a raccoon cat fight

Early this morning, I was coming out of the head of the marsh on the 'official' trail through the woods when a strange whimpering sound attracted my attention. As I came out onto the Randall Lane right-of-way (Randall Lane is U-shaped dirt road off Foster Crossing and we have right-of-ways at both ends), the whimpering increased in intensity and then exploded into a series of rather spectular growls and snarls, all coming from a densely foliated, vine-covered tree just to the left. The whole top of the tree and all the vines were shaking but nothing was visible until a medium-sized raccoon -- it appeared to be the smallish young raccoon that was in the 'Rocky' pitch pine yesterday -- emerged, moving carefully through the canopy foliage. This was not a love feast and this fellow must have been the loser in a territorial scrap. Whatever the altercation, it ended when son of Son of Rocky cautiously backed off. No sign of the winner whose lofty perch, now undisturbed, was entirely hidden by the vines and tree foliage.

Willy the Willet, our friendly local lookout who stands guard at the edge of the pond every morning has been taking new outposts further and further up the marsh. He was at the top of a live cedar by the trail that goes to the head of the marsh, a tree that is more usually the playground of Song Sparrows, yellowthroats and chicakdees not overgrown noisy sandpipers. When I got too close on the trail, he flew even further up and laded on a dead stub by one of paths that comes out of the woods. This time, when I approached, he reversed himself and flew back to the pond. In addition to the Willet (significantly now a singleton), a couple of Green Herons were active flying up and down the marsh. These birds simply have to be nesting somewhere close by.

Eric Salzman,