Date: 12/25/24 6:08 am From: Joseph Neal <0000078cbd583d7c-dmarc-request...> Subject: PART BEAV IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CITY December 24 2024
Twas a foggy early rainy Christmas Eve, and all through Northwest Arkansas City many creatures were stirring, but mostly gone Dollar Hollering and Walmarting. So I loaded my binoculars and scope and headed for Beaver Lake –
In hopes ole St Nick has brought us some good birds to go on an eBird list: Like some fine long traveled winter ducks like Goldeneyes and such. Jolly ole St Nick did just that. Here’s the back story for the now submitted lists, more or less.
It was mainly dark and rainy. Observation from light rain mostly mist 11:02 to last light at 4:44. So less than 6 hours. Of this about 3 hours at scope and bins watching. The rest, 2:31 minutes, drives between seven observation points.
As my friends and neighbors “Still on the Hill” sing on their CD “Once A River,” Beaver Lake is like an old dragon, twisting and turning around hills and hollers. Relatively few places to observe and these require a lot of driving. I did the “Part Beav”: Three of them below Lost Bridge on the lake’s north side south of Garfield, the dam site, and three on the south side, including Rocky Branch east of Rogers.
With primary focus on water birds – but not totally ignoring others – I picked up 19 species. Of these, most interesting to me include following:
Only 4 Horned Grebes – I assume the other 200 are out there somewhere, in one of the Beaver dragon’s numerous hidden coves.
Four Common Loons – a good number for Beaver, that, outside of migration periods, is pretty loonless. “Lake No Loons” compared to Tenkiller, “Lake Many Loons.”
I enjoyed see the 3 Common Goldeneyes and 4 Buffleheads. All of these were males, in bright winter plumages.
A Bald Eagle nest in the dam area that has been noted for many years appears active again, based upon two adults perched together nest to the nest. Another bright light in winter.
Rocky Branch is a huge mess after the tornadoes of late May. Debris from Ugly John’s marina is spread all over this important recreation and wildlife area. It is an unsightly hazard, to say the least. Who is responsible for clean up? Ugly John’s? Insurance? Army Corps of Engineers? All of these or none of these – will you and I have to clean it up? (Taxes). You have to wonder about the unseen wildlife impacts that are harder to assess with so much trash and damage -- structures and boats -- gas and oil -- swaying back and forth -- as they they fall apart and spread unseen impacts on the public’s water resource.
Black Vultures in another part of Rocky Branch were doing their underappreciated duties of cleaning up dead wild animals. No tax increases involved here and people often complain about them. 17 BVs were picking over an already well-picked over deer carcass.
