Monarchs and Beaver

 This last day of September I went early to the Woods to see what the change of season might have brought. With southward-migrating monarchs flying over the Northeast Gate, I started along the Tree Loop. 

The Woods are parched. The still-green leaves of the Callicarpa beautyberry are drooped in a full wilt. The leaf litter crackles underfoot. Some early leaf drop has started, mainly stressed leaves of elm and sugarberry. No significant rain since 1.5-2 inch at the start of September. But most of canopy of leaves remains, and is still a weathered green.

With drought and heat, it is notable that the western wash is still full at Island Crossing, and at Elm Bridge. I was startled (and delighted) to see fresh beaver activity in the Wash. A young elm along the Wash, near the south end of the Tree Loop, had been cut down and its bark chewed partly off. It has been over a decade since I last saw beaver in the Wash. The water is something of a mystery - its been flowing for a few weeks. None of it is from recent rain. It is coming from the OU campus, perhaps along Timberdell somewhere, a pipe break? I want to know if it is dilute wastewater, irrigation water or something else.

The flow has been sustained for enough weeks that minnows and aquatic surface insects are present; and now, beaver. At Island Crossing a small garter snake appears to have adopted the area and swam away before I could snap some pictures.

Walking west, I surprised three or four whitetail deer. As they romped away I lost sight of them beyond the shrubby undergrowth. I heard several snorts of the doe calling the yearlings back.

Trees along the trails have sustained some breakage. Up on the North Rim trail, a large sugarberry crown has been torn down and blocks the trail. But trails I walked on were mostly clear. The earth along the Main Wash by the Grandfather cottonwood is cracked dry and broken into irregular polygons, waiting for rain.

The Northwest and East Ponds are both dried across their basins. Pushing a rod into the damp soil near the water depth post, there is water visible about 6 inches below the surface. Most of the annual wildflowers, Elephantopus Elephant's foot, Verbesina Frostweed and Crownbeard and others along the trails have wilted, drooped leaves. Not sure what a rain might do to restore. The season is probably complete for them.

Armadillos have been plowing through the leaf litter searching for a meal, beetles, snails, other invertebrates. They've left their characteristic furrows in the dried leaves.

Although very dry, the Woods have become pleasant again for walking and exploring. The highest heat of summer is gone.

Late summer turtles

 Returned to the Woods Tuesday to clear two large fallen trees from trails. I was interested to see what changes late summer had brought after unusually dry hot July-August and recent 2 + inch rain Sept 1.

Entering via the NW there was a nice display of yellow asters and white Verbesina crownbeard with a Three-toed box turtle Terrapene carolina beneath them. I found 3 box turtles on the trails I walked today. I did not see any of the ornate box turtle Terrapene ornata. Charles Carpenter did extensive work with turtles in the Woods in the 1950's. I wonder if he found the ornate box turtle to be common seventy years ago. Did the 2017-2018 illegal collection of a thousand box turtles from Oklahoma for export sale include turtles from Oliver's Woods?

The Sept 1 rain and subsequent small shower of a third of an inch have not refilled the NW or East Ponds. They are both empty with only a bathtub-sized area of wet mud near the center. The hundreds of small young leopard frogs that were in both drying ponds a month ago are all gone. 

There is a substantial flow of turbid water in the West Wash. At Island Crossing there was one small young garter snake swimming and all along the Wash there were small fish (minnows?) feeding. Did these migrate up from the long connection down to the South Canadian? 

I wondered if the flow of unnaturally turbid water might be from a broken pipe or part of the OU water system, as was the case for a week or more in early August. But following the water upstream, it remained in a regular watercourse west of Lloyd Noble, west of the Museum of Natural History and east along Timberdell. I did not find a break.

The Beaver Dam crossing was dry with no water or mud anywhere west of there, although it was clear water had recently flowed 'upstream' pushing sticks and debris westward, probably during the 2 inch rain when the Western Wash flooded from southeast to the southwest.

One armadillo ran away (15-20 m) as I walked the northwestern side of the Tree Loop. I often wonder how they survive with such an ineffective escape run.