Wildlife in Photography

Sunday evening after checking out Prince William Forest Park, I made a run on Huntley Meadows Park. My first find just resulted in confusion.

Someone, please tell me, why would a chicken be in a park in Alexandria?

After leaving that mystery situation, I set off toward the boardwalk. The high temperatures of the weekend helped frogs become active, but they are a different species than I have previously documented.

I’m not sure if temperatures are to blame, but most of the birds were not present. There were no herons, egrets or ospreys. A group of birders was making calls and hearing return calls that they said was a Virginia Rail, but the creature never came out.

Thanks to my hike earlier in the day (and the heat), I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to do my usual methodical sweep. But I did manage to hang out with a few muskrats and beavers. Two neat things about my time with the beavers:

1) They make noise! Not just the chewing sounds from the other day, but actual vocalizations. I’ll try to record them if I can find them doing it again.

2) I caught this frame, showing the orange dagger-like lower teeth of a beaver.