Nature has a way of cleaning things up. Nothing goes to waste.
While walking along the edge of the lake, just after the ice went out, I noticed a muskrat that had died during the winter. I could tell he had been dead for a while and must have been frozen in the ice. I knew, when he washed up to shore, something would take care of it if the catfish or turtles did not get him first.
The next day, while at my desk, I noticed a bald eagle soaring around. The problem with having a view from my desk is I can easily become distracted.
The eagle landed on the dam and looked around. When he thought it was safe, he made a short flight to the edge of the water and grabbed the dead muskrat. I watched as he dragged it up the side of the dam and placed it in the roadway that crosses the top of the dam.
With sharp talons and sharper beak, he ripped his meal into edible chunks. It was fascinating to watch him butcher his food and feast on it.
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I glanced away, attempting to get some work done when motion out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. The eagle was struggling to become airborne, carrying half of a muskrat. He finally gained altitude and fought against the wind, making his way to a large dead tree out in the lake.
He landed on a branch and placed his trophy in the crotch of the tree. He apparently was wise enough to know, another scavenger would be along shortly and finish his find if he left it on the dam. With his future meal safely stored away, he flew off.
Over the winter, especially one with long cold spells, the weaker animals will not survive. They need to store fat for energy and warmth when food is scarce and temperatures are so brutally cold.
When one animal dies, another is given a boost by having additional food. During the cold snap, I went down to the spillway to make sure the water was still flowing. At the edge of the stream, I found a deer that had died. It was probably sick or weak before the cold hit, and going to get a drink, succumbed to its problems.
Being the only place on the farm with open water, every animal in the area stopped by to get a drink. Many of them had an additional bonus of getting something to eat while they were there.
When I again checked the water a few days later, nothing was left of the unfortunate deer except some hair and a few scattered bones. Tracks left around the carcass were from crows, eagles, blue jays, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and a bobcat. Nothing went to waste and quite a number of animals received a boost when it was needed.
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It is unfortunate and harsh that something needs to die for others to live, but nature has a way of thinning out the weak and building up the strong. Winterkill is a major factor in the balance of nature.
