute, and then they were off again swimming out ahead of us.
Two of the otter popping up from the vegetation to check me out
Up ahead was a juncture of several canals where otter frequently cross the road, so we drove beyond them and waited just beyond that spot. They kept coming toward us and then one otter came up out of the canal and ran across the dike, carrying a large prey. On our first sighting that morning, one otter had caught a large fish and carried it into the brush on the bank to eat. This one had something long and skinny. I thought it might be an amphiuma, a type of large aquatic salamander common in these habitats, but the otter moved out of sight quickly, followed by the other three, all heading into a canal on the other side.
Otter moving across the canal dike with fresh prey (photo by Melissa Dowland)
I had stepped out of the truck to move to the front to hopefully get a photo, but Melissa had the better angle (again!) and managed several photos as the otter carried its prey across the open ground. Indeed, looking at it on her camera, we could see it was a large salamander! There are a couple of species of large aquatic salamanders that live in these coastal plain ditches and swamps – the Greater Siren and the Two-toed Amphiuma. Both species can grow to over 3 feet in length and both resemble large eels when seen at a distance. Sirens have external gills (we can’t readily distinguish any in the few photos we have) and have only a front pair of legs. The back of the salamander was dragging on the ground so I can’t tell if there are hind legs or not. Looking at images online, it seems that the front legs of a Greater Siren are more substantial than those of an amphiuma, so I am now leaning toward this otter snack being a Greater Siren, but I will happily listen to any opinions from salamanderologists out there.
A close crop reveals the prey is a large aquatic salamander, probably a Greater Siren! (photo by Melissa Dowland)
The otter incident revived our spirits and we moved into high gear, looking for species likely to occur here but that we were still missing. Wild Turkeys are often seen in a field at the edge of the refuge, so we headed in that direction, stopping at a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds to scan for cowbirds and grackles. The turkeys were out in their field, so that added another species.
A gathering of Red-winged Blackbirds
Back near the lake, groups of Snow Geese flew off for their late day feeding in nearby crop fields. We scanned the long lines of birds overhead, looking for a smaller bird mixed in with the flock, a Ross’s Goose. They look like a diminutive Snow Goose, being just over half the size of their bigger cousin. I can find them when they are in a field feeding if the smaller bird is on the outside edge of the flock. Or, I have learned to spot them by scanning a line of flying geese and seeing the obviously smaller one. Thursday, we only managed one Ross’s Goose despite scanning a few hundred flying birds.
Snow Geese flying out of Pungo Lake for their late day feeding (iPhone photo)
We ended the day walking down my long-time favorite spot – “Bear Road”. As rain showers were looming, the now usual crowd at Bear Road had headed home so we had it all to ourselves. Solitude here is now a rare privilege that makes me appreciate even more all the times I experienced this in years past. We picked up an Eastern Screech Owl and another Great Horned Owl, along with bunches of White-throated Sparrows and a few other songbirds (oh, and a mama bear with two cubs). Though not one of our more productive bird species days, a day in the field, especially at Pungo, is always a good day.
Species observed on our part of the count:
10000 Snow Goose 1 Ross’s Goose 280 Canada Goose 3140 Tundra Swan 1 Wood Duck 48 Northern Shoveler 300 Gadwall 300 American Wigeon 75 Mallard 12 American Black Duck 26 Northern Pintail 428 Ring-necked Duck 2 Ruddy Duck 5 Wild Turkey 33 Mourning Dove 9 Sandhill Crane 89 Killdeer 55 Wilson’s Snipe 230 Ring-billed Gull 7 Great Blue Heron 3 Black Vulture 36 Turkey Vulture 2 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Eastern Screech-Owl 4 Great Horned Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Pileated Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 4 American Kestrel 8 Eastern Phoebe 4 Blue Jay 25 American Crow 8 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Tree Swallow 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Brown-headed Nuthatch 1 Winter Wren 10 Carolina Wren 3 Gray Catbird 2 Brown Thrasher 3 Northern Mockingbird 2 Eastern Bluebird 2 Hermit Thrush 548 American Robin 2 American Goldfinch 103 White-throated Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 49 Song Sparrow 18 Swamp Sparrow 1 Eastern Towhee 7 Eastern Meadowlark 430 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Common Grackle 50 Yellow-rumped Warbler 35 Northern Cardinal
He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter….
~John Burroughs
May you find happiness and peace this holiday season. A few images from winters past…
Winter day along the South Fork of the Holston River, dsamascus, VAReflections in our creek on a cold winter dayHungry bluebird gulping a dogwood berryMy one and only ever Snowy Owl on the OBX in December 2013Bear track at PungoIcicle on Blue Ridge ParkwayWinter sunrise on Lake PhelpsTundra Swans at Pungo
Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You plant it in the ground and it explodes into an oak.
~George Bernard Shaw
The trail cameras have been busy these past few months with lots of images of squirrels (too many), raccoons, opossums, two coyotes (finally, I was beginning to wonder what happened), a few raptors, loads of deer, some neighbor kids, and, unfortunately, too many outdoor cats. I tend to leave the cameras in one location for some time to try to get a feel for the wildlife activity in that particular area. I moved one camera slightly back in October to get a better angle on what seemed to be a lot of foraging around a large Northern Red Oak down-slope from the house. This has been an off year for acorns in our woods with almost no White Oak acorns produced. White Oak acorns mature in summer and drop in the fall (one year). The red oak group of acorns take 2 years to drop, but some are produced every spring, so, even in a bad acorn production year, there are some red oak acorns still on the tree. So, in our woods this year, the critters that rely on acorns for a portion of their autumn diet have been concentrating on the red oaks.
The deer have been particularly busy at the large red oaks as there isn’t a lot of understory that they haven’t already over-browsed. The one camera placed near the large Northern Red Oak has had a lot of clips taken of the animals scavenging the acorns that have dropped. Interestingly, very few squirrels have been seen eating the acorns on the ground, probably because they tend to do a lot of their foraging in the tree tops. Here is a selection of the goings on at the old oak tree this season…
A group of deer foraging under the large Northern Red Oak on our property
Sometimes they don’t play nice while searching for acorns.
A doe strikes at another deer to drive her away from what might be a good spot for acorns
Sometimes there are other woodland critters getting in on the bounty under the oak tree…
A Southern Flying Squirrel scurries around the oak trunk
A deer wanders over to check out what the raccoon may have found (raccoons were common at night in the area around the tree)
A rabbit was a frequent visitor under the tree
What I enjoyed the most was watching deer crack the acorns – the way their jaws move, the sounds (sound up for these video clips).
A doe chews loudly on an acorn
Crunchy breakfast
The action under this tree was pretty constant, day and night, for a few weeks, lasting through about the third week of November when most of the acorn drop ceased. Now, an occasional visit by a deer is captured on that camera, but they typically are seen sniffing the leaves a bit before moving on. Winter has set in and times will be tougher for some of our woodland neighbors until the spring green starts to appear.
If you want to look at the same place and see different things, look at the same place from different perspectives!
~Mehmet Murat ildan
While we were away over Thanksgiving, our good friends had family (their son and his fiancé) in town and he brought his drone. They flew it over their house and posted the video on social media. I apparently oohed and aahed over it in my reply, so they were kind enough to come over to our house in the woods and fly over our abode. Here is the wonderful video they shared (thank you, Kennedy!).
A short drone video showing our house surrounded by woods
It is certainly interesting to view your sanctuary from this perspective. As you can see, we definitely live “in the woods”. The video doesn’t show the one house we can see from ours, a large brick house not far off the northwest corer of the video but you can see the expanse of large trees that surround our home. Below is a still from another video showing some of the landscape features we have added:
The two “circles” (one in front of the house, below it in this pic; and one off the lower right corner of the house) are amphibian pools. We have recently refurbished both of them (only one was completed when the image was taken) since the liners finally sprung leaks after 23+ years.
Still photo of the house and surroundings from another angle
2. There is minimal “yard” and much of the green you see to the right of the house is actually moss.
3. There are wildflower beds in what appear as brown ground cover inside the tree line, plus a small vegetable garden adjacent to the right of the house (you can see the curved line of the rabbit fence around the garden).
4. About an acre+ is surrounded by a deer fence. The other 13 acres, along with many acres of adjoining wooded lots, is for the deer and other large wildlife. Most of our property lies behind the house (beyond the top of this picture). On thing that is hard to see in the images is the steep terrain behind the house as it drops off over a hundred feet down to a wet weather stream before ascending to a comparable height on a very-looking different south-facing slope.
If you look fast, you may see the old stock tank we refurbished as an outdoor tub located just off the upper right corner of the house (the screen porch).
When the house was built 24 years ago, there was much more of an opening in the trees and more sunlight for the native plant gardens. I guess it may be time to limb up a few of the trees. The area around our house (and most of our property) is a mature hardwood forest. The dominant tree species are Tulip Poplar, White Oak, Northern Red Oak, a couple of species of hickory, some maples, and a variety of understory trees. Loblolly Pines appear here and there, especially in the few flatter sections along the ridge that were farmed up until about 75 years ago.
This is a great way to get a feel for the habitat you see in many of the blog posts about the plants and animals that are our wild neighbors. Of course, now I want to do this in every season.
The wild hawk stood with the down on his beak and stared with his foot on the prey.
~Lord Alfred Tennyson
One day last week as I was walking through the bedroom, I glanced out the back window and saw something on a tree trunk just beyond the deer fence. This tree has fallen to the point that the trunk is almost parallel to the ground. The critter was in the shade and was upright so there was not a lot of detail and I assumed it was a squirrel and started to look away. It then made a sudden move and I saw what looked like a wing go up on one side. I grabbed the binoculars (we have a pair at a window in every room, don’t you?) and looked – it was a Cooper’s Hawk! I went into the other room to get my camera and when I returned, the feathered blob on the trunk was gone, or so I thought. I then saw it on the ground below the tree, and it was pulling at something. When I got it in the binoculars again, I could see it had a large prey item and was tearing pieces and eating. But the bird had its back to me and its body blocked much of the view of what it had caught. I finally saw some fur and then a head as the hawk yanked on its prey – it was a Gray Squirrel.
Now, I must admit I have a love-hate (maybe mostly the latter) thing with the squirrels on our property as they love to dig up plants out of flower pots, raid the garden veggies at times (mainly tomatoes and peas), chew on our deck wood, chew on our Christmas light wires (I had to repair them 4 times last year), etc. So, I was somewhat pleased that this Cooper’s had made a successful kill. Last winter, we had a Cooper’s Hawk spend much of the season around our property, occasionally grabbing some birds near our feeders. Over a span of a few months, I documented two Mourning Doves, one Downy Woodpecker, and one male Northern Cardinal that fell victim to the stealth fighter hawk in our yard or just downhill in our woods.
Cooper’s Hawks and their smaller cousin, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, are primarily bird predators. Their rounded wings and long tail enable them to maneuver swiftly through the trees in pursuit of songbirds. They often use obstructions as cover to surprise their prey, zooming in low just above vegetation until close enough to strike. I even saw the one last year use our house as cover when it flew up and over our roof (coming straight down from the roof) to surprise birds at the feeder off our back deck. They will take other prey, including small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and larger birds. I once saw one take down a Wood Duck that flew up from a roadside canal at Pocosin Lakes NWR.
I was anxious to get some photos of this bird and it seemed preoccupied with its meal, so I started shooting with my large telephoto. Hand-holding that lens and taking pictures through the bathroom window ( better angle than the bedroom), wasn’t giving me much in the way of sharp images.
A quick clip of the Cooper’s Hawk feeding on a squirrel
So, I decided to get the tripod from the basement and see if that would help (the bird was in deep shade and shooting through the window probably didn’t help). The hawk continued to feed as I set it up. I opted to do some video as that is sometimes more forgiving of low light than still shots (above is one of those clips). Perhaps I could open the window to get a better shot. I slowly cranked it open, only moving the window when the hawk bent over to pull meat off the squirrel. Once it was fully open, I turned back to position myself at the camera and when I looked through the viewfinder, the hawk was gone.
I waited, scanned the trees, thinking it might have seen me move inside the window and would come back to finish its meal. Nothing…so, after a few minutes I went down to the tree to take a look.
Bits of fur and blood on the leaning treeAll that remained was a small piece of squirrel fur
To my surprise, the hawk had flown off with the squirrel! That is a fairly large package for a Cooper’s Hawk to carry, but all that was left was a few spots of blood and a piece of squirrel hide about 4 inches across. I was bummed I had missed seeing the hawk flying off, but thrilled to witness such an adept predator in action. No doubt, it or another one will provide some other opportunities to appreciate their skills in the coming months.
On the river, time does not exist – only the sound of the rushing water, the cries of the wood thrush and crow and the sight of light dancing on the water.
~Ginny Masullo
Our second paddle adventure back in October was on a section of the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The Buffalo River was our nation’s first national river, designated as such in 1972. It flows over 135 miles and is one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states. Unlike the spring-fed Current River in Missouri, the Buffalo is largely rainfall dependent. This means paddlers must be very aware of possible changes in river levels due to storms, even those far upriver. When we stopped at Wild Bill’s Outfitters to arrange our shuttle, the staff mentioned the possibility of severe storms during our stay, with a chance for hail, possible tornadoes, etc. He added that these predicted storms often “amount to diddly-squat” as they tend to break up when they hit the mountains. But, he echoed the park literature advice and said we should “camp high” on the gravel bars since the river can jump over one foot in an hour under the right conditions. Melissa asked, how high is high? He said at least 4 feet, and make sure you have an escape route to higher ground, just in case. Well, four feet above the river level is not a common change in elevation on many of the gravel bars we encountered and on some that did have that, they dropped down as you approached the higher ground, so you could end up being on an island if the river rises, which is something that is not advised.
We decided to go ahead since the forecast called for good weather the rest of our 4-day window. We launched at Dillard’s Ferry and planned to take out 39 miles later at a private resort on the White River across from where the Buffalo joined it. We were particularly excited about paddling the Lower Buffalo River Wilderness Area, a 25-mile stretch that relatively few people paddle because, once you are in it, there is no place to take out until you get to the White River.
We paddled about 39 miles between Dillard’s Ferry and the juncture of the Buffalo and White Rivers, including the remote Lower Buffalo Wilderness (click photos to enlarge)
Right away, the Buffalo impresses you as being on a grander scale than the Current River – the bluffs are longer and much higher, soaring to about 500 feet above the crystal clear river in some areas. The cliffs are sandstone, limestone, and dolomite and add a dramatic backdrop to the beauty of the river. Fall color was just starting to paint the bluffs with red and yellow and many of the deeper hole in the river were that same aquamarine we had seen on our previous paddle.
Long bluff along the Buffalo RiverWe frequently scanned the high bluffs for wildlife and usually saw vultures, a few hawks, and an occasional Bald Eagle soaring above
On our first evening, we watched a beaver across the river, busily preening while sitting on a submerged rock ledge underneath an overhang of a bluff. Thirty seven vultures soared over and gradually settled in to roost. The white head and tail of an adult Bald Eagle glowed gold in the setting sun as it circled on a thermal and transformed into a mere speck in the sky above.
It is a dramatic juxtaposition when a bluff emerges directly out of the riverOne of our favorite campsitesA beautiful sunset over our gravel bar campsite
The next day we encountered some shallow riffles, requiring us to get out and pull the canoe for short distances. The wind was our constant companion and even had us paddling into white caps on some of the long straight stretches of the river (I don’t think I have ever paddled into white caps while going downstream on a river). Wildlife sightings included a couple of otter, two eagles, and some wood ducks.
Another beautiful scene along the river
At one stop we found evidence of lots of other wildlife. See if you can guess who the track makers were (answers at bottom of post).
On the upper stretches of the Buffalo you may even encounter some elk, which were reintroduced to the region over 30 years ago. We did see deer a couple of times, but no elk.
An aptly named Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) greeted us on one gravel bar
On our second night, we searched for a campsite that was a few feet above the river level as this was the night for the predicted storms. We found a location about 4 feet in elevation, but it required dragging the canoe quite a distance (unloaded, of course). But we felt secure and had our backs to some higher ground, just in case. No storm materialized in our area that night, but at one point I looked out and could see near constant lightning far off to the west.
Our high and dry campsiteFall color along the riverAnother dramatic cliff face coming straight out of the water
Our last campsite of the trip was on a beautiful, wide gravel bar across from another bluff. We had seen two more eagles that day, and another flew by as we were setting up camp. While exploring for firewood sticks, I found one eagle feather. This section of river had more eagles and more kingfishers than further upstream, no doubt due to the increase in smaller fish we were seeing.
Feather from a Bald Eagle (we left it on the beach after taking this photo)Another spectacular sunset was a great way to end our canoe camping adventure
After a gorgeous sunset we settled in for a nice campfire and some star gazing. It wasn’t long before we experienced something new to us both – exploding rocks in the campfire. There was a particularly large burst of flame and sparks when I added some sticks to the fire early in the evening which caught us both by surprise. We thought it was something in the sticks I had added until we started hearing little whizzing sounds, similar to the sounds a flying bullet makes in cartoons. Suddenly, Melissa got hit in the forehead by a small pebble and we realized the rocks were exploding in the fire. This, our last night, was the first time on our entire trip we had experienced anything like this. It turns out, exploding campfire rocks is a thing caused by moisture trapped in certain rock types. When the rock gets heated high enough, the water vaporizes and can cause the rock to splinter, shooting rock fragments up to several feet. We scooted back away from the fire, and I stirred it, spreading out the ashes to reduce the heat. This soon stopped the rock fireworks. Melissa surmised that the cliff face near us was sandstone rather than the dominant limestone and dolomite bluffs we had encountered on most of our trip and this created this unusual phenomenon.
An exciting final night campfire complete with exploding rocksHere is a pebble that shot about 6 feet from the fire and embedded itself into a plastic bag with an audible thudOur final misty morning on the Buffalo RiverOne of the well-known landmarks on the lower Buffalo – Elephant Head RockThe end of our journey as the White River comes into view
On our final morning, we enjoyed another otter encounter and marveled at how one can disappear even when you are close enough to see its bubbles pass under your canoe. The river widened as we approached the confluence with the larger White River and it became harder to dodge the increasingly common huge boulders just below the surface. We had to pick our way through some boulder fields before hitting the fast flowing current of the White River. That river is controlled by a dam upstream and we were advised it can be difficult to paddle upstream when they release water. When we hit the confluence, it suddenly became almost impossible to paddle the short distance upstream we needed to in order to go around the island to our take out location just across the river. We ended up getting to the shore of the island and walking the canoe around the tip so we could then paddle with the current to the canoe landing. And, it turns out, this was normal flow (there was no release of water from the dam that day). I can’t imagine trying to paddle that stretch when water is being released.
Our adventure had ended and now we had a couple of days travel back home. What a trip – two beautiful crystal clear rivers, amazing scenery, beautiful weather, star-filled nights, and loads of wildlife. Now we are hooked on long distance canoe camping (we paddled about 100 miles on the two rivers). Up until this trip, most of our canoe camping has been on the Roanoke River and Merchants Millpond back home. We’ll be searching for other rivers for this type of experience, so if you have suggestions, let us know.
Rivers are places that renew our spirit, connect us with our past, and link us directly with the flow and rhythm of the natural world.
~Ted Turner
My only regret from our canoe camping trip last month was that I did not bring my usual camera gear to record some of the wonderful wildlife we encountered on both rivers. But, canoeing unfamiliar waters while toting large lenses has the potential for unforeseen (and unwanted) outcomes, so I am left with memories and a slew of iPhone photos (and some point and shoot pics underwater). On our first afternoon of paddling the Current River, we enjoyed the company of what would be our most frequent bird companions on the river – Belted Kingfishers, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Bald Eagles. It seemed there was a kingfisher rattling a sharp greeting around every bend in the river. It is no wonder since the clear water and abundant small fish make for a kingfisher buffet. Pileated Woodpeckers called from the forest edges and often flashed their bold black and white wing patterns as they flew overhead. And we probably saw 15 or more Bald Eagles on our journey, including a very sociable juvenile on our first full morning. Our first campsite on the Current River was a small gravel bar bordered by a bluff. We spotted the eagle flying toward us and it made a slight turn and landed in a dead treetop on the far bank. It sat for awhile, preening, surveying the scene. But one slight movement was too much for the dead branch perch and the startled eagle was suddenly airborne as a few feet of limb crashed into the river below. As if to say, I meant to do that, the eagle flew upstream, made a U-turn and landed in another tree not far away.
Juvenile Bald Eagle flew in and hung with us for awhile (click photos to enlarge)
Shorty after that, Melissa spotted a deer walking downstream toward us. I was standing, adding some sticks to the fire, so I froze, hoping the 8-point buck would continue our way. It kept walking in a straight line right at us, then hit a deeper section and began to swim across the river. It reached a shallow spot, started walking again, and then suddenly realized something was not quite right across the river, and he stopped.
This 8-point buck was headed straight toward us and then realized something was amiss
This is where I really wished I had my telephoto lens…it was a beautiful morning with a light mist clinging to the surface of the river. The buck was framed perfectly in the still water, looking directly at us. It stood that way for a few seconds and then bounded back across the river to the safety of the woods. A great way to start our day.
There is one potential positive about not having the big camera gear – I tend to focus more on the scene and the small life around me. And there was plenty to see, especially each time we landed on a gravel bar. A variety of wolf spiders greeted us at every stop, so many that at first it made you wonder about who might be sharing your campsite each night (but they were not a bother at all).
Spiders were everywhere on the gravel bars (most not as large as this one)
One beach area had a large number of one of my favorite stream-side insects – Toad Bugs. One resource indicated this species may be the Big-eyed Toad Bug, Gelastocoris oculatus. Toad Bugs do look and act a bit like tiny toads, slowly walking or hopping along the shoreline. They are well-camouflaged and kind of resemble a fat-headed stink bug.
Our first stop was a hangout for Toad Bugs
Their large eyes and raptorial front legs are useful in catching their prey (other insects). Early naturalists must have found them amusing as well, as the genus name means laughing or funny bug.
At a few stops we saw Northern Cricket Frogs, which always seem to jump into the leaf debris just underwater right when you lean down to get a photo. This one cooperated long enough for a quick portrait.
A Northern Cricket Frog along the river’s edge
There was a lot of beaver activity along the banks and a few lodges where the shoreline was amenable. One beaver had a particularly creative location for its home – underneath an overhang on a bluff. Other mammals we encountered included a Muskrat and several River Otter (unfortunately, the latter were too elusive for an iPhone image).
Beaver lodge under a shallow overhang
One stop had several Question Mark butterflies seeking minerals at an abandoned fire pit. There were also many small yellow butterflies along the river (I assume they were Little Yellows) and a few migrating Monarchs.
Question Mark butterflies (named for the faint white question mark symbol on the underside of the wing) were common on many gravel bars
The clear waters of the Current River gave us a window into a wildlife world that we rarely experience – an abundance of freshwater fish (plus a few other surprises). A highlight was Melissa spotting a soft-shelled turtle swimming underneath us one day as we paddled. We stopped and drifted along with it, enjoying this rare treat. Soft-shelled turtles lack the hard bony scutes found on other turtles, giving them a more pliable shell, especially along the sides. They have long necks, and elongate, snorkel-like nostrils. There are three species of soft-shelled turtles in Missouri, and I am not positive which one this is.
Melissa spotted this soft-shelled turtle drifting downstream with us (video by Melissa Dowland)
Melissa is a cold water fanatic. She will swim in mountains streams and lakes at the drop of a hat. So paddling these clear waters was just too much of a temptation for her in spite of the chilly temperatures. She had packed our masks and snorkels and so she was in the water at a few of our stops checking out the underwater life (I finally joined her on a couple of swims). Along the edges we saw many large tadpoles, which I assume are American Bullfrogs (please drop me a note if you know for sure).
Our last campsite had numerous large tadpoles (Bullfrogs perhaps) in the shallows
Another ubiquitous member of the shallows club was a species of darter that quickly dashed from one rock to another whenever we walked along the shore. There are 44 species of darters recorded in Missouri, so I’m not sure which one this is. It is post breeding season for these often incredibly colorful fish species so that makes it a bit harder to identify.
This colorful darter s a common species in the gravel along the river’s edge
Melissa took our Olympus camera out on a few snorkels and managed to capture some of the many small fish swimming just off the shoreline. The cold water made for relatively quick drifts but she got some nice pics of a few species (again, we don’t know the identity of these guys, but it was fun seeing so many fish swimming with us).
A school of small fish swims in front of Melissa (photo by Melissa Dowland)These fish were about 4 inches or so in length and a few had hints of red (photo by Melissa Dowland)Red lips staring at Melissa (photo by Melissa Dowland)
The night we camped at Bee Bluff, we witnessed a surprising local custom. An hour or so before dark, two guys drove down a dirt road that ended in a beach just downriver from our campsite. They launched an aluminum motor boat and headed past us upstream. We were surprised anyone would maneuver an outboard motor through some of the riffles and shallows we had paddled, but I figured they would go upstream a bit and then drift back down to their launch site fishing along the way. But they didn’t return until well after dark, and when they did, they had huge lights on the front of the boat with one man standing on the front with a long pole. Were they gigging something or just poling through the shallows to avoid rocks? The next day I asked a local at one of the landings what was happening the night before. He said there is a gigging season for the “undesirables”, the suckers. We certainly had seen a bunch of large suckers of some sort as we paddled, but I had never heard of gigging for suckers. The next afternoon, a young man in a motor boat passed our campsite going upstream. But he was drift fishing, casting as he came back well before dark. He said he was fishing for Smallmouth Bass, but people do gig for suckers (we think many of the ones we saw were Northern Hog Suckers).
When we got home, I looked up gigging for suckers and found a wealth of articles describing the practice, which has apparently been going on for well over a hundred years on the Current River and other Ozark waterways. Originally, people used a wooden boat and illuminated the water with a basket hanging over the edge with a flaming pine knot or a lantern. Now, a flat bottom aluminum boat with a railed front deck is the choice and strong LED or halogen lights (or car headlights) and a generator light the way. The people up front have 12-16 foot long poles with barbed spears on the end and they try to spear the suckers as the driver moves the boat through the clear and often very shallow waters.
Our last night on the river was the best for this Ozark tradition. A boat with two men and two young boys went by and stopped just around the bend a few hundred yards downstream. We could hear the motor and generator going, the occasional laugh or yell, and see the light reflecting off the treetops downriver. They worked their way back upstream past our campsite and were apparently, based on their hooting and hollering, having a grand time gigging for suckers. The usual outing ends with a campfire and fried fish and other fixings for a late night dinner.
Gigging for suckers is a long held tradition on rivers in the Ozarks. This is the boat with lights coming upriver toward our campsite with the glow of our campfire in the foreground.The lights and sounds of the fishermen certainly added a surreal aspect to our canoe camping adventure
Later that night, under a full moon, our river trip ended with one last “wild things” mystery. I was awakened after midnight by loud sounds in the brush across the river. There was a steep bluff directly across from us, with a shallow edge of trees and shrubs adjoining the water. Whatever it was was making a lot of noise going through that vegetation. Melissa and I strained to see any motion and were perplexed at what could be over there and how it even got into that spot since a steep rock face soared above it. I finally remembered my binoculars were inside my dry bag just outside the tent so I rummaged through it and pulled them out just in time to catch a glimpse of something swimming across the river and disappearing upstream around the curve in our shoreline. No details were visible in the moonlight, just a blob in the river making a wake as it swam around the bend. We listened for a while longer, but heard nothing else. What was it? A beaver dragging some cut limbs? A bear? The next morning we paddled across and looked for any beaver sign (none) or anything other clue (none). It didn’t seem likely that something had climbed down the rock face and entered the water so where had it come from? I mentioned it to the folks at a local landing when we got off the river and they smiled and said, Sasquatch. Hmmm…where the wild things are, the Ozarks. And we hope to return before long to paddle this or another of the incredibly clear rivers. Next post – our paddle on the lower Buffalo River in Arkansas.
it has been a little over a month since our paddling adventure. I’m finally getting around to sharing some of the incredible memories from that trip. My knee has been causing some real problems these past few months so we agreed to try a paddling trip rather than a backpacking one (whew!). Based on a friend’s recommendation and our experience in Arkansas on our last trip, we looked at rivers in that state and adjoining Missouri and finally settled on two trips – the Current River in MO and the lower Buffalo River in AR. This time of year you have to choose your rivers carefully so as not to be dragging your canoe everywhere due to low water levels that are typical in Fall. The Current River fits the bill nicely as it is largely spring fed and so has relatively constant water flow. Melissa did the research and planned a 6-day trip totaling about 61 miles. We arranged a shuttle with one of the several park-approved vendors (both rivers are under National Park Service jurisdiction). We had delayed in the mountains of NC at the start of our trip enough that a storm front had passed by the time we arrived at our campsite on the Jacks Fork River (which feeds into the Current) the night before our launch. If that river was any indication of things to come, this was going to be an awesome trip…
Eating dinner on a gravel bar near our campsite along the Jacks Fork River the night before our launch on the Current River- all photos taken with iPhone unless otherwise noted (click photos to enlarge)Forest Service campsite on the river
The next morning we arrived at our launch site (Cedar Grove) early and loaded down the canoe. As we were getting ready, an old school bus (the vehicle of choice for local outfitters) pulled up and unloaded a large group of teenagers. We hurried and put in the water to get ahead of the group and were instantly impressed by the clear water and the forested edges of the river.
Our route on the Current RiverAnd here we go, launching at Cedar Grove on the Current River
Due to their unique qualities and beauty, the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers were designated as the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in 1964, becoming the first rivers designated as National Riverways (a full four years before the Wild and Scenic River Act was enacted). The geology of the region is primarily soluble dolomite (limestone with some magnesium in it as well) giving rise to countless sinkholes, caves, and springs. Over 60% of the rivers’ flow comes from seven major and hundreds of smaller springs within the park. In fact, the park brochure states that the park is home to more first order springs (springs with a daily flow of more than 65 million gallons) in one area than anywhere else on Earth! The water is clear and cold, a fairly constant 58°F, undoubtedly making for a refreshing swim in summer, but a rather chilly one in October. The water clarity is striking, coming from the typically silty NC Piedmont rivers and streams back home. The other thing the Current has going for it is that it is an easy paddle (rated as Class I rapids) so even beginners can navigate it. Now, you still have to pay attention in the many rapids (especially with a heavily-laden canoe), but it is a great paddle on a beautiful waterway.
Our first major spring was Welch Spring, just a few miles from our launch site. An interpretive sign along the short trail from the river to the spring explained the site was initially owned by a man named Welch, who built a grist mill and store at the site. We were stunned to read that the average daily flow from the spring is 70 million gallons of water! As it joins the river, this discharge nearly doubles the flow of the river. And there are much larger springs along this river, including Big Spring (below where we took out at Log Yard). With a daily flow of about 286 million gallons, Big Spring is the largest spring in the Ozarks and one of the largest single spring outlets in the world.
Welch Spring
In 1913, Welch Spring was purchased by a doctor who created a health resort and a hospital on the site. He believed that asthma patients could benefit from breathing the moist, chilly, pollen-free air coming out of the cave. The resort failed after his death and the land was bought for a hunting and fishing lodge before being purchased as part of the park.
The old hospital at Welch Spring
Back in the canoe, we passed numerous bluffs rising out of the river, many festooned with luxurious growths of a variety of plants. The whole scene reminded me of ads for scenes from a tropical paradise and yet here we were in Missouri.
Southern Maidenhair Ferns hanging from the bluff walls along the river
We chose a small gravel bar for our campsite the first night, in part because we figured no one else would want to squeeze into the site should they be following us down the river. It was an exquisite first night. We were serenaded by a pair of Barred Owls, an Eastern Screech Owl in the distance, and the faint sounds of what we later concluded were migrating waterfowl. Much more on the wildlife we encountered in the next post.
I imagine this river can be very crowded during the warmer months, but we encountered few paddlers during our trip. That lack of paddlers also meant we had plenty of dried sticks available on the gravel bars to gather for firewood each evening. Our daily ritual became get up early, eat breakfast by a small campfire, paddle, stop for short hikes to a spring, lunch in a scenic spot, paddle until 3 or 4 p.m., and then find a nice gravel bar for the night. Gather firewood, cook a nice meal, and sit by the fire until 8 or 9 p.m. and then hit the tent. Most of the time we had no cell phone service so no news, no email, just each other, the stars and the sounds of the river.
First night campsite on a narrow gravel bar
The next day we passed a couple more large springs. The first was Cave Spring, which is a large cave that you can paddle into.
Entrance to Cave Spring
The spring averages 32 million gallons of water per day, making it among the 20 largest springs in Missouri. The spring has a vertical shaft of about 140 feet. Nearby are two large underground reservoirs, Devils Well and Wallace Well. Devils Well is a public use area with a trail where visitors can descend a short distance into the mouth of the sinkhole and gaze upon an underground lake that is larger than a football field. Eventually, the water from these two reservoirs emerges at Cave Spring.
Some of the springs are home to unusual species such as cave crayfish and blind cave fishes. We didn’t spot any of these, but we did see one bat hanging from the cave ceiling. Due to the fragile nature of these springs, swimming, fishing, and diving in them is prohibited.
Looking out from the cave (photo by Melissa Dowland)
Downstream from Cave Spring is another large spring, Pulltite Spring, accessible by a short hike from the river’s edge. This is ranked as the thirteenth largest spring in Missouri, with a daily discharge of between 38 and 47 million gallons.
Pulltite Spring
We camped that night on a gravel bar across from a terrestrial cave. Melissa did her first swim that afternoon, but I decided to wait until a time when the air temperature was a little warmer.
Campsite across from a cave along the river
After another day of paddling, we pulled up to a gravel bar across from Bee Bluff which, at several hundred feet, was the highest bluff we encountered on our paddle. The name comes from the hives of honeybees that can sometimes be found in the holes on the bluff face.
Bee Buff campsite
The next day we passed more of the many so-called landings along the river, some with developed facilities, others with just a dirt boat launch at the end of what must be a long and bumpy gravel road. We tried to camp beyond any such sites to avoid the noises of “civilization”.
Owls Bend campsite
A long gravel bar at Owls Bend was a perfect spot to camp the next night. After a misty sunrise, we paddled to Blue Spring. A short hike revealed a true gem of a site, with water reminiscent of a tropical lagoon. This is the eighth largest spring in Missouri with an average daily flow of 87 million gallons.
Blue Spring, with what is believed to be the deepest blue color of any of the other natural springs in MissouriLooking downstream at the outflow from Blue SpringThe rapids in the outflow from Blue Spring. As the case with the other springs with discharges flowing into the river, the rapids here were larger than most other rapids on the river proper
Our last campsite was our favorite – a large gravel bar across from a beautiful bluff. Small fish and tadpoles were abundant, the sun was out, and the air temperature was warm, so we both did some cold water snorkeling looking at the fish (more on this in the next post).
Our last night on the river at our favorite camspite
It was a magical last night on the river with some interesting surprises (again, more details next time). Our final morning was a relatively short paddle (about 5 miles). The take out was at a small landing called Log Yard, and, thankfully, there was our truck waiting for us safe and sound.
The end of our journey at Log Yard
It was an exceptional trip with beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife, serenity, wonderful campfires, a gorgeous night sky, and an amazing crystal clear waterway. We will definitely be back.
Roads End Naturalist 