Dispatch From Petrie #169, May 2026
It had been five and half weeks since I last dropped by Petrie. Last visit, the flood waters were just approaching the culverts on the road, it got higher. Today, the water clear of the road, but still had a way to go.
The sunrise was beautiful.
Both photos taken a few minutes before the sun came over the horizon
I had a hint of what was to come as I spotted a beaver riding the current through the culvert.
It was dark, the ripples gave it away as it entered the culvert. I caught him (sort of) on the outtake
What caught my eye though was the debris left by the flood waters. In the second photo, I spotted the goose (on a nest?) in the centre only after I was editing the photos
Sunrise light on the tree tops
The debris/damage left by the flood that greeted me on Turtle Trail was much more than I expected.
I was also greeted by a large skunk jumping out of the brush as I started along the trail. It prepared to spray, but then seeing that I stopped, it quickly headed down the trail and into the brush. I was not ready with the camera, so no photos
The beaver lodge next to the washed-away platform was more exposed now. It seemed the beavers had dug escape holes out the back.
I had come at sunrise hoping to see a beaver. I was overwhelmed by six (!) beaver in Turtle Pond and at at least two in Muskrat Bay. I suspect one was a family of with two well grown kits. It was neat to see them, but that is too many beavers if nature is to co-exist with the park usage.
At one point I had four on/at shore within 5-10 feet of me. I was shooting video with a telephoto lens, no way could I get all four in the same shot. This one is a still taken from the video. The video almost has three in the same shot.
(An unedited 10 min video is linked at the bottom of this Dispatch for beaver afficandos)
I managed to (almost) catch one beaver tail slap
One beaver decided it didn’t like the map turtles sunning on a log….
The trail is in VERY bad condition, high waterproof boots are required almost to the end
Even the raccoons found it muddy going, especially in sections where a large tired vehicle had driven all the way to the first sandy spot damaging the trail
The mud on the trees showed the extent of the flooding
There were at least 3 Canada geese families, one with one gosling, one with 2 and one with 5. Likely more are to come.
(As mentioned in previous dispatches, there were no geese around 20-25 years ago)
Four male wood ducks flew over.
We used to see the wood ducks deep in the marshy areas in the Wildlife Refuge – which is now off limits (as it should be)
I am not sure if any of the wood duck nesting boxes are still in use.
Twenty-five years ago I did find one wood duck nesting in a tree cavity in the middle of the FOPI area
Other than the great blue heron, a grackle was the only bird that posed for me.
The full list of birds the Merlin App detected is at the bottom of this dispatch
Morning light and reflections
New growth was everywhere, even the beaver-battered tree stumps were fighting for life
Ferns were up 18″ or more
At least one of the ferns looked to me like a sea-horse
Virginia creeper (which I used to mistake for poison ivy)
The real stuff – poison ivy, growing quickly
Blue violets, apple blossoms and honeysuckle buds
The birds that the Merlin App thought it detected as I walked the trail
As promised, the 10 minute unedited video of the beavers for those that can’t get enough of them
