Dispatch From Petrie #164, November, 2025

It was a cool, bleak morning when I dropped by the Islands.

I was very surprised to find a garter snake out. I tried not to disturb it and only use my long lens shooting from a good distance. Whether I disturbed it, or it wanted to move anyway, it slowly made its way off a log onto the ground

I was lucky to spot three pileated woodpeckers albeit at a distance through the branches.  One of the three was camera shy and the second put in a brief cameo appearance

A downy woodpecker was busy pecking

Someone had left some seeds and nuts one a stump for the birds, a red squirrel enjoyed them as well

The chickadees now follow walkers all the way to the end of the trail hoping for food, a few nuthatches will partake as well

The mallards were in the river in several areas. Some more were flying in

A Canada goose with an injured/malformed foot watched the many skeins of geese fly over, he eventually flew off to join them

With the leaves off the trees some bird nests could be seen. Left: likely a robin’s nest, right: an old nest not used for a few years

A muskrat lodge with a ice-free trail to an open water patch

A muskrat, in a different part of the Islands, feeding on rushes

In the open areas along the trail, the grass is being weighed down by the snow, while the red dogwood stems stay upright

The burdock burrs are ready to catch a ride on your clothes. Boxelder, goldenrod, anemone, asters, ninebark and ferns all in seed stage

Leaves: unidentified, oak, oak and what the web ID’ed as oak (an 18″ high stem crammed with leaves at the top)

Berries: buckthorn, poison ivy, bittersweet, high-bush cranberry, carrion-flower

A hellebore plant staying green despite the season

The buds are on all the trees and shrubs, waiting for spring

Design in a cut log from a tree that had been blown over

A vine has been growing for many years. You can find it towards the end of the main trail

Circles have formed in the ice in many areas

The ice seems to be thick enough for the otters to run across it. I only saw the tracks, no otters….

There doesn’t seem to be a “larder” for the beaver lodge along Turtle Trail, but the beaver seem to have been out, judging by the broken ice by the lodge. There is still an open area they can swim to. There is a larder for another lodge in another area

The beavers have done a great job of trimming the trees and leaving behind some grotesque looking shapes