Friendship Bogs and what are these piles?

[SuperChooch]

I was out exploring the Friendship bogs this AM. A little wet, but a beautiful morning none the less. Was out testing my new Tamron 28-300mm lens.

Obligatory bog pic

Some sort of lily?

Martin?

Everywhere I went, I saw these piles that were dregdged out of the bogs. Anyone have an idea what this person (or animal, I suppose) was looking for?

 

[46er]

The flower looks like Leather-leaf, but the purple blossom stem seems out of place. I don't think an animal, except a human, would make such neat piles Bird probably a Tree Swallow; with all the white undersides not a Purple Martin but can't see it that well.

 

[ecampbell]

beaver

 

[bobpbx]

That is Eubotrys racemosa, AKA fetterbush.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubotrys_racemosa

 

[Jon Holcombe]

Chooch, I see those piles in bogs all the time. They are often where it appears an animal is climbing out of the water and crossing the dike. You can see the drag marks over the dike from the bog to the moat. I always assumed it was beaver. Sometimes the piles are big. Like they are considering building a lodge, or maybe digging a tunnel into the dike.

 

[ecampbell]

Otter are busy there too, year round. Their scat will have fish scales in it. They also make drag marks but it is the beaver that likes to drag up the scum.

 

[Teegate]

I agree with Ed ......beaver.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Definitely beaver. You will find these features where beavers frequent. The purpose of these features is a mystery to me, but perhaps they make it easier for the critters to crawl out of the water onto land.

 

[SuperChooch]

Thanks everyone. Beavers it is, it seems. I really can't figure out why they would do it, perhaps it is to make it easier to get out of the water as pinelandpaddler suggests. Anyway, the junior explorer had to try out daddy's boots when I got home. And yes, her shirt says "I'm Difficult" and yes, she is. This one is going to be trouble.

 

[turtle]

We were told that is how beaver leave their scent along the shoreline near their dens...from www.bear.tracker.com

Beavers establish scent posts near their ponds. These are composed of a mound of mud, grass and sticks piled up into a dome-shaped mass. The beaver rubs castoreum on the mound. Some of these mounds can be huge, measuring a foot tall and three feet across.

Makes sense.

 

[NJChileHead]

I'm leaning toward Eastern kingbird in pic #3

 

[SuperChooch]

I'm leaning toward Eastern kingbird in pic #3

Looking over pics of one, I think you're right. I was able to see it a lot better in person than that pic shows and it looks like the pics I saw online.

 

[manumuskin]

That is a beaver scent post.Turtle speaks the truth.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ah, thanks, Toitle!

 

[smoke_jumper]

I wonder, if I mark it with my scent would they leave

 

[johnnyb]

Ro and I were down at Franklin Parker Preserve this past week and took these pictures of beaver "marking" mounds where the Red trail borders the Wading River.