I was at Brick Pond yesterday. The usual suspects like geese and Mallards (lots of them!) and several Muskrats. Nothing special.
As I was walking back from the blind I noticed a large Muskrat hut that just didn’t look right. The huts kind of look like a miniature version of a Beaver lodge. The Muskrats build these huts for shelter. But when I saw this hut there was something large and brown on the side of the hut. My first instinct was that it was a Beaver, but that made no sense at all. So I pulled up my binoculars and this is what I saw: click to enlarge
Even the goose can’t figure it out!!!
What the Hell is going on here???? A secret Muskrat lodge meeting? I had no way to explain this until I got home and did some research. Apparently, when the food supplies get too low as is often the case in late winter, they will actually eat their own house! When you stop and think about it, it does make perfect sense. The hut itself is made mainly out of one of their preferred foods, the Cattails. But it also seems that they would be easy prey for a hawk or an eagle. Maybe the goose is the lookout!!!
You can clearly see the shape of the tail in the first image. So that is your fun wildlife fact for the day! I hope you enjoyed it!