Rain, rain go ... well, OK, you can stay (originally published summer 2001)

I’ve been an outdoor writer and editor long enough to know that current weather trends should never be the topic of a column.

A writer could construct a column on the 500th consecutive day of snow and by the time the publication goes to press _ be it a week or 10 minutes later _ it will be a balmy 80 degrees.

So knowing full well that by the time you see this it will be dry and sunny, I wanted to address the issue of rain.

A wise sage once said, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” Or was that just a dumb, old commercial.

At any rate, I would guess that also applies to complaining about Mother Nature. Therefore, I will forsake the obvious angle of grouching about the record wet summer we are experiencing. I will instead look at some of the positives brought on by all this rain as they apply to wildlife watching.

On the surface, rain is obviously not the best thing for wildlife watching. Who wants to go bird watching in rain gear and boots, all the while wondering how to keep your new, expensive binoculars or camera dry?

Also, regardless of how careful you think you are being, you always end up with wet socks. I hate wet socks. They’re a long-time pet peeve of mine, like business reply cards in magazines and those tiny stickers they put on fruit these days.

It’s been tough getting out there this summer. During a recent stretch, we didn’t see the sun for two solid weeks.

But the fun begins shortly after the rain stops as wildlife becomes very active following a good drenching. Mornings, evenings and after rain are the best times to be out there.

While the immediate payoff is nice, the positive effects of rain transcend the short-term rewards. For one, vernal pools remain pools, thereby providing for a longer period of time an important source of water for animals, birds and insects.

The small pond at which I stop on my way home from work was little more than a mud puddle at this time last year. Keep in mind, though, last summer was the polar opposite of this one, with serious drought conditions plaguing the Northeast. This year the pond is still a flourishing hot spot for wildlife watching.

In the last week alone, I’ve spotted green herons, kingbirds, eastern phoebes, cedar waxwings, raccoons and deer at the pond. A family of muskrats has been my main source of entertainment. The water is clear enough so that I can watch them twist and swirl before surfacing and heading for the nearest food source.

It’s also interesting to watch muskrats when they swim across a body of water. The little stick-like object that follows close behind a muskrat is its tail, which they use as a rudder. Muskrats swim equally well forwards and backwards. Adaptation and animal ingenuity is a marvelous thing.

Even when the animals and birds aren’t present, ponds are always buzzing with dragonflies. These curious creatures have recently become a favorite photographic subject of mine. (More on that at a later date, I’m sure.) The dragonfly is another creature that moves well forward and backward. Their four wings allow for that phenomenon.

The pond nearest my apartment was so thick with algae last summer that Canada geese, cormorants and mute swans were the only species left by the time August rolled around. The algae is present this year, but it’s not oppressively thick. Great egrets and three kinds of herons _ green, great blue and black-crowned night _ are hanging around this summer.

I’ve also seen an osprey perched with the cormorants on the big, dead tree that dominates the lone island.

The larger, cleaner bodies of water are great for wildlife. Unlike last year, the animals don’t have to go searching for another water source because the one at which they’ve spent all spring is dried up.

One negative of the wet conditions _ sorry Mother Nature, just one _ is the over-abundance of mosquitoes at some of these water holes.

Mosquitoes, of course, breed in wetlands and standing water; so the more rain that falls, the more water there is and the more mosquitoes that are brought into this world.

Even that’s a positive, though, because dragonflies just love the taste of mosquitoes. And green herons just love dragonflies. The food chain is pretty marvelous as well.

Books will tell you that mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk, but I took a walk the other day at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and, let me tell you, those sons-of-guns were active. Actively sapping me of my blood and sanity simultaneously, that is.

Throw in the threat of West Nile Encephalitis and you’ve got a rare situation in which I would have been better off not trying to squeeze in a little adventure after work. Those days don’t happen very often, though, even during this summer of rain.

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