At Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge today with Pat VanKley. Fall at the refuge When the leaves are mostly off the trees, and most of the color-tourists have passed on by, When most of the songbirds and shorebirds have headed to their wintering grounds, In the wetlands of the refuge there is a celebration. A pair of greater yellowlegs leisurely feast in the shallows, selecting the most succulent of the water plants. Songbirds and waterfowl raise their voices in solos that are no longer lost in the choruses of the flocks. Trees bend their newly naked bones in graceful cathedral arches. Leaves on the paths reveal brilliant colors and shapes that could only be guessed at when they were on trees, and they rustle and crinkle with each passing step. . The grasses and reeds wear their finest fall colors, deep burgundy and rust and all shades of gold. Milkweed set free their parachutes, and other seed-plants add their confetti. Atop muskrat huts trumpeter swans, herons and egrets, gulls and geese and ducks of all breeds celebrate fall in the refuge, rewarding the fortunate humans who come to the party. D. M. Lueke November 2, 2014
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:08:28 +0000
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