Lions, Tigers & Bears, Not Quite

This week’s hikes notable features were the animals we encountered, probably more so since it’s January and there are fewer animals out and about doing their thing. Our midweek hike took us to Central Park, not the one in New York City sadly, but closer to home, in Carmel. This path is mostly paved and circles a large oblong pond. The pond is circulated so there were several spots near where it was burbling that had not frozen and water birds had taken up residence. The first species we spotted were Mute swans. Not a species I see frequently or one I would especially expect to see in a pond in January. I was reminded of an article I read recently, speaking about the aggressive nature of one of the several kinds of swans. I always thought of swans as graceful, majestic and thanks to the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, the Ugly Duckling, beautiful. Now I had a fresh adjective to add to my list of swan adjectives, aggressive. Upon arriving home I did some digging and learned that there are actually three kinds of swans that are found in Indiana: Trumpeter, Mute and Tundra.

The Trumpeter Swan is the largest swan species in North America, having a 6 ½ foot wingspan. Their call sounds like a bugle or trumpet (not surprising). The Mute Swan is not mute, and sounds very similar to the Trumpeter Swan although its call is muffled in comparison. The Mute is the kind of swan featured in The Ugly Duckling and is native in Europe but not North America. It was introduced to decorate lakes and ponds because of its beauty. But, it is the swan to be leery of. It has little fear of people and has been known to attack people in boats and onshore. It also has a reputation of upsetting the ecosystem of wetlands because they have such a large appetite they strip the area of plants. The good news is of the three species of swans found in Indiana, they are the easiest to recognize. They are the ones with the necks that curve in such a way that when two are next to each other their necks form a heart shape. They also have a bright orange bill and a black knob on their foreheads. The Trumpeter and Tundra swans both have black bills; the Trumpeter looks like it has red lipstick on, and the Tundra has a small yellow spot at the base of its bill. The Trumpeter and Tundra swans are protected, the Mute swan is no longer a protected species in Indiana.

The second species of birds sharing the pond were Canadian Geese. Until researching about swans I thought Canadian Geese were the bullies of the ponds and lakes, (a reputation witnessed personally by me many years ago) but now I know, as much as I dislike the geese and give them a wide berth, the Mute swan deserves a wider berth!

Our second animal sighting was far more startling. We ventured west for our second hike this week to Williams Park in Brownsburg, IN. It is the largest park in Brownsburg (77 acres), including picnic areas and a water splash pad. We explored the Maple Ridge Trail and its many offshoots that led us through the woods toward White Lick Creek. The trail through the woods has some nice terrain, given that the ground was frozen it was not slippery. We had several opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery: the steep ravines and creek. Eventually we found a trail that took us to the water’s edge. The sun poking through the bare branches was making the view beautiful. We paused for a minute to enjoy the sounds of the creek and appreciate a new hiking spot. I snapped several pictures and had unfortunately returned my phone to my pocket.

I caught something in my peripheral vision and turned to see a coyote walking along the shoreline just across the creek from us, not more than 100 yards away. Not wanting to alert the animal to our presence I slowly grabbed G’s arm and simply whispered “coyote.” It walked a few more paces then stopped and looked straight at us for several seconds. Once aware of us it disappeared into the tall grass up from the shoreline. Knowing that coyotes often roam in packs, we scanned the area for any other animals and since the coast was clear we felt safe and continued our hike. G’s observation was that he felt this animal was bigger than a coyote and knowing that it is very unlikely to see a wolf in Indiana I looked up coywolves once arriving home. Stories contradict themselves online as to whether they have been spotted in Indiana, but I did read that coyote’s coats thicken in the winter months so for now, without any photos to help any other identification we will say we saw a very large coyote. And especially glad he was alone and not hanging with his pack. And I thought January hikes could be boring. So far, I was wrong. ‘Til next time.