Five timber rattlesnakes yesterday, one heading toward the den from the north, a yellow morph, and another heading in from the south. Three others were in place when I arrived, basking within fifty yards of the main portal, luxuriating in the unseasonable warmth.

A huge black rat snake in the rocks below the basking rattlesnakes. Stretched out head to tail, the snake appeared like a compressed "U." If I hadn't bent over to put my pack down I would have missed it.

Six muskrat lodges new (since my last visit on 10/12). Lots of recent beaver sign along the base of the ledge. A few geese, a couple female common mergansers, a great blue heron, a kingfisher, and some unidentified ducks. No raptors.

A very strange autumn.
****************************************************************
To post messages, send e-mail to:  [log in to unmask]
Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages.
To contact the list owner:  [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Web based archives and subscription management are available at:
http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html
****************************************************************