More Wildlife Watching Along the Pompeston Creek

There's nothing more relaxing for me than to spend an hour or so each day just sitting by the creek and watching for whatever might swim, fly, slither, crawl or waddle by. Not only have I gotten to see returning turtles, like Bubba and my first turtle, but all sorts of creatures that you might not expect to see in a suburban community so close to Philadelphia.

Almost every evening around dusk, at least a couple of beavers show up. The original pair have a huge lodge, built on the berm of Dreher's old lily pond, just past the break. If you walk down the path from Riverton Park to the break, you should be able to see it. In the summer, it's a little harder to see because of all the plant growth, but it's worth looking for - the beavers are amazing builders! Rather than dam the creek completely, they built a sort of jetty near the bend. It ensures that the water stays deep enough, even at low tide, for the beavers to enter the lodge from the water.

A year or so after they moved in, the beavers had a kit. When the female became pregnant again, they booted Junior out to make room. He moved further up stream, and built a lovely lodge of his own. And now his little brother is out on his own, and has started building a lodge in the creek bank next to my neighbor's dock. Beaver kits are usually born in May or June, so we're just waiting to see if there will be babies this year.

In the mammalian department, we also have frequent visits from raccoons, muskrats, groundhogs, skunks and opossums. I can't stand possums – but that's a story for another post. We've finally started seeing one or two bats in the evening. We used to have so many more, and they make a huge difference in the mosquito population. I've put up a bathouse in hopes of attracting more of them. Chipmunks, squirrels and moles are a rarity since my daughter's cat came to stay for the summer.

The creek dwellers seem to be doing okay. Sunfish, perch, small bass, eels, mummichogs and banded killifish, and of course, the gigantic Pompeston catfish. Did you know that Cinnaminson actually means “catfish in a rocky place”? We've also seen crayfish, freshwater clams, and eastern pond mussels. The mussels are an endangered species, and part of the reason for the Pompeston's Category 1 designation.

The turtles are doing better than ever! I've seen between 8 to 12 paints and redbellies almost every day, floating at the bend in the creek. I worried about their little legs getting tired treading water, so I put our a basking platform for them. I saw another snapper last night. I think it looked familiar, but it had no number so I don't know if we had ever met before.

I got a call from a friend who works at Riverview Estates in Riverton about a big turtle that they had in the courtyard pond. They were afraid it was too large to survive there, and asked me to come get it. It was a gorgeous red bellied turtle, a female with an 11” carapace, weighing 7 pounds. Check out the pix and video of her release.

The only creature that seems to be missing is the green frog. We went from seeing them everywhere in the early spring, to not seeing any at all for the past month or so – not in the creek, the marsh or my yard. That's another indication of the summer being dry. (They apparently lied earlier when their numbers made me think it would be damp this year.)

The birds in the watershed are worthy of a post of their own, so I'll save them for next time. Until then, go outside and enjoy the creek and its critters!