Monday, September 28, 2009

A Moose at Moreau!

This marshy shore along Mud Pond in Moreau Lake State Park
looks like the kind of place a moose would love.

My friend Sue Pierce e-mailed to tell me she saw a moose track today near Mud Pond in Moreau Lake State Park. I had heard one was seen last Saturday on a road that surrounds the park, and park staff told Sue that a cow and calf were seen on the beach of the lake. That is such exciting news! But isn't it just my luck that I'm tied up this week and can't get over there until Saturday. Maybe they'll still be around, although it's a huge park -- more than 4,000 forested and mountainous acres spanning both sides of the Hudson River -- so it would be easy to miss them. But I'll be on the lookout, that's for sure. The bulls are in rut about now, and I hear they can be kind of surly, so maybe I don't want to meet up with one, at least not in close quarters. If I do see one, I'll certainly post a blog about it. If I live to tell the tale.

Here's a sandy shore along Moreau Lake. For sure,
we'll be searching the sand for moose tracks.

In the meantime, I'm heading over to New Salem, MA, on Wednesday to visit relatives the rest of the week. Their home is near the Quabbin Reservoir, a beautiful woodsy protected area in central Massachusetts. I often find plants over there that I don't find here, so maybe I can fit in a little botanizing while away. Stay tuned.

4 comments:

Lindsey said...

Oh yay! I'm quite certain I'm heading over there Saturday as well (I don't even have time till then either and I'm hoping it doesn't rain buckets), that would be neat to come across a moose or two!

Allan Stellar said...

Glad to hear that the re-wilding of the Northeast continues. Good news. Can we hope for some wolves soon?

Bill Mckibben chronicles the rewilding of the Northeast in his decent book: Hope, Human and Wild. As always with him, a good, hopeful read.

Ellen Rathbone said...

Good luck Moose hunting! You'll probably see one before I do. :D

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Thanks for your comments, LIndsey, Allan, and Ellen.

Lindsey: Look for Sue and me and another friend in Moreau on Saturday. Our plan is to climb to the overlook, but maybe we'll prowl the wetlands instead.

Allan, we already have wolves! Our breed of coyotes interbred with Canadian red wolves as they extended their range from the western grasslands to the eastern forests. Some individual coyotes out here weigh well over 50 pounds and are capable of bringing down deer. I'm expecting that McKibben book for Christmas.

Ellen, there have been moose 3 blocks from my house in downtown Saratoga Springs, and I failed to see them because I wasn't in the right place at the right time. But believe me, I'm looking!