Wood Ducks, Wigeons, And Goose Eggs

IIII ) lllllllllllll Iimaohkominniiksiiniiksi (6Apr12)

1520 Sspopiikimi - I just can't stay away. This is my third visit in the last two days, and I'm excited to be here because, with the advent of the full moon following the equinox, the aapsspini are finally laying their eggs

1523 In addition to the advent of goose eggs, there is another event that always coincides with the full moon of Sa'aiki'somm, and that is the return of the male iimaohkominniiksiiniiksi (redwing-blackbirds). Even yesterday, they hadn't arrived yet. But earlier this morning, the wet-meadows were filled with their calls. Right now, with light snow falling, they are quiet again... but they are here

I come in at north-pond. The resident aapsspini and mi'ksikatsi couples are present, but neither has an egg cache yet, so far as I've been able to learn. For the mi'ksikatsi, this is normal. They won't lay their eggs until the leaves are starting to pop. But many of the other aapsspini have begun already. This couple have been coming and going the last couple days. Sometimes they're here on-site, other times they're away feeding (probably on the golf greens). They wouldn't go out of sight if they had eggs

1531 Even though I have no confidence in there being any eggs in the north yet, I think it best to at least check the wet-meadows on this end again. If there is a cache here, these aapsspini are doing a really good job not betraying it

While searching around, I can here the geese over at the big river island. I'm not going to check in on them this afternoon. I waded out and surveyed the whole island thoroughly yesterday. There were three nests already being incubated (the river aapsspini are always a few days ahead of those at the pond), two caches, and several divots prepared to accept eggs very soon. I suspect there will be fifteen or more nests established on this island when all is said and done. But I'll wait another day or so before going back out there

[Note: I returned to the river island the morning after these field notes were taken. At that point, there were four incubating nests, so I'd missed a cache during the first pass. However, one of these incubating nests had been completely ravished by ring-billed gulls. That couple will need to start over. There was also a new egg cache with just a single, exposed egg. I put some leaves over it to conceal it]

Another thing I notice while searching the north wet-meadows is that the big cattail patches are almost entirely out of the water. Last year, I was able to wade through these reeds and collect all the partially-eaten roots the beavers have left behind. This time around, I'll probably get far fewer, relying on those discarded at the pond's edge

1542 Since I'm thinking about it, I move to check the cattails at the pond's bank. There are quite a few roots floating about, as well as stems and shoots. The muskrats are taking advantage of the latter. They've gone around collecting the new green and pulled pieces up on a hummock a little ways out from shore. There are three of them there right now, eating from this collection

1554 My next stop is at the big bulberry brush. Focusing on the aapsspini entirely yesterday and this morning, I'd resisted checking my game cam (this even while registering a constant magpie presence in the brush both times I'd passed). Now I have a bit less of a strict agenda, so I seize the opportunity to crawl in. The camera trap has indeed captured several magpie images. But the most frequent visitor to the brush this week has been the male pheasant. There are two night visits by a porcupine, and a single appearance by a grey partridge (the first to pass my camera in the last year). I've never used the video function on this unit before. Since I know I'll be back around in two days or so, I decide to switch capture modes. There might be more to learn about their interest in this brush from seeing these animals in action

1558 Leaving the brush, I move quickly back down to the waterline at the ksisskstakioyis to check on an egg we saw this morning. It was set on the little island the beavers had made from trenching out in front of their main entrance. For some reason, this particular egg had rolled away from the tiny pile of reed pieces there (which I'm sure is covering a more substantial cache). One of the magpies spied it this morning while we were here, but the gander quickly chased it away. This afternoon, the egg appears to still be outside of the main cache, but unmolested. I'll confirm that it is not cracked when I get around to the west side of the pond and can use my binoculars to see it more clearly

Near to this position are the Gosling Couple, the elder aapsspini of Sspopiikimi, who I will not disturb this afternoon. They have chosen once again to nest on the wet meadows, a habit they got into two years ago when a flood covered the island they normally used. Despite their strong defenses, this puts their nest at considerable risk of coyote predation. I'm almost tempted to come out here in the evenings and help the gander stand sentry for the next month. That's how much I would like to see them succeed. They are getting older though, as far as birds go. They're still very tough, but the age is showing. Yesterday, when I came around, they rushed to defend their cache in the same manner they always have. But this morning, when Mahoney and I checked on them, we found the goose sitting (though not incubating) at the nest site. She had just two eggs, and we were within reach of her before the gander ran over to protect her. This was unusual for this couple, a sluggish response. Right now, the goose is still sitting at the cache, and the gander is eyeballing me closely. She may be egg-bound, given how long she's lingered at the site. I'm not going to walk over to her, best that I keep the scent trails to a minimum

In a strange but possibly related turn, the Subpond Couple have been absent altogether yesterday and today. The Gosling Couple are positioned rather nearer the subpond this year. And given their strength, they may have chased the Subpond geese away. But I suspect it's equally possible the Subpond Couple have chosen to cache their eggs in the nearby hawk nest, as they did two years ago. I will find out soon enough. Incubation, for all of these geese, cannot be more than a week away

1609 The only waterfowl in the subpond this afternoon are a single pair of mi'ksikatsi. Trying not to disturb them, I move on to the duck blind at the wide south pool. Yesterday, there were killdeer here, but this afternoon they're absent. Among those who are here at south-pond, there are twelve pairs of mi'ksikatsi, the single wigeon male (don't see the female today), and three pairs of aapsspini. Two of these goose couples have eggs already - those of the south-pond marsh and big island (both of whom we took from already). The odd ones are the couple claiming the smaller island at the mouth of the south pool. We did not see a cache on their island this morning, but I will glass it again from above when I get around to the west bank

1634 From the duck blind, I follow the levee around the south pool. But rather than continuing straight-away along the west length, I decide to detour off into the brushy coulee draw leading up to the coyote playground. I'm hoping that I will find the magpies nesting up here

It's a steep and arduous climb, bringing out the sweat. And once up on the first good ridge, a cold wind picks up and begins to chill me. There are no magpie nests in this draw that I can see, though it is hard to tell given how thick the brush is. The saskatoon in particular appears almost ready to flower, its buds beginning to separate and show white fuzz. There is one magpie who's come to observe me, flying by at eye level, then settling down on a high lookout branch of one of the cottonwoods below. From my vantage point, I can see most of the trees of the golf course. One, an evergreen, seems to have something nest-like in between its upper branches, but I'll have to hike back down to confirm

1649 The descent is so much easier than the climb, and I scare up a couple grey partridges on the way. In a few minutes, I'm down on the golf greens, dodging a labyrinth of active sprinklers to approach the aforementioned tree. There is indeed a magpie nest in there, and the remains of a second, older one as well. The only thing missing are the birds themselves, but I'll keep an eye on this one

1659 Not far away from the magpie nest tree, along the shale trail of the pond's west length, I check another of the golf course conifers and find a second magpie nest. There are probably thirty such trees planted around the course. Now I wonder how many of them house similar nests. For all I know, even the owls could be here

Turning my attention back to the pond, I confirm that the egg on the small island in front of the ksisskstakioyis is still fully intact. I also see that there are no eggs cached yet on the island at the mouth of the wide south pool. Curiously, the Subpond Couple seem to have returned to their waters. I wonder if perhaps their cache is back up in the hawk nest, as it was two years ago. The Gosling Mama is still sitting right at her nest. She only has two eggs and is not incubating yet, but has been sitting there all the same since this morning. Perhaps she's egg-bound. Or maybe she's trying a different strategy this go'round

1708 I return to my vehicle without further encounters or incidences. The only other thing I notice is that, like with the saskatoon, the cottonwood leaf buds appear ready to open. It's always amazing when the awaited day comes, and there is suddenly a leafy forest canopy

IIII ) llllllllllllllll Wigeons Return (9Apr12)

0853 Sspopiikimi - Heading out this blue-sky morning to do a quick round of the aapsspini nests. Though the air is still cooled from the recent night, it looks like it's going to be nice and warm later. We want to get an early start, before too many recreationally-oriented folks come out

Our first encounter occurs before we even get out of the car. Pulling in, there is a pair of mammia'tsikimiiksi in a small bit of brush along the drive to the parking lot. They have a smallish (by magpie standards) nest here, though I don't know that it is in use

The male aotahkaaokayiiksi are out in full force, scouring the earth alongside the entry trails for whatever insects they can find. We still haven't witnessed the arrival of any females yet, but they can't be too far behind now

Coming into view of north-pond, the resident aapsspini and mi'ksikatsi couples are here, both lingering near the big cattail patch toward midpond. Mi'sohpsski, one of the muskrats, is also present, floating in the middle of the pond, chewing on something he just retrieved from below

0900 Our first objective is to again survey the big river island, so we climb up on the levee and walk around the perimeter of the north wood, toward the river. In the forest canopy, there is some kind of downy woodpecker event underway. Four birds are chasing each other around, chattering. They don't seem to be fighting and, since I know they were here as couples all winter, it makes me wonder whether they practice a kind of 'swinging' mating orgy among the pairs, similar to what the coots do

Given the strength of the Oldman's current, and the fact that I'm the only one of us with chest-waders, Mahoney waits on the shore for me as I set out for the island

0926 Things are not going so well for these river geese. Making a thorough round, I find that only one of the four nests being incubated during my last visit (two days ago) is still holding, and this nest has now just two eggs and an egg-looking rock. The other three nests have been obliterated by the raiding ring-billed gulls who maintain a constant presence here. There is, however, a newly incubating nest. I'm not sure how many eggs are in it, I don't want to disturb the mama today, but it couldn't be more than three based on my last check of her cache. All the same, this particular couple is has always succeeded in warming their eggs to term, owing in large part to the fair aggressiveness of the gander. The toughest pair on the island are at the completely opposite end (probably for good reason), and I have a hard time imagining the gulls will have an easy time accessing their eggs, which are not yet being incubated. In addition, there are two new caches today that weren't here before, and one cache from the other day that's been raided and destroyed. In all three cases, the parents give far too much room to intruders, though bad things can happen to good geese as well. I take one egg from each of the two new caches, and I'll just hope that somehow the gulls miss the rest

It's clear now, looking at what is occurring on the river island, the wet meadows, and two other sites we're visiting for eggs this year, that something is going on this year. I think the most eggs I've seen in a nest over the past week of diligent monitoring is five. Yet five was the average a couple years ago at the same locations, and there were several nests with seven. This year's average, at least so far, seems to be just three or four eggs, and that's pretty low. Of course, we're still early in the game yet. Those couples whose nests were raided already will be going for it a second time, and perhaps then they will lay more

0941 Whatever the downy woodpeckers are up to, it's been going on for half an hour and continues as we again pass the north wood. Now I'm noticing, on the trail past the wood, that there are goldenbean shoots emerging. And walking the levee trail toward south-pond, passing the canopy of the forest main, we see that the cottonwood buds are showing red at their tips. Soon their flowering catkins will be dangling down, and then - if memory serves - we will get our warblers back

1013 When we get to south-pond, we go immediately to the aapsspini nest in the marsh. We collected one from this couple a few days ago. Today we are taking our second, and last. No more than two eggs from a nest, and only prior to incubation, that's our rule

From there, we move to the duck blind to look out at the wide pool. The two island aapsspini couples here are not sitting their nests yet. One of them doesn't even appear to have an egg cache. The duck presence in the pool is considerable this morning. Forty-four mallards and fourteen wigeons. Yep, the wigeons have finally returned. They're late, and I was almost giving up hope that the larger body of them would ever show, given that there has been a single couple here for at least two weeks

Behind the blind, on a snag poplar of the forest main, yet another phenological event is underway. There are three male flickers in the high branches, and they are carrying out their territorial jousting ritual. This involves a special song, tail displays, and touching of the beaks. They will sit quiet together for a few minutes, then break into song and display, perhaps give short chase to one another, and go quiet again. On and on this dance is played until finally one of them has proved the most worthy to claim that location in the forest

1034 Leaving the blind, we make our way toward south pond. No sooner do we near it, still on the forest side, when the gander of the Gosling Couple spots us and flies in to head us off. We are quite a distance from his wife's nest on the wet meadows, which is presently being incubated, but he is going to make us walk way around, giving his well-concealed mrs a fifty meter buffer on all sides. We do as we're told, and are almost at the ksisskstakioyis when Mahoney turns around just in time to see the gander is again bearing down at us, flying at our heads with his mouth open and tongue fiercely displayed. He lands just short of us, and only because I turned to look at him. He's not had a real scuffle with me, and doesn't want to, but he will if I push him. He's beat up Mahoney twice in the past

Though this particular aapsspini gander is known by ourselves and all birds of the pond to be a seriously protective husband, today's display goes even beyond what we're accustomed to with him. I would not want to be the magpie or gull that tries to muck with his wife's eggs. The way he flew at us just now, at such a considerable distance from the nest, he is treating us more like another goose couple, less like passing humans. In other words, he is not only guarding the nest from us, he's not even going to allow us within the nesting territory that he's keeping. If Mahoney had not sensed something, and looked back, and alerted me, he would have landed with considerable force on one of our backs and bit us as well he could

The north end of the gander's territory is defined by a small canal next to the ksisskstakioyis. Once on that side, we are watched, but we are safe. I climb the lodge to look at the island just in front of it. The same egg that was exposed there four days ago remains, and I can't tell whether there are any more cached under the little pile of reeds beside it

We then turn away from the pond and make our way toward the forest again, to the big bulberry patch at the meadow edge-zone. A few days ago, I turned my camera trap there on video mode for the first time, and I'm curious what footage it may have caught. Very interestingly, what I learn is that the magpies here, unlike many others in the region, are still gathering sticks for the first phase of their nest-building. Most of the other mammia'tsikimiiksi are done building at this point, and ready to begin laying eggs. Perhaps the shadow of the coulee that falls over the pond has kept things just cool enough that these birds are getting a later start, similar to the way the geese here are a bit behind those on the river island

1100 Having downloaded the footage from the bulberries - which also included visits from the pheasant rooster, a porcupine, and a deer mouse - we move back to the pond edge again to continue our survey northward

As we get into the cattails, I begin collecting roots that the beavers have dug up, gnawed at, then left floating. I did the same last year in this moon. The ksisskstaki dig hundreds of these roots, and never completely consume a single one. I take their leftovers home, mash them with rocks, douse them in water, and separate out the starchy flour for baking and soup-thickening

When we get to a certain point in the cattails, the north-pond aapaspini couple paddle over to meet us. Finally, they have selected a cache site. They direct us right to it, and we see they don't have any eggs as yet, but the shallow earth bowl is ready to receive them. The site, on a bit of a peninsula formed by mud the ksisskstaki have excavated to build one of their canals, is very wet to the touch, just thoroughly saturated. These geese will have to insulate it pretty good if they hope to have their nest succeed there

1135 With our nest survey complete, and hunger setting in, we're ready to call it a morning. But before we go back to the car, we stop at the extreme north end of the pond, where one of the mature cottonwoods was uprooted over the winter, by flooding related to the nearby horizontal drilling that routed sewage and runoff pipelines under the river. This tree was among the unfortunate sacrifices. It will, however, have one last hurrah as it's catkins open. In all likelihood, it will even seed. But Mahoney and I have been watching the buds with an interest in salvaging them to make what I'm calling a'siitsiksimmisaaam (poplar-medicine, a.k.a. Balm of Gilead)

With how near the buds of some of the trees are to opening, we figure it's now or never to gather what we want to use. So we stop at the tree and prune its sticky treasure for a bit, filling a brown paper lunch sack with enough buds to make about a liter and a half of the balm

IIII ) llllllllllllllllllllllll Wood Ducks In The Wide South Pool (17Apr12)

1715 Sspopiikimi - It's the end of Sa'aiki'somm, and the close of our goose egg harvest. The last we were here at the pond was almost a week ago. On that visit, I deposited nine eggs into incubating nests on the river island, nests I knew to be at the same stage of development as those I collected from. These relocated eggs would have otherwise been dipped in vegetable oil under federal permit to control the aapsspini population at a certain lakeside park in Sikoohkotoki, so that their families wouldn't take too great a toll on the nearby golf greens this summer. It's impossible for me to understand how anyone could excuse 'managing' wildlife in this manner, viewing these birds as 'pests' in need of extermination. To me, this practice seems to fundamentally contradict the very purpose of having a lakeside park or golf course in the first place. Fortunately, those involved are otherwise reasonable, and have been kind enough to allow Mahoney and I to make the best of a bad situation. In addition to the nine incubated eggs relocated, we've taken over a hundred cached eggs from the site, which we will use to feed attendees at our upcoming Beaver Bundle ceremony

1718 Coming within view of midpond, we count three mi'ksikatsi couples, all spaced widely apart from one another. Their nesting is the next to come. In fact, we found our first mallard egg of the year already, earlier this morning, deposited - strangely enough - in an aapsspini cache

From our position, we can also see across to the beaver canal in the cattails, where the northpond goose couple were preparing to nest. Things don't look good over there. The pair is nowhere to be seen, and one of the eggs is laying exposed at the water's edge. It will be interesting to learn how the nests here have fared this week. As is usual during the early incubation, the wolf cap snow storm (makoyisttsomo'ki) arrived. It was pretty tame compared to some years, but still potentially deadly for those who are exposed outside. The diligent mothers lay down on their nests and suffer the wet, sticky snow. But there are always some who abandon

1729 The nest situation doesn't look any better as we make our way along the west length. There's nothing going on any more on the small island outside the ksisskstakioyis, the Gosling Couple seems to have abandoned their nest on the wet-meadows (though they're still keeping near), and the two nest islands of the wide south pool are similarly lacking of incubating mothers. Perhaps the only one left will be in the marsh, we'll see. I suspect a combination of the makoyisttsomo'ki storm, lurking ring-billed gulls and, for the Gosling Couple, land-based predators have done them all in

Of course, there are plenty of magpies around as well, and this evening they're hunting the rocks along our shoreline. I walk down the cutbank to see if I can determine what they're eating, but don't see any particularly obvious insect event underway

While I'm trying to figure out what the magpies are so busy with, all the sa'aiksi of the wide south pool paddle away from me, toward the duck blind. Unlike the mi'ksikatsi at midpond, these couples here are not so widely spaced apart. I also notice at least one pair of wigeons remains. I might have bothered to count them all except that, to our surprise, there's also a wood duck couple among them. I have only seen a wood duck on one other occasion at Sspopiikimi, so it's a special event. They were, no doubt, prompted to land here by the recent storm. And while they could have departed safely by now, it seems they have decided to linger a while

1805 For the next half hour, we try in vain to get a close-up look at the wood ducks. First, we hustle along the levee path toward the forest main, and cut down to the duck blind. But all the sa'aiksi watch us as we move, and simply paddle back across the pool to the west shoreline again. Then Mahoney stays behind while I walk the levee to the other side again, figuring they'd return to below the blind. But they're completely onto our little ruse and decide to waddle ashore on the wet-meadows instead, about halfway between our two positions. Now we're giving up

While all of this is going on, we observe that there's nobody tending the aapsspini nest in the marsh either. This means every couple has failed at the pond. If we are to be graced with goslings this summer, they're either going to come from the river island, or from the second attempt that I'm sure at least some of these pairs will make in the weeks to come

All around us now there are pleasant calls coming from the redwings, flickers, robins, house finches, killdeer and pheasants. Those who've yet to arrive, but are expected by now, are the tree swallows and coots. I wonder what's delaying them

1836 Leaving the blind, we decide to hike out into the wet-meadows to survey the two abandoned nests that don't require wading to access. The first is that of the Gosling Couple, near the subpond. As suspected, it has been destroyed by predators. The downy feathers that had recently lined it are cast off to the side in a heap, and all that remains of the eggs are a few shell fragments

While Mahoney goes to check the situation at the Northpond Couple's nest by the cattails, I climb into the bulberry patch to download video clips off my camera trap. The footage is revealing. Coyotes have visited the wet-meadows several nights in a row this week. In the darkness, not even the Gosling Couple would attempt to fight them off. Indeed, the news from Mahoney of the second nest tells a similar (if not identical) story. The only difference is that, in addition to most of the eggs being missing save for a fragment or two, there's one egg at the water's edge that has obviously been eaten-out by gulls

1850 Having determined, as best we can, what caused the ruin that's occurred here in our absence, we walk north through the forest main and climb out to the cutbank overlooking the big river island. From our shore, only some of the nests are visible, and two of these are the ones into which I deposited eggs last week. Unfortunately, neither has survived. The gulls have got to them, and the aapsspini couples now stand away by twenty meters or so. There are other nests on the island, beyond our view, that might still be incubating. But I don't want to wade out and confirm it. There's been too much disturbance already

Before leaving the cutbank, a kingfisher flies past us, and a beaver swims up to the bank below us to gnaw the bark off a piece of willow. It's depressing to consider all the goslings we might have had at the pond this summer, now gone, and to see all the geese lingering lonely around the failed best sites. This happened last year too, and we ended up with just two families moved over from the river island after hatching. Thinking back though, this has always been the way of things here. Only two or three out of perhaps twenty local nests escape predation, if that

Sa'aiki'somm Begins

II Kaayii (22Mar12)

1130 Sspopiikimi - First visit of Sa'aiki'somm, the Duck Moon. The temperature has dropped again This morning we woke up to snow, but none of it has stuck. Mahoney and I are out to make a round and check on the nesting progress of the aapsspiniiksi

1138 North-pond is a bit more quiet than it has been recently. There are three aapsspini couples here, plus a yearling. There's also two 'pairs' of mi'ksikatsi drakes. I've not really paid attention to the mallards behaving like this in prior years. I'm used to seeing groups of drakes a bit later in the season, but not obvious coupled partnerships like I'm observing now. Everything I've ever witnessed among the mi'ksikatsi leads me to believe they are the most complexly cultured of the ducks

1144 Moving up the levee and out to the river cutbank, we spot only three aapsspini couples out on the big island. It's possible that they're already caching eggs. For some reason I've never sorted out, the geese on the river are always several days or more ahead of those at the neighboring pond. Could be as simple a matter as having more exposure to sunlight. The wide south pool, where most of them nest on the pond, is under coulee shadow most of the day. It makes sense, and yet I don't trust this answer. Each nesting area I follow in the region keeps a predictably different start time, though all are within a matter of weeks of each other

Also at the river is a lone mi'ksikatsi drake, drifting nervously (because of our presence) in the oxbow stream on our side of the big island. We've seen several magpies stopping along the shorelines. All have departed now, and I wasn't able to discriminate whether they were gathering mud for their nest bowls, or picking recently emerged stoneflies off the rocks

1158 Rather than cutting straight into the forest main, as usual, we decide to walk the levee out to the duck blind and wide south pool. Like north-pond, the scene here has changed. Today, there are just two aapsspini couples in the pool, and a third in the subpond. Most of the birds here are mi'ksikatsiiksi... three couples in the pool, one in the subpond, and eight drakes paired off. A male wigeon has finally arrived to join the female who's been here the last week or so. Still no sign of the larger wigeon group who always stopped off in prior years

1211 While we scope out the wide pool, I hear two familiar voices in the air, coming from upstream near the high level bridge. One is that of a raven, who's probably following the train tracks with a partner. The other, a lone ring-billed gull, appears and passes far overhead. This is the first gull I've seen at the pond for this season, and it serves as a reminder to me... if there were egg caches on the big river island, there would be more of these ring-bills around. Like with so many events this winter, I'm early and anxious. It's been so warm, I expect the animals and plants to respond sooner too, but they're not. In the years we've been monitoring, it never fails that Easter (the first full moon after the equinox) is when most of the geese are laying eggs. That's still a couple weeks away

1224 Before leaving the duck blind, we see a group of seven mamia'tsikimiiksi glide down from one of the coulee draws to land on the peninsula. There's something there they're eating, and we'll definitely check it out, but first we want to survey a bit on the wet meadows

By now, the status of the geese is pretty obvious. My biggest question at this point is why there are so few here today. We walk past the subpond couple, just to confirm. They're not leaving, which means the egg caching isn't far away. But they also give us enough distance that it's clear there are no eggs yet

We make our way to the ksisskstakioyis too, and I'm surprised to see the two island couples who've been a constant here the last few visits are absent. They'll return, I'm sure. Probably out feeding on stubble fields  somewhere. Maybe they too recognized that, with the early thaw, they were jumping the gun a bit

1253 We stop by the big bulberry patch on our way off the wet meadows, to change the batteries in my camera trap. Then, as we hike south again through the forest main, the wind kicks up, and snow begins to fall

We continue to the end of the forest, around the south pool, and down onto the peninsula to learn what the magpies have been eating here. It turns out to be a cottontail. Hard to say how it came to be dead here. The front end of the carcass is missing, and if coyotes had caught it they usually eat the back end first. Yet the dead rabbit would be hard to explain otherwise. Perhaps it was victim to a coyote with eclectic tastes

1304 We make our way out along the shale trail of the west length, with increasing wind and snow in our faces. Toward midpond, we notice the mamia'tsikimi group amassed at another position, right beside the trail. This time, when we arrive at the location, it's difficult to tell what they were after. Our suspicion is that they stopped to eat some canine droppings, which says something about the amount of food available right now. These magpies are our final encounter before reaching the car

IIII ) llll Scavenging Water Beetle (28Mar12)

1446 Sspopiikimi - Pulled in about an hour ago, and just wrapped a very quick survey. This morning I woke up in Medicine Hat, having given a presentation for the Grasslands Naturalists last night. After breakfast, I drove straight back to Sikoohkotoki, and felt I needed to stop at the pond before going home. I'm really anxious for the aapsspini nesting to begin, almost paranoid that I'm going to somehow be late for the egg caches, even though I know they're not usually there until the full moon following the equinox. But like an obsessive-compulsive, I have to go look anyway

Thus, over the last hour or so, I've made a thorough search of six definitely goose-claimed nest sites. All the couples are here, some sticking more tightly to their plots than others. None, however, have begun caching. I did not wade out to the big river island, though I was prepared to, because there are still only three couples settled out there, and I expect five-times as many when the eggs are actually being laid

We seem to have our established body of mallards at this point. There are six mi'ksikatsi couples on the pond today (about average for nesters here), plus a few drake partners, and two more breeding pairs near the river island. The single wigeon couple are also still lingering at south pond, but no sign yet of any other waterfowl arrivals, not even mohkammii (the great blue herons) who I saw yesterday at the Fincastle Reservoir rookery

The big phenological events of the day for Sspopiikimi - or the most obvious, given how quickly I made my round - is the presence of kaayiiksi (ring-billed gulls) at the wide south pool, and thousands of tiny scavenging water beetles in the air around north-pond. They're about the same size as a ladybug, but without the bad taste. I know, because the male robins tipped me off to a little puddle where a lot of these beetles were landing, then wading back out to dry their wings, and it made for easy plucking and munching. In addition to the ones I ate on site, I collected about two-dozen for Derrick and Keira (homecoming gifts). I saw these same beetles at Fincastle yesterday, so it's fairly safe to assume they're out in abundance right now all over the region, and definitely around lakes and ponds

IIII ) llllllll Mourning Doves, Tiger Beetles, And Loopers (1Apr12)

1337 Pitsiiksiinaikawaahko - After yesterday's calm summer-like warmth, the temperature dropped and strong winds arrived overnight. These winds have continued into this afternoon, and it's just uncomfortable enough that I almost didn't come out. To avoid some of the struggle, I've parked in the riverbottom downstream from the floodplain I want to survey. As strong as the gusts are down here, they're at least twice as brutal on the coulee rim. I'm not feeling up to the challenge of climbing in these conditions today, but I do want to see what's new out here

1358 Making my way toward the river confluence, I hike along the base of the sandstone cliffs where, not long ago, I'd been surveying the activities of sagebrush voles and western jumping mice. One of the last times I walked this route, on a relatively warm day during the moon Ka'toyi, I'd observed the early emergence of bluebottle flies, and the thin-legged wolf spiders who were hunting them. Both species are still here today, seven weeks or so later, behaving the same as when I'd seen them last, as if not a day had been lost in between

There is a raven flying near-to and following the coulee rim, probably searching for the rock doves who inhabit these cliffs in small numbers. Out on the river, where it bends sharp at the old beaver lodge, there are two ring-billed gulls floating over a shallow gravel bed. I suspect they're looking for crawdads and freshwater clams, though both retreat upstream before I can confirm

1411 When I reach the riverbend and the mouth of the (dry) oxbow, I follow the edge zone between sandbar willows and the sandstone cliff, and here I begin to encounter some of the insects that always emerge during this moon. The first is the black-morph cowpath tiger beetle, who I expect to see mating already. They probably got a start on it yesterday, but today's winds might pose an obstacle. Several of them lift off the ground in retreat as I walk along. Then, closer to where the willows meet the forest treeline, I see my first clover looper moth of the year. In another week or so, they should become abundant

1426 Continuing to follow the oxbow corridor through the forest, I at first hear only the familiar voices of starlings, flickers, and black-capped chickadees. But then a pair of mourning doves appear. They are picking around in the chokecherries. And as I stop to watch them, a mourning cloak butterfly flutters close to my face. I saw my first mourning cloak of the season a couple weeks ago, but that was under different conditions. I had been turning logs on the wet-meadows of Sspopiikimi, and just happened to find one of the butterflies newly transformed. It's antenna weren't even out yet. This one fluttering by today marks the real emergence

1457 The rest of the way through the forest, upstream to the confluence, I'm scanning the trees for this year's owl nest. The resident kakanottsstooki couple has really eluded me this time around, abandoning the old hawk nest by the mid-forest meadow

At one point as I'm walking, I notice that the deer trails have all shifted to the other side of the oxbow corridor. It seems strange, because there aren't any obstacles on my side, like fallen trees or jams of driftlogs. Just as I'm considering this, and still scanning high for owl nests, I catch sight of something below me in my peripheral vision. It's a huge bald-faced hornet nest from last summer, anchored to a small bit of buckbrush, and almost sitting on the ground. This is obviously why the deer chose to go around

Coming to the end of the forest, I climb up through a thick stand of chokecherries, where I know there to be a well-established magpie nest. It's still looking good, but the resident couple are nowhere around, and so I suspect they too have rebuilt elsewhere this year

Not far from the chokecherries is the little strip of hawthorn along a draw where I keep one of my camera traps. It's been about three weeks since I last downloaded images off it, and in that time it's taken about five hundred pictures. The vast majority are nocturnal shots of cottontails and deer mice, but there are also some daytime images of coyotes, magpies, pheasants and robins. Nobody unexpected. I've kept a camera at this location for almost a year now. It may be time to think about moving it to a completely new site... perhaps even across the river, to the older forests less accessible to recreational hikers

1543 Just before crawling back out of the hawthorns, I'm visited by an insect I did not expect to see. It's a new one for me, tiny, delicate, mantis-like, and orange... a damsel bug [according to my research later in the evening]

Then I make my return journey through the forest, this time taking an alternate route nearer the river proper, and again scanning the trees for owl nests. I don't find any. However, the walk is not without its rewards. At one point, I come upon a juvenile bald eagle, perched in one of the cottonwoods overlooking the willows and river. And just beyond the eagle, there are two porcupines, both sleeping soundly in the branches of the forest canopy

1601 The river itself is a bit more exciting on my return along the sandstone cliffs. When I initially arrive, I can hear the calls of soyottakska, a killdeer, on the wide gravel bar of the opposite shore. This is the first to return to either of my sites for the season. There's a pair of geese on that other shore as well, a bit downstream. And further beyond them, a lone miisa'ai drake

There's also forest on the opposite bank from the cliffs, and as I walk along I glass the trees for nests. There is one large nest that would be perfect for the kakanottsstookiiksi, but they're not there. While I'm conducting this survey, gliding along the coulee rim just above me (and making an extra pass to see what I'm about) is a gorgeous redtail hawk

1632 Finally I arrive back at my vehicle. Just as I'm loading my pack into the truck, and preparing to climb behind the wheel myself, I could swear I hear the songs of a meadowlark. Others have already spotted the first meadowlarks of the season at their sites, but not me. I start up the car and drive out of the coulee, then follow a fenceline along the rim in search of the song's source, but no luck. Could be the bird was down a bit lower on some skunkbrush. Oh well, something to look forward to for my next visit

Concluding Piitaiki'somm

IIII ) llllllllllllllll Early Mourning Cloak (10Mar12)

0827 Sspopiikimi - Woke up this morning just itching to survey the pond

I was here two days ago, shortly after dawn, for a filming session with a couple guys from the National Film Board who are working on a water documentary. Tatsikiistamik advised them to interview me, and I figured Sspopiikimi would be the best site for it, since this is where I do most of my learning. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time, because I had another meeting to attend, so I didn't get to take them along on a full round. We taped in front of the ksisskstakioyis, and I told them the story of how Mahoney and I began our phenology studies, through the challenge to collect waterfowl eggs. The geese, for their part, cooperated perfectly. At one point, the guys wanted to shoot me walking along the shale trail of the west length. As I did so, one of the geese followed, waddling north on the ice for the entire stretch, keeping parallel with me, and as close as she could get without coming ashore. This bird has probably known me her whole life, and if I were there under different conditions, I would have shown her serious attention. So that was one point of frustration for me. A second point came as I was making my way out. With only ten minutes to spare before my scheduled meeting, I stopped in the parking lot to talk with naturalist Ken Orich, who was just pulling in. As we exchanged some quick notes, I spotted a long-tailed weasel leaping into some nearby absinthe scrub. I pointed out the spot to Ken, so he could search it out, but I had to run, and this was the first long-tailed weasel I've ever seen at the pond

Needless to say, I've been dying to return, and this morning is the first opportunity. The temperature right now is right around zero, but things will be warming up soon

0832 As I come within view of pond, it's clear that the big melt-off is underway. There are now significant open pools all the way along. In the pool where I'm at, in north-pond, there are presently three aapsspini couples, as well as three mi'ksikatsi (one drake with two ducks). Further south, at midpond, I can see another mi'ksikatsi couple in a pool by the ksisskstakioyis, and two more aapsspini pairs on the wet-meadows nearby

0845 I start off hiking the shale trail along thewest length, passing a magpie who's sitting with five or six starlings in one of the large cottonwoods on the golf greens. I've noticed that the starlings of Sikoohkotoki are especially fond of singing wigeon calls, and as I listen to them this morning I'm reminded that the wigeons should be passing through at Sspopiikimi any day now. We usually have a group that stops here. I recognize them as the same clan every year because they have one eurasian member with them. They don't stick around, but they're usually here at least a week or so before moving on

Coming to south-pond, I find five more aapsspini couples grazing on the wet-meadows. There are more islands exposed in the wide pool now than in the two previous years, so I'm predicting more aapsspini couples will be nesting here than usual. The bigger question this time around will be whether misamssootaa, the long rains, continue to be extended beyond their norm. I was told that they have always lasted between four and fourteen days. But last year, they went on for something more like six weeks, completely submerging the islands as well as the entire wet-meadows through most of the summer. I also think this is why we had so few berries, as the flowers had just started blooming when the rains began. The change, I suspect, is related to the global warming trend and climate shift

I stop off at the south-pond bench to scan the wide pool and see if there's anything else to note. Nothing phenological that grabs my eye. There is, however, a new feature here. Attached to the metal wall of the nearby trash bin, I notice a wide, shallow box wrapped almost completely in black duct tape, with just a small rectangular window revealing the tin beneath. My curiosity immediately kicks in. Mahoney and I turned a log once in the forest main and found a geocache hidden beneath. I'm wondering if this box is not something similar. It comes off the trash bin fairly easily, having been held in place by magnets. Someone went through a lot of trouble to fashion it for this place. In order to open it though, I have to remove some of the black tape. Before doing so, I give it a little shake. Nothing moves inside, it feels light and empty. Confident that I'm not dealing with a bomb, I remove the tape from three edges of the lid and open it up to reveal... the box is a home-made pinhole camera. The only thing inside is a sheet of photo-paper, taped to the bottom, and revealing a long exposed shot of the Sun's path through the sky. Now I feel stupid and inconsiderate. Had I looked more closely at the little window, I would have seen the pinhole and figured it out. For me, it is a reminder of our cultural compulsion to seek quick answers through intrusive means. I close the lid again, tape it back up, return the box to its place on the trash bin, and hope I haven't caused too much damage. I need to take this as a lesson, and avoid jumping so quickly to intrusive methods in the future. I need to be patient and willing to exhaust potentials for careful observation and consideration of the consequences first

0917 From the south-pond bench, I can hear familiar voices. There's a pheasant somewhere near the duck blind, across the wide pool from me, and another in the owl wood. More interesting though are the voices I hear coming from the coulee slope behind the golf greens. House finches, I'm sure of it

Since the course isn't open yet, I decide to trespass across the greens and climb up alongside the brush-filled draw below the flat I call the coyote playground. This brush is where the voices are coming from, and sure enough they're house finches, about two dozen of them newly returned from migration. There are also niipomakii here, and I see a single male robin. I'm not the only one attracted to the sounds of these birds. A white coyote approaches the brush just as I do, but from the opposite side of the draw. She's close enough that I figure she could maneuver her way to me in a matter of very few seconds. When she notices that I'm there too, she stops in her tracks and looks behind her, then back at me. Then, surprisingly enough, she sits calmly down on her haunches, so I follow her lead and do the same. The two of us sit like this for about five minutes, watching the birds together. Then she stands, looks over her shoulder again, and turns to climb the ridge behind her, soon disappearing from sight

0935 Moving on, I descend the slope again and hike over to the owl wood, where I can hear calls from mi'kaniki'soyi, the flicker. It's warming up nicely, and I have to remove my wool hat and thin gloves. The owls aren't here, they're nesting elsewhere, same as last year. By the sounds of it though, the starlings are getting an early start. I can hear them calling from inside one of the flicker cavities, the kind of calls I associate with mating

0957 In the owl wood, I begin to come across active insects... first a scout honeybee, then a greenbottle fly. I continue to see the same two species when I go over the levee and into the forest main. Their presence has me excited both about the season ahead, and about who I might find under the wet-meadow logs today

Fairly hurrying out onto the meadow, and turning one of the larger logs on the south end, I'm not disappointed. There are far fewer insects under this log than in previous years, owing I think to the floods of last summer. A really conspicuous absence is the lack of various beetle species who normally winter here - the rove beetles, sidewalk and granulated carabids. But who I am greeted with is the first butterfly of the year, a mourning cloak. She's gripping the log and keeping her wings closed, probably having only recently pupated. In addition, there are several fuzzy moth larvae here. They're about the same size as saltmarsh moth larvae, but darker in fur. I'll have to try again to dig-up a solid identification

1020 I lift a few more boards and logs as I move toward the bulberry patch. None of them have anything so exciting as an emerging butterfly, but I do find a pair of water striders and a large cocoon. I haven't brought any containers with me, or I'd take the cocoon home to see who comes out of it

Once at the bulberries, I set down my bag and climb in through a coyote-height tunnel. My camera trap here hasn't been checked for a couple weeks, and I wish I'd gotten to it sooner. In one of the early frames, a porcupine can be seen walking straight toward the lens. In the next three shots, it climbs right over top of the camera, shifting its focus away from the trail completely. After the porcupine, I have several pictures of thick brush, with who knows what passing behind

Rather than simply shifting the lens back in the right direction, I decide to move the camera entirely, setting it up in a different part of the bulberries, where it looks like the animals have cleared a sizable chamber. I then hike out through the forest main toward the levee, flushing a whitetail deer along the way

1045 I move on to the river where, for the first time in quite a while, there are no aapsspini to be seen around the big island. I can see one pair downstream, by the highway bridge, and several others upstream at the high-level bridge, but none on the island at all. Also absent are the eagles, ravens, and goldeneyes who've been fairly constant all winter. There are a few mallards on the water when I first come into view, but they quickly take wing. I walk down to the shoreline by the edge of the north wood, expecting to find insects scurrying among the cobbles. There are none, not even the isocapnia stoneflies I've been expecting to appear

1055 From the river, I hike through the north wood, over the levee, and through what remains of the absinthe field post pipeline construction. I am half hoping to encounter the weasel I'd spotted on my way out the other day. It was still bright winter white, but I can feel the season closing, and the new life ready to burst forth. There will be more and more residents emerging everyday now from here out

IIII ) lllllllllllllllll Diving Beetle Emergence (11Mar12)

1437 Sspopiikimi - Back again, with heavier winds, but still very comfortable temperatures, and a few tentative agenda items to attend. I'd like to check on the ant hives, for instance, to see who's all awake. I may try to locate this year's owl and magpie nests. Also... and I don't know how realistic this would be... I've been imagining following one of the honeybee scouts, to ascertain their nest location, and thereby avoid any interference with it through the season to come

1449 Of course, when seeking to learn unobtrusively from nature, all agendas must be kept loose at best. Coming within sight of north-pond, which is almost entirely ice-free, I'm ready to discard all my plans. There's more important things going on that I should direct my attention to. The water here is filled with aapsspini, thirty-five of them, almost all separated as couples. There's also two mi'ksikatsi pairs, and a lone female American wigeon. All are feeding or simply floating. More interestingly though, the mamia'tsikimiiksi are here, three of them, paying a lot of attention to the mud banks at the pond's edge. It's a bit too early for them to be shaping the mud bowls for their nests. Right now, most that I’ve been monitoring are still gathering sticks. It must be they're eating some newly emerged insect, and I'm going to have to check it out

1459 Yes, leave it to the magpies to tip me off to the latest phenological event. The muddy banks of the pond are teeming with mid-sized diving beetles, some of which shuttle off into the water at my approach, others opting to take flight. It is indeed nearing the time of year when I often find these beetles slowly dragging themselves along the ground at various distances from water. I don’t know enough about their natural history to understand why they would bother leaving the pond, but I suppose their travels keep the genetic pool mixed-up nicely. The adults are, as the magpies attest, edible. And though I haven’t mustered the courage to try any of them myself, similar predacious diving beetles are – like the giant water bug, which I also haven’t tasted – eaten by members of several cultures around the world

Leaving the beetles to their doings, I climb back up the bank and directly to one of the larger thatching ant hives. There are some active and outside, just as I’d suspected there would be. As I’m checking on them, two scout bees conduct exploratory fly-bys of my body. They zoom off at such a rate that I relinquish any notions of my ability to follow them

1523 The mamia’tsikimiiksi, who had taken off when I went to investigate the shoreline, are encountered again at the extreme end of north-pond, where they are again munching diving beetles. Noting my scrutiny, they fly up over the levee and drop into the north wood, and I follow, still on the lookout for any of their new nests or the location of the owls. I find neither, and end up eventually at the river cutbank on the other side of the wood, looking out over the big island. Surprisingly, there are just two pairs of aapsspini on the island today. Everyone else, it seems, is back at the pond

1545 From the river, I drop down into the forest main and make my way toward the wet meadows, stopping along the way to check the slave ant hives. No action there. Then, once out on the meadows proper, I turn a few logs, not finding much. There are several fast-moving little spiders, and I take the cocoon that I’d spotted yesterday

At the bulberry brush, I decide to go ahead and check the camera again, though it’s only been a day set up at the slightly new location. There are a number of images already, all of them showing magpies. It makes me wonder if they’re going to try to use the old nest from last year, even though the bush that it’s attached to is fallen over, leaving the nest just a few feet off the ground

1554 Continuing on with my wet-meadow log-turning, I soon come across one of the most splendid mouse houses I’ve ever seen… a cozy bundle of moss, grass, and cottony seeds, its entrance perfectly lined with cottontail fur. I peek inside with my flashlight, but there’s nobody home. Back behind this house, under the same log, and separated by a small burm of soil, is the mouse’s washroom space, with a good collection of droppings attesting to how long the period of occupancy has been

Setting the log back in its place and moving another fifty meters or so, I come across a large shed whitetail antler. This I take back and place close to the mouse log as an offering. I’m sure the little guy would love to nibble at this antler within diving distance of sure safety

1612 Arriving at the duck blind, the wide south pool looks much like north-pond in terms of activity. There are, by my count, twenty aapsspini here, most of them in pairs, and eight mi’ksikatsi

1635 While at the south end, I decide to walk around the perimeter of the owl wood, surveying again for the nests of kakanottsstookiiksi and mi’ksikatsiiksi. It is no use. I don’t know where the owls have gone but, as for the magpies, I suspect they’re building in the dense chokecherry stands along some of the coulee draws

Coming full circle again to the wide south pool, there’s a bit of goose tension. A family of seven members are, for some unknown reason, purposely stirring things up. They are swimming up to each couple occupying the islands and bullying their way across. This doesn’t play out well at the island nearest the mouth of the pool, whose occupants are, I believe, the Gosling Couple. This is the most aggressive pair of aapsspini on the pond, and they stand their ground just fine even against seven. In fact, they send the intruders scrambling

1643 Just about back to the vehicle now. The wind has picked up, and there are now far fewer insects around than there were earlier. I have no further encounters to report. But I did notice, coming through the bulberry patch above the peninsula, that the flower buds now have that vivid, lively look to them. If we have a few more warm days, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start opening already

IIII ) lllllllllllllllllllll The Unfortunate Snagging Of A Muskrat (15Mar12)

1230 Sspopiikimi - Bit of a traumatic morning. I went out to the pond after dropping Mahoney off at work, hoping to get a jump on the apaksskioomiiksi (northern pike). I want to get a good supply of fish over the summer, and can't think of a more beneficial way to do it than in catching some of the larger predators at Sspopiikimi before the goslings and ducklings are born

With the ice having melted, the aapsspiniiksi are already very near to caching eggs. I'll have to monitor them closely from here out. Today, there were twelve pairs on the pond, and plenty of islands to go around. Still, the territorial battles have begun. I witnessed several fights between ganders while attending to the fish. There are also four or five mi'ksikatsi couples hanging around the pond, but they're more skittish, and fly away when I'm around

Unfortunately, just as during this transition between seasons last year, it doesn't seem the apaksskioomiiksi are all to interested in eating. I walked along the shoreline tossing and reeling-in the spoons they rarely resist, and didn't get even one strike. Then, along the shore of the wide south pool, I noticed a dead turtle tucked up in a little inlet to one of the muskrat burrows. I pulled the turtle out, and examined it. The shell had already been gnawed through in several places, and all the appendages (head, legs, and tail) had been eaten out, but there was still some flesh and organs deep inside. I though that maybe, if the apaksskioomiiksi were too dormant yet to chase after spoons, a drifting bit of rancid turtle meat might do the trick

I quickly set myself up, sapping spoon for hook, putting just a tiny weight near on the line, to sink the meat. Since I didn't have a bobber with me, I rigged up a natural float using a couple inches of cattail stem. Ready to go, I cast the bait out a ways, waited patiently as it drifted back in with the wind. Cast again, waited. Cast a third time, and suddenly a muskrat surfaced near my line. It swam straight to and over top of my bit of reed float. When I didn't see the cattail appear again in its wake, I slowly started to reel things in. Sure enough, the hook had caught in the muskrat's hind foot, and now I had a squirming mammal at the end of my line

Because it did not break away immediately, I though maybe we'd end up eating barbecued muskrat tonight. I held the pole and dug into my backpack for a small crowbar I could use to inflict the necessary crack on the head. I didn't really want to kill the muskrat, nor did I want to inflict a serious injury and just leave the animal to suffer. With crowbar in hand, I slowly guided the muskrat toward the shore at my feet. Then, just as things were about to get brutal, the muskrat dove into the same little inlet I'd taken the turtle from, and climbed up into a burrow with my hook still securely attached. I don't know how my line remained intact through the pulling and thrashing, but it did

Crouched beside the burrow entrance, I kept things tight and waited. When the muskrat refused to come back out, I held the line with one hand and started digging toward the animal with the other. Soon I had an exposed tail, and then the leg. The hook had gone through part of the muskrat's foot, and the damage looked to be no worse than a piercing. But how to get the hook out without either causing more damage or being bitten? I had no idea. Finally, I just grabbed the hook and pulled it down, away from the wound. At the same time, the muskrat made its own move, tore free and dove out past me. I hope it has enough self-doctoring instinct to ensure the puncture doesn't become infected and debilitating. I guess next time I'll react differently to start... If a muskrat appears to be going after your fishing bait, it probably is. Get the hook back to shore and out of reach as quick as possible, or prepare to eat muskrat for dinner

IIII ) llllllllllllllllllllllll Isocapnia… Finally (18Mar12)

1406 Sspopiikimi - We're heading toward the close of Piitaiki'somm, and recently the temperatures have cooled. This afternoon it's just above freezing. Still, for the acclimatized, it's comfortable. I'm out with just a sweater, sandals, and buff. No need for a toque

Yesterday, we had the first of our end-of-winter snow flurries... wet, sticky snow attempting to be Makoyisttsomo'ki (the Wolf Cap). We've had such a warm winter, most of it melted as soon as it touched down. A second round is coming this evening, the clouds already beginning to meld into grey stratus

It appears as though the pipeline construction has been completed, at least down here. They've sprayed that (practically neon) green seed paint all over the areas where soil was disturbed, including along parts of the shale trail by north-pond. I suppose it'll be monocrop brome in those places now

1409 Not wanting to disturb any migrating ducks who might be around, having dropped in from last night's snow, I don't raise my head up over the cutbank until I get to the farthest end of north-pond. There's nobody unexpected on the water: seven pairs of aapsspini, plus a yearling, and one mi'ksikatsi couple with an oddball (likely young) drake. There's also a muskrat swimming near the old shore lodge of the ksisskstaki, and a lot more ice than there was only a few days ago

Among the waterfowl, two aapsspini couple seem more staked-out for nesting territories than the others. There's no islands here for them, but I suspect they'll use the wet meadows, as in past years. Hopefully they don't try nesting on the plastic dock that was installed last summer. I can't express how tempted I am to pull that eyesore apart and get it out of here

1430 From north-pond, I climb over the levee and out to the river. There are four aapsspini couples laying claim to nesting territories on the big island here, though I suspect at least triple as many once things really get underway. The big news though is that the awaited Isocapnia stone flies are finally making their appearance on the shoreline rocks, and there are both magpies and downy woodpeckers there to feast on them. If I don't see anything else of phenological interest today, these stoneflies will have made the visit well worthwhile. For me, their appearance is a measure of personal success. I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me, but it's always rewarding to have confirmation when I can successfully predict at least one more event in the annual cycle

1443 Leaving the river, I pass through the forest main and out onto the wet meadows to check my camera trap in the bulberry brush. Unfortunately, it seems to have run out of batteries a few days ago. The images it did catch show a heavy mamia'tsikimi (long-tail or magpie) presence, and indeed there is a small base of sticks near one of the old orbs to suggest they're building a new nest. There have also been repeated visits from a male aotahkaaokayis (orange-breast or robin), a sign of the season

Out on the wet-meadows nearby, there is a pair of aapsspini conspicuously standing their ground, and so I approach them after finishing my work the bulberries. The couple do move out onto the water, which means they haven't begun caching eggs yet. The surest sign of such activity is when they will stay near, despite the threat I present

There is also an aapsspini couple standing fairly firm on the little island the ksisskstakiiksi created in front of their lodge. With the water so low, the beavers have had to trench out the bottom of the pond near their entrance, and all the mud and stone is piled up (and likely scented) nearby. This aapsspini pair are going to nest on the little island, I'm sure of it. Mahoney and I are familiar with this couple, and they usually use the bulrush flotilla left behind from the ksisskstaki winter food cache. But given that it's an unanchored flotilla (this year having already been pushed against the shoreline by the wind), their nest almost always fails. Not this year. Finally they will have a firm and fairly unreachable platform

1451 Moving south from the ksisskstakioyis, I encounter two aapsspini couples on the wet-meadows near the subpond canal (now dry), a third pair in the subpond proper, and five more couples in the wide south pool. Also in south-pond today are two mi'ksikatsi pairs, plus six drakes who are traveling as partnered couples, and the lone female wigeon. I don't know what's happened to the flock of wigeons who usually stop here. It's unlikely I could have missed them completely. If they don't return here this year, I can only assume something happened to them. I don't think they could have all been taken by hunters. More likely, in that event, to conjecture they've fallen victim to an industrial massacre of some sort... oil spill, frack fluid leak, Walmart parking lot, what have you

1455 I stop for a break at the duck blind. Everything is still fairly peaceful here. The big aapsspini battles haven't begun as yet. I'm looking forward to observing the behaviors of one pair in particular, those we call the Gosling Couple. It appears they have reoccupied the little island where they nested five years ago (that had been sunk in more recent years), right at the mouth of the wide south pool. Of all the animals at Sspopiikimi, this pair of geese have been our greatest teachers. They are the elders of the pond, and the goose herself the current matriarch of the Sspopiikimi matrilocal goose clan. Judging by behavioral nuances, Mahoney and I believe the 'husbands' are recruited in. Their behaviors range widely, while their wives have far more in common

The Gosling Couple are special for many reasons, not least of which being that they are the only pair who are absolutely safe from the egg predation we commit for our ceremonies. Both the goose and gander are absolutely willing to trade their lives for the protection of their eggs. And for that reason, five years ago, they were the only successful nesters (hence their name). That year, Mahoney and I sat on the banks and monitored them almost every evening throughout the incubation. When the hatching began, all the waterfowl and aquatic mammals gathered around the island to witness the occasion. It was the one and only time the gander allowed them near, and the first to pip faced us directly for a full day

We lost track of the first little yellow fluff-ball born that year, but the gosling couple never forgot about us. Ever since, the gander has used us blatantly as a component of his nest defense. Whenever we are near during the incubation period, he strategically positions himself to chase potential threats toward us. Often, they are so preoccupied with his violent charge that they don't even see us until the last second, and then they go into complete panic. This gives the gander exactly the edge he needs to convince them that passing by his nesting area is a very, very bad idea

1517 The 'ki-ki-ki' calls of male mi'kaniki'soyiiksi (red-wing-feathers or flickers) call me away from the duck blind. I've not seen or heard any of the territorial jousts of these birds this year, but they must be underway. I walk the perimeter of the owl wood, where one of the flickers is calling from. I can't help but glass the old nest and roosting tree of the kakanottsstooki (meager-ears or great horned owl) couple, even though I know they won't be here

When I get to the west end of the owl wood, I hike up one of the brush-lined coulee draws to check for mamia'tsikimi oyiiyiistsi. I know this year's magpie nests are being worked on here somewhere. It frustrates me that I haven't confirmed the locations. The draw I climb has the most bulberry bushes, and so is a likely magpie location. But my search of the brush produces nothing

I decide to climb the next ridge north, so that I can descent through another draw to continue my search. Along the way, I notice a smattering of emerging green... there are sporadic grass shoots, the first leaves of absinthe, and basal rosettes of sooyaiaiihtsi (three-flowered avens). Still no musineon, crocus, or moss phlox flowers though. But then again, they're not really expected yet, I'm just anxious

1528 The next draw north holds a ribbon of chokecherry and saskatoon, but still no magpie nests. They're probably one more draw over, below the coyote playground. My climbing legs are too shot to check today. With the melt of yesterday's snow, the slopes are incredibly slick. Believe it or not, the mud gives me more traction than the grass. I have several near-falls on my way down, and kind of tweek my knee as a result. Best practice is to go with the fall rather than resist it, but nobody ever does that, and I'm no exception

1546 Once at the base of the slope again, I continue down onto the peninsula. The kingfisher's here, the one who over-wintered. He flies off chattering in his usual fashion at my intrusion. I've brought my telescoping fishing rod with me, in one of the pockets of my backpack, and I take it out to give a few casts. The pike aren't eating yet, but for both dietary and phenological reasons I really want to know when they start. I'll continue to test for them every visit from here out

1555 The hike back along the shale trail to my car is without further event. It'll probably be another four days or so before I can return, but I'm glad to have seen the stoneflies before the moon disappears

Diamesinae Midges And Empty Owl Nests

IIII ) llllllllllllllllllllllll Aapsspiniiksi Return To Pond (18Feb12)

1431 Sspopiikimi - It's a fairly comfortable seven degrees above zero, with clear skies. But there's a good wind today, making it feel a bit cooler. I haven't been out here in a week, so thought I'd take a counter-sunwise stroll around. I'm not expecting too many surprises though, given how quiet it's been, while we wait for Piitaiki'somm, the eagle moon

1437 Seems I'm just in time to catch the geese shifting over to south pond from the big river island. There are about thirty out by the marsh now, and another thirty or so in two flocks circling for a landing. Across the pond from me, as I walk the west length, I see that there's a small open pool in front of the ksisskstakioyis, right about where their food cache should be. The cache itself, a flotilla at this point, seems already to have drifted up against the shore to the north of the lodge (it must have done so a few weeks back, when there was an open pool there). This is really early for the flotilla to move. Normally it doesn't occur until the aapsspini nests are prepared, about two moon cycles from now

1452 When I come to the end of south-pond, I drop down into the owl wood. The male kakanottsstooki is still here at the usual roost, but no sign yet of the female. There is also a flicker who darts past, uncomfortably hear the owl, a magpie further along the trail, and a chickadee who comes to sing to me. The song is one I'm unfamiliar with, not the usual niipomakii winter calls. I record my own imitation of it, because I know Yellow Kidney (a past Beaver Bundle caretaker) used to pay a lot of attention to the niipomakii song sequence that goes through several changes during the season's shift. He used to be able to time the arrival of migrating waterfowl by it

1505 While I talk to the chickadee, I hear the unmistakable throaty croak of a raven out by the high-level bridge. Making my way there, I find only more geese. I then walk the river cutbank downstream, back toward south pond, stopping off along the way to check the owl nest proper for the female. She's still not here, and nowhere to be seen in the surrounding trees. Given that they shifted their nest location last year, away from this particular site, I wouldn't doubt if the male will be leaving again to join his mate elsewhere, if in fact she's still alive

1512 Just before entering the forest main, I catch a tiny bit of movement on the trail beside me. It's a small, grey running crab spider, the kind with a black diamond on its back (Thanatus formicinus), and it freezes motionless when becoming aware of my notice. I take the opportunity to get some macro photos and, while I'm down on my hands and knees, a large group of aapsspini move back to the river from south-pond. They're accustomed to crossing low over the levee when no humans are around, and since I'm down on the ground they don't notice me until they're flying over my back. If I stood up, I probably could have touched them

1525 Continuing on, I move through the forest, routing near enough to the hawk nest that I can check for the female owl (she's not there), and eventually reach the big bulberry patch on the wet meadows. Last week, my camera trap at this location hadn't registered a single passer-by. This week is different, or back to normal I should say. The recent images on its memory card include one coyote, frequent visits from a magpie, and a couple struts-through by the male ring-necked pheasant

1542 From the bulberries, I pass through a bit more of the forest main and again climb the levee. Up here, on the shale trail, there are two male flickers poking holes in the ground. They're gone before I can see what they're eating, so I take my crowbar to a couple of the holes they made, and come up with nothing. There is, however, a crab spider who comes to perch on a blade of grass beside me as I search one of the flicker holes, as if she were expecting a meal to dash out

1556 I follow the levee and river cutbank to the edge of the north wood. All along the way, there are aapsspiniiksi huddled along thin strip of open water on my side of the big river island. Toward the north wood, I'm also able to see three goldeneyes out on the other side of the river, where most of their fishing seems to take place. The big raft of goldeneyes is no more. Nor is there any sign of the ravens at their poplar borer log. That is my last stop before hiking back around north-pond to my vehicle. Just a quick survey, but worth it if for no other reason than to stay apprised

IIII ) l Diamesinae Midge (24Feb12)

1204 Sspopiikimi - It's a bit colder today than it has been recently, three degrees below zero at noon. The meteorologists have been predicting snow, but we've had none save for a touch that fell two days ago. It's been almost a week since my last visit, and I'm here once again to survey for new phenological events. I can see already that the aapsspiniiksi are still visiting south-pond in groups. Five are coming to land there as my hike begins

1212 Rounding north-pond, I get my first look at one of the changes underway. A lone pair of aapsspini have come to land on the ice here, near the cattail area that the midpond coot couple usually nest in. During my last couple visits, while the goose couples were easily recognizable at south-pond and along the river, they were still staying close to the larger collective. This pair is entirely removed. They are occupying territory that they'll soon be nesting at. I'm going to sit and watch them from a distance

1224 So far, the goose has been picking around in the reed hummocks while her gander stands sentry. Initially, she selected what appears to be a bulrush stem, dragged it out onto the ice and nibbled at its base end for a bit. But since then, I've seen here mouthing and swallowing some much smaller material taken from the hummock mud, perhaps old milfoil. While I watch them, another flock of aapsspiniiksi, with eleven members, come to land at south-pond. Although I haven't been sitting long, I'm getting cold and may have to move soon to warm back up

1234 A few more minutes, and I decide to climb the levee. As soon as I crest the top, I'm met with mamia'tsikimiiksi (magpies), three of them. They've been perched in the near canopy of the north wood, watching me. Now they fly ahead and land in the grass off the side of the levee-walk. Again I stop to watch. I can't see what they're picking at, but when looking through my binoculars I notice there's some kind of heat or gas event going on there. The air above the grass is shimmering like water. It's imperceptible to my naked eye, but I bet the magpies sense it. Soon a fourth bird lands close, scrutinizes me, then flies over to the others and seems to communicate something. All four fly immediately into the north wood, toward the river

1248 I follow the mamia'tsikimiiksi and find them in the forest canopy. Two are simply perched, while the other two investigate the folds of branches for hidden food. Of course they notice my surveillance, and soon all are off to the river. Again I follow, and find them picking around on the ice near their bathing area, where there's a stream of semi-open water (narrow pockets divided by bits of ice over which a little water flows and puddles). From here, I can also see the big river island. On and around it there are seventy-one more aapsspiniiksi and a mi'ksikatsi couple. At least half the geese are separated-off in distinguishable, fairly isolated pairs. The nesting season is indeed approaching

1309 I remain with the magpies. A fifth member has joined them, as well as a male flicker, and they're congregating around a large tree that has sluffed-off from the side of the cutbank, extending out to the open water pools. One of the magpies has been standing in shallow, freezing water for at least ten minutes now. This one is running around in a particular puddle area, eating something that I can't see from my distance. The other magpies are coming down to take samples of the same. Whatever they're eating, it seems to be distributed over a defined area on the ice. It's not goose poop, because I see them pass by a couple obvious droppings. There are a couple yellowish globs of foam that receive special attention, but most of the sources seem to be invisible on the ice

1315 I've just taken a close look through my binoculars, and there appears to be some kind of little insect being washed up onto the ice from the open water pockets. I'm going to have to find a way down off the steep cutbank to learn what it is

1336 It's treacherous, but I manage to get down to the site balancing on a branch of the fallen tree. The birds depart as I approach. I thought that, once down here, I'd find the insects to be isocapnia stoneflies, as they were among the first I observed when the ice began to break last year. But what I come upon is a new species to me entirely. They are minuscule flies, probably stoneflies, about half the size of a female mosquito. Many of them are stuck in the foamy globs previously mentioned, but the vast majority are on the ice, and collected thickly at the site where the one magpie has kept its feet submerged for so long. They are mating, and I take several pictures which I can use at home this evening to (hopefully) identify them

[Note: follow-up with the photos reveal they are not stoneflies at all, but a species of Diamesinae midge]

1402 Ascending the branch back to the top of the cutbank again, I hear and quickly spot a downy woodpecker off the side of the levee trail in the forest main. Just below her, picking through the leaf litter under some chokecherries and saskatoons, are the magpies. I suspect they're finding spiders, and I'd like to confirm it, but first I decide to hustle off to the owl wood, to check on the kakanottsstookiiksi. Unfortunately, the male who'd been here the last few weeks is absent at the moment. He may just be perched elsewhere, or he may have gone to join his wife at a different nest site. I wouldn't doubt the latter, as they nested in another location last year too. I was hoping to return immediately to the magpies and forest main, but my sister-in-law has messaged me, asking if I can pick her up from work, so I will head back and return again in a day or two

1416 I walk hurriedly north along the levee again, and back to the car. Along the way, I cross paths with the magpies again. They're no longer in the leaf litter, but back on the ice, taking advantage of the fly event that's underway. There are now two male flickers there with them. I'll try to get back out here around the same time tomorrow, to see if this continues

IIII ) llllllllll Empty Owl Nest (4Mar12)

1311 Pitsiiksiinaikawaahko – Partway into Piitaiki’somm, and yesterday read the first Albertabird confirmation that someone had spotted a great horned owl incubating on a nest. I’ve also observed magpies beginning to build and repair their nests around my neighborhood and the university. So today, I’m heading down to the confluence to see what’s new phenologically, but especially to check on the owl nest above the mid-forest meadow. There are heavy winds, but it’s warm, about fourteen degrees above. No need for a jacket

1316 Moving down the coulee slope now, through the area where I would normally find musineon growing in season. None have shot out yet. A little further along, I’ll keep my eyes open for moss phlox and kippiaapii flowers

1324 Just before reaching the rattlesnake hibernaculum, I come across some coyote droppings comprised of vole hair, vole bones, and a plastic bag. I’m not anti-litter, because I don’t think piling our garbage in huge toxic concentrations is a good idea. But I am frustrated with the thoughtlessness of those who would toss a bag of food out for animals to find. Lucky thing it passed through this one’s system. At the hibernaculum proper, the snakes are still underground, and will probably stay that way for two more moons if all goes as normal. There are, however, lots of seven-spot lady beetles around, as well as blue-bottle flies

1341 When I get to the sagebrush flats, I climb a ridge overlooking the river confluence. Below, I count thirty-one aapsspini, with several distinct couples pulled away from the groups. There’s also about ten mi’ksikatsi, both drakes and ducks, and five male goldeneyes in a wide pool just downstream of where the St Mary’s comes in. There’s a couple magpies pecking around on the ice at the edge of this pool. I suspect they’re responding to the Diamesinae midges, just like at the pond, but I’ll need to get down there to confirm it. There are no kippiaapii or phlox flowers yet. Right now, I’m going to check on my camera trap

1404 During my last visit, I moved the game-cam deeper into the hawthorn brush. As expected, it has caught hundreds of images since. Most of them are of cottontails, but there are also visits from magpies, pheasants, and deer mice

1422 From the hawthorns, I make my way into the forest and out to the meadow to look at the owl nest. The forest is one big swampy mess today, and this is something that always occurs during Piitaiki’somm. Unfortunately, the owl nest remains empty. Like the kakanottsstooki couple at the pond, I’m beginning to suspect this pair may have selected a new nest to occupy. This is a large forest, and there are plenty of old magpie nests they could choose from. I’ll give it another week or so, and if they’re still absent from the old nest I’ll have to go searching. While I scope out the meadow, a large adult bald eagle glides in downriver and swoops over the geese. I’m going to make my way out toward the water to check out what’s happening

1445 When I come within sight of the water, the ducks immediately notice me and take wing. The goldeneyes only go a short distance, landing at the upper end of the open pool, but the mallards follow the Oldman around the next bend and out of sight. There’s still one magpie pecking around on the ice, so I walk out as far as it’s safe to go. Sure enough, there are more of those Diamesinae midges. As I crouch down to take a macro shot of one of them, the eagle returns. There’s nowhere for me to conceal myself, so the eagle spots me and makes a wide arch around the flood plain on the opposite side of the river, and I miss any opportunity I might have had to observe its waterfowl hunting

1523 With the eagle departed, I follow along the ice at the edge of the river, looking for the first isocapnia stone flies. There are none. Soon I’m at the black cliffs, and from here begin my ascent back up the coulee slope. I march up the trail, feeling drained, and almost in trance state, twice losing sense of how far I’d gone before cresting the top of the coulee. Obviously, in this condition, I don’t notice very much of anything around me, nothing new to report