Davidson River Critters

B and D fly fished every day in several spots along the Davidson.

I spent my time enjoying the beautiful areas where they fished.

Here are some of the critters I saw:

A dead white moth on the wet bank.

A swallowtail enjoying the taste of the wet sand.

The shadow of this water strider was impressive. Get several together and it looked like some tracks on the river bottom.

I believe this to be evidence of beavers.

In this rock bank there was a nest snuggled into a small pit with some kind of flycatchers tending it.

I loved the contrast of the crab spider's bright color on the dull tailgate.

There were several different kinds of birds, mostly heard, not seen. Towhees and wood thrushes sang loudly in the morning and whippoorwills began with the setting sun. Crows by the dozen made quite the ruckus.

I saw one salamander that was gone as soon as I spotted it.

We saw this monster salamander in an aquarium at the fish hatchery. It is called a hellbender and native to these cold rivers and streams.

They are similar to our amphiumas. They can grow up to 29 inches long and have strong jaws and can bite.

Check out the toes. And that is some smooth skin!

What I missed up there were the sounds of frogs and cicadas that are so very loud in our cul-de-sac this summer. (We leave the window cracked so they can sing us to sleep.) We saw no snakes, but heard from a boy (on a bridge) that a large copperhead had been under the bridge when he had been down there fishing. And that was why he said he was done fishing for the day! Smart boy.