Black Rapids Creek Trail

 November 21, 2020

We wanted a short hike close to home, so went to Black Rapids to hike a trail behind Country Place that we had never done before.

We first checked the river.  There was not much except a couple of Common  Goldeneyes.

We crossed the closed bridge and found ourselves on a private driveway. So we had to cross Prince of Wales and walk back to the start of the trail; we won't do that again!  We did see a White-breasted Nuthatch at least.

The trail started out beside a corn field far from the creek.  So we went down a steep path to check it out.  No birds, though.

Back on the main path, we saw a trio of Hairy Woodpeckers and a Pileated Woodpecker that had flown over earlier.

We saw a flock of redpolls, but they were high in the tree tops and hard to photograph. But Barbara persisted and got some ID shots.

We went as far as Merivale Road, then turned and headed back.  This time, we saw about 10 Mallards & Black Ducks feeding in the creek.

Some song birds were flitting about the shore past the Mallards. Although distant, we were pretty sure they were American Tree Sparrows.

Then Bill spotted a couple of Muskrats on the far shore and a Blue Jay.

A little farther along, we saw a Beaver dining on a stick and a second one pulling a a long pole down the far bank.

A very interesting hike.  Some people we met told us about a fox and an otter.  Next time.