Walked at Buzzard today as I do a few times a year and was thankful to see the beavers still active at pond #5. Their dam across the spillway was rebuilt with mostly mud after... DCNR workers?...demolished the first mostly wooden one. I am assuming it was the DCNR because they seem to have nothing better to do and I know it was not because the original wood structure had been causing any problem. This is an old algae and water lily choked pond emptying under the access road through a 5 foot berm; even the heaviest rain has plenty of room to expand laterally while the spillway is barely a trickle for much of the year; no raging torrents here. The beavers have made the pond level deep enough for fish and other wildlife.
I have not seen every species listed on the sign while walking here, but I have no doubt they are present for I have seen them elsewhere in the National forest and surrounding area. Otters, porcupines, bald eagles and other species not listed on the sign are relatively common as well. Monarch butterflies have been added to the endangered species list because of habitat loss, pesticide use and the changing climate. There is ample milkweed here in the preserve but I did not see much of it being eaten by caterpillars. My daughter in law raises Monarchs to adulthood and does her best by growing milkweed in her gardens, but with the loss of oyamel trees that provide the Monarchs winter refuge in Mexico, this is not an easy fix. It would be sad to see the Monarch go the way of the passenger pigeon, but somewhere around 75-90% of the population has crashed in the last 10 years. (..an exact number is difficult to determine, yet along a different migration route in California their numbers have dropped from 4.5 million in the 1980"s to around 30,000 in 2019) Unfortunately, as I have mentioned in other blogs, most species of insects have been affected by the loss of habitat, climate change and over use of pesticides. In many parts of the world total insect numbers have dropped by over 75% in the last 30 years...This is very disturbing...losing the butterflies and bees and flies and dung beetles and even mosquitoes will have profound effects on lifeforms up the food chain; insects decompose much of the dead, they pollinate many of our crops,and flowers, they provide food for birds and amphibians and fish...in truth all the effects of their loss is unknown, but this is a serious problem that most people are not aware of or do not care about. Abortion, and gun rights, and election integrity and economic inflation- as important as those issues may be- will seem minor when entire ecosystems collapse. I truly fear for our species over the coming century, and I do think that I am exaggerating. Never before have I hoped so fervently that I am wrong.
( ....as usual, click on pics to enlarge)
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