Where have all our muskrats gone? I haven’t seen one in a year. Either some mink is very happy or something has changed about the beaver pond hospitality, because their little cousin hasn’t shown his face in ages. It makes me a little worried that there’s some kind of rat poison or something taking them out – but I still see rats from time to time so you would think I’d still see muskrats too.
This study looked at factors determining where muskrats were and explored several variables in the habitat. Only one was significant.
A Mann-Whitney u-test showed that ponds with> 30 % vegetation within 10m of shoreline have muskrats.
Well, we definitely have plenty of blackberry and arundo to hide them in. The beavers eat our willow and the city secret scrapers trim away any new vegetion-but they still have plenty of cover. Either they’re there and we’re just not seeing them or something is eating them. Python? Here’s a very nice article on the muskrat population going down when mink took over the area in Poland. Muskrats are happy in saltwater so increased tidal influence isn’t responsible. This might be a mystery that takes a while to solve. In the meantime this pamphlet from Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Centure in New Mexico is a lovely look at muskrats and you should check it out. Let us know right away if you see any tailed wonders!
One more treasure. Some of you may remember that back in the fall Moses rescued an injured kingfisher at the primary dam and I took it to Linsay Wildlife Hospital. It received many mandible surgeries but was never able to recover and was eventually entuanized. We’ve been one kingfisher short ever since. Which makes this lovely release from International Bird Rescue all that more welcome.
These photos were taken Monday night when our own Cheryl Reynolds invited Worth A Dam’s Lory Bruno and her grandson Gianni to the dam site to release a kingfisher IBR had rehabilitated. Enjoy this beautiful look at freedom, and remember to look for our newbie when you are at the beaver dam and here that chattering cry overhead.
