A Trip to a Bog

On our anniversary, my husband and I decided to go on a nature walk to one of our favorite areas, Beaver Lake Nature Center.  The nature center is about a 45 minute drive tucked in the midst of some wonderful woodlands.  The nature center surrounds the 200 acre Beaver Lake ,and is over 660 acres.  It is operated by the county I live in as a County Park.  Beaver Lake is also supported by the not-for-profit Friends of Beaver Lake, Inc.

The mission of the Nature Center is:

To foster local and global stewardship of nature through diverse recreational and educational opportunities that enhance visitors’ awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the natural world.

It is open year round with lots of programs throughout the seasons.  You can find over 200 species of birds and 800 varieties of plants in and around this glacial lake.

I do not spend enough time in this wonderful place.  Twice a year you can see tens of thousands of Canada geese and many species of ducks migrating.  You can explore the lake by canoe or kayak, you can walk any of the 8 trails covering diverse habitats from deep woods to meadows to a bog.  In winter you can cross country ski or snow shoe some of these trails.

So I thought it was time to get back to nature on a warm fall day and see wildlife in a very natural habitat.  The picture above is the boardwalk built through the bog so you can enjoy this incredible habitat without damaging it.

Below is a map of the lake and the trails surrounding it.  You can see it up close by clicking on the image.  As you can guess my favorite trail is the Bog Trail.  I find it such a fascinating place to capture unusual flora and fauna.  And I continually learn so much from this unusual habitat.  Of course the views along this trail are just plain beautiful.

To get to the Bog Trail you have to go through Hemlock Hollow, a dark woodland that sports all types of hardwood trees.  Halfway around the wooded path, you encounter a boardwalk beckoning you onward.

This is just one of the many ponds you encounter as you move toward the lake.  It is deceptive here.  The pond/watery area isn’t very deep but the peaty soil below it is deep and easily penetrated.  Bogs are generally acidic environments.  As you can see, the sun was not very high in the sky and there was quite a bit of fog over the bog and lake the day we visited.

Our prime destination through the Bog Trail was the lake and the spectacular view you can see from the platform.  This view lets you see about half of the lake.

This was the view I had come to see, what I knew would be breathtaking even before I climbed up to the viewing platform.  There were no geese or ducks on this half of the lake.  They were on the opposite side I could not see, but boy could we hear them.  Tens of thousands of geese are very noisy as they seem to chat about their upcoming flight plans.  Sorry I was unable to get a picture of them, but I have been nursing a bad ankle and the walk to the other side had to be abandoned halfway there.  I promise to visit again and take lots of pictures of this incredible sight during spring migration.

There were many spider webs lacing the young trees along the Bog Trail.  You can see the morning dew glistening on every strand.

The many maple trees in the bog were on fire that morning and covered in dew making them sparkle even more.

You can find huckleberries and blueberries growing wild all along the trail, but I go in search of these bog creatures-pitcher plants.  If you look closely you can see the sphagnum changing color and wherever there is sphagnum, there are pitcher plants.  They look like red fingers coming out of the moss.

Here’s a close-up of the pitcher plants.  They were tough to capture in the morning light.

I love going on nature walks away from my wildlife garden.  It gives me a different perspective of nature, one I hope to continue in my garden.  As you can see I am never quite sure what sights will be bestowed upon us, but I am never disappointed.  I plan to visit Beaver Lake each season and try to capture some of its beauty to share with you.

 If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water. ~ Loren Eisley

© 2011, Donna Donabella. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us