Beaver Creek Lake, Apex, NC USA

What Category does Beaver Creek Lake Blog Fit In

2011-12-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Categorizing blogs accurately requires enough variety in a categories list. Most category lists for all kinds of things, do not have the breadth to carefully link a blog's content to a category.

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The End of a Blog Journey

2010-05-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

With the installation of the AAA building in the empty parking lot next to this little lake I called Beaver Creek Lake, because it had a beaver in it and a little creek fed it from under Apex Peakway, my beagle and I almost completely stopped walking around it.

So it is time to close out this little bloglet, which was part of the early blogging experience I had, the photographs sharing a love for nature, and the simple beauty that can be seen in the most ordinary of things. Time to say thank you to the inhabitants of those townhomes who shared the walkway and the lake with us walkers. Time to move on and accomplish other things.

It is May, 2010, two years since I first began these Google blogs. It will come time to chose what content to port to a book as a memento of this journey, and what content to begin to ask Google to release, if it ever does from its caches.

Thank you all of you who visited, one at a time, and probably never more than once, from many places around the world as you explored the most recent blog updated, or searched for some word that I had written upon this site.

It's been good.

Anora McGaha
Apex, North Carolina, USA
May 18, 2010

New AAA Service Building Up

2009-08-09T07:41:00.001-07:00

Just behind the shopping center at Apex Peakway and Hwy 55 the once long vacant lot now hosts the shell of a new building for the AAA Service center. You can barely see beyond it through the trees to the little lake I've called little Beaver Creek Lake since I started this blog.

At first disappointed that such a lovely spot next to a little lake with a full walking path would not be home to a romantic restaurant with outdoor seating and a view of the sunset over the slopes of Haddon Hall subdivision, I, like others, have to settle for the nature of town development, that more and more wild and natural areas will be leveled for commerce. Commerce does bring more services to the community and more income to the town coffers, allowing for more investment in community services like the great walking trails and parks that Apex has.

Drive by and see this building before it is completed. For little ones who haven't stopped to look at what makes up a building, this can be interesting.

The lake, as I've written before, is still accessible from behind the shopping center next to it, where there is a path through the hedge onto the hillside part of the lakeside path.

The Walkway Around Little Beaver Creek Lake

2009-04-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Around April 16th the parking lot access to the walkway around little Beaver Creek Lake was closed off as the area is getting prepared for a new AAA auto station.

Access to the path around the lake is still available from behind the shopping center next to it. There is very little parking if any at the nearby townhome complex.

The WoodDucks Left Two Weeks Ago

2009-04-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Three little woodducks spent the winter on little Beaver Creek Lake, and just two weeks ago were gone. They were here last year too, but I didn't notice when they left.

Handsome Canadian Goose

2009-02-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

There's something so elegant and strong about a canadian goose. Could it be the tuxedo coloring on the face and neck? The cashmere colored feathers on their backs? Or the power of their wings flapping as they take flight into the air with the determination of the Blue Angels jets soaring into the sky. I watched three birds set to the sky with a power that took my breath away. Just because there's so many of them in the area, let's not forget how they grace our developed earth with their beauty.

The First Blues of Spring

2009-02-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

December Birds on Beaver Creek Lake

2008-12-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

geese resting on the water, three geese flying, a flock of geese, a mallard and its wake in the water

Lone Swan Visits Beaver Creek Lake

2008-11-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Today, Sunday, November 9th, a lone white swan sailed around Beaver Creek Lake in the brilliant sunshine under a blue blue sky.

No one at the lake had seen a swan visit before. There are two swans at Lake Pine. And several swans I hear near Whole Foods at Tryon and Kildaire Farm Road. But this is the first time we'd seen a swan here.

"He won't stay long," several people said, "not when the Canadian Geese return after their daily forrays. There are over 250 geese who make this little lake their home. Too many one resident says. Hopefully some will split off and find another home.

Guerrilla Gardening?

2008-08-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Next to Apex Peakway at Highway 55, at Beaver Creek Lake, there is at least one corn plant growing next to a field of weeds (wild plants). And next to the lake itself is a squash plant? Out in Arizona, I learned that there is a practice of guerrilla gardening, where one drops seeds, seemingly randomly on property that is not yours, but is not otherwise being used. Then one can casually cultivate the crop without attracting attention.

Here's one site on the topic of Guerrilla Gardening.

A Brown Necked Canadian Goose

2008-08-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

In the past week we've noticed a brown necked Canadian Goose, as if it were a mix with a kind of gray goose. It alone has this coloring in the flock.

strange colored, different, mixed, mutant, variations in goose colorings, cross-breeding, cross-species, apex geese, august, the triangle, north carolina, the piedmont, southeastern usa

The Beaver!

2008-08-05T19:03:00.001-07:00

Today for the very first time, we saw the beaver.

In five months of walking at Beaver Creek Lake, there was no sign of him/her, except a few months ago, seeing the sapling birches cut off at the knee.

Don't know if there is just one. This one didn't look too happy - not that beavers look happy normally - but maybe they do. He/she didn't seem to travel any faster because we were walking by, just seemed steady on its course to the Peakway bridge, on the other side of which is its nest.

On the other side of the lake, we met a man with his rescued golden retriever. I mentioned we'd seen the beaver, and he sounded concerned. "I don't think he'll be able to do much damage now that the birches have wire around their trunks."

It's a sad feeling to imagine this little wild creature surrounded by roads and houses, trying to survive. Almost wish it could be removed safely and taken out to Jordan lake, but certainly not killed.

Tonight, on the exit ramp at 64 West, just after Laura Duncan Road, a young deer lay by the roadside. There still are deer in this now all to urbanized area, and they still are dying on the roads. Wish there was a way to handle this without so much harm to the wildlife whose land this was, in some cases only just months ago.

Raindrops on a Leaf Stem

2008-07-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Kildeer - Three of them

2008-07-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

At least three Kildeer birds are now hanging around the grass lawns on the other side of Route 55, on Apex Peakway, across the street from the WakeMed HealthPlex.

I searched the areas where they were wandering about, but didn't find a nest.

The Duck Family

2008-07-10T12:39:00.001-07:00

Six vivacious ducklings, staying very close to Mom, one less than on an earlier visit.

As my dog wandered off the path towards them, the little ones peeped in alarm and scurried into the water.

The Lake is Full Again

2008-07-10T12:31:00.001-07:00

After a week of rains, Beaver Creek Lake is full again. All the mud is covered.

From the Peakway parking lot entrance looking towards the Peakway Bridge - we could call it Beaver's Dam Bridge since that's where the Beaver's dam is, the water covers all the lake bottom now.

Across the Beaver's Bridge looking out towards the berm facing Route 55. The lake is full!

This morning, the geese were in the Peakway parking area eating grass.

The Geese

2008-07-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Lakeside Gardens

2008-07-02T08:32:00.001-07:00

One of a number of sunflowers!

Voluptuous blossoming bush and bench.

Two almost completely camouflaged morning doves on the lower landing of this deck. A fountain lies behind the greens.

A bird's paradise, bluebird nest, seed feeder, hummingbird feeder.

The Lake is Filling Up

2008-06-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

The white pipes that helped drain some of the lake water, at the far side of the lake (closer to Haddon Hall subdivision - see far side of picture below) are now gone. The lake levels have now recovered about half of the ground that was exposed with the landscaping work done mostly on the lake side in this picture below.

No Geese on the Lake this Morning

2008-06-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Not a goose on the lake this morning, just a group of mallards by the Peakway Bridge, and a new mallard family of 7 little ones by the hillside bridge.

It was a gray day, but even gray days have their beauty. Normal if this were the British Isles or Washington State, but not so normal for the Carolina Blue skies of North Carolina.

A New Mallard Family

2008-06-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

Another new mallard family - this one with 7 little ones.
Click on the images to see the full size detail.

Loners: A Goose and a Mallard

2008-06-26T20:37:00.001-07:00

Water Rippling in the Breeze

2008-06-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Turtle

2008-06-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Geese Sleeping in Bunches

2008-06-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Afternoon Sun on the Lake

2008-06-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Straw was placed on either side of the path.

Looking out over the lake from the Peakway bridge, the water level is still low. All this was under water before the work began on the lake.

The townhomes shine brightly in the Western sunlight.

Ducklings in June

2008-06-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

A new family of mallards.

Swimming among the Canadian Geese.

The Guard Goose

2008-06-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

There's always at least one goose keeping an eye out for all the other geese while they are eating.

After the bird bath...

2008-06-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

After the Rain

2008-06-15T20:27:00.001-07:00

After the rain, clearing sky, water drops on the pine, and bright fresh leaves.

After the Rain, the Creeks Swell into Streams

2008-06-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

This water comes from under the Apex Peakway into the lake.

Compare the volume of water below with the one on this earlier post from June 5th.

Below, this is water from the side of the lake with the townhomes.

After the Rain, Grooming... & Twisted Necks

2008-06-15T20:06:00.001-07:00

The Kildeer: The Eggs are Gone

2008-06-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

The morning of the 13th, Friday, the eggs were gone. No sign of anything, no egg shells, no markings in the dirt of a predator. Just gone. I heard the calls of one of the parents in the trees while I looked over the area, but they did not fly nearby.

These pictures were taken the afternoon of the 14th, after a torrential downpour at the site of the nest.

It was good to see the parents together by the waterside.
Maybe they'll nest again.

The Elevenses Family

2008-06-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

As the dog and I approached, the Elevenses, the goose family with 11 goslings, made a bee line to the water.

2008-06-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Mother Bird Protecting Nest on the Ground

2008-06-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

As I approached first, the mother bird stood her ground and "peeped" loudly. Then when I did not go away, I was most surprised at what happened next: she left her nest.

She walked 6 feet away and then again further, about 15 feet away from the nest, then did strange movements with her wings, almost as if acting wounded; seemed like she was trying to distract a potential predator (me) from the nest.

Below, the eggs, unattended.

As I turned and walked away, the mother walked back to the nest to resume her guard.

N8 of The DrinkingBird, a Chapel Hill, NC based blog, filled me in about this bird:

"Your bird is a Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, a common species of terrestrial plover. They're well known for nesting in highly-trafficked areas, when I was a kid we used to have a pair nest every year in our church's gravel parking lot. But vacant lots, gravel roofs, and stuff like that are all in play. They certainly don't seem to mind. They're also very loud if you haven't already noticed.

"The behavior you witnessed is exactly how you interpreted it. The bird will pretend to be injured to pull predators expecting an easy meal away from the nest. Then when they get a good distance away, the bird picks up and flies off. The reddish rump is supposed to give the impression of blood. All plovers do this but the Killdeer is especially well known for it.

"You'll probably see the young soon, they're cute little things. They look like gray cotton balls on toothpicks, and they're able to run around as soon as they hatch. The adults will pull the same stunt with the babies while the young huddle close to the ground."

Thank you N8!

The Wooded Hillside

2008-06-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

The wooded hillside with very tall oaks.

Ah what an oak, towering over the hill.

A grand pine tree, red I think.

The Haddon Hall Side of the Lake & Berm Views

2008-06-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

After crossing the bridge over the water release area there's a well worn path over the grass covered berm,

Looking back over the berm.

The Geese

2008-06-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

A large gathering of geese, without any of their goslings, or so it looks.
Here's the troup of 11 goslings with a parent.

Now you can see the eleven with their two parents, and another family with two goslings beyond them (far right).

Here the two families are joined by a third, with one much younger gosling.

Yellow Transports

2008-06-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Big Volvo earth mover.

Litte yellow motorscooter.

Neon yellow outfit with jogging shoes!

Five Little Ducks Heading out to the Lake for Dinner

2008-06-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hunting together, when they found something to nibble on, they raced around like children trying to get a chair when the music stops in the game of musical chairs. Need a video camera to capture that.

Lakeview from Peakway Parking Entrance

2008-06-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

The work has begun

2008-06-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Work has started at the little lake. The parking lot at Apex Peakway across from the shopping center has just been painted with parking lot lines, and handicapped spaces. Entering the path to the lake from the parking lot one can see that the work on the lake banks has begun. A giant piece of machinery is left idle leaning on the slopes.

So Clear

2008-06-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

Reflecting

2008-06-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

2008-06-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

Shapes

2008-06-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Stride

2008-06-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hungry?

2008-06-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's something in the eyes.

The Heron

2008-06-05T10:04:00.001-07:00

Red-Winged Blackbird

2008-06-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Red-Winged Blackbird Picking at Water's Edge

2008-06-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Bluebird - Scrawny Bluebird

2008-06-05T09:52:00.001-07:00

The Lame Goose

2008-06-05T09:12:00.001-07:00

The Goose's Family

2008-06-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

The Beaver's Creek

2008-06-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

There's a steady flow of water down this windy little bed. To the right is the beaver damn.
See how the beaver got to some white birches on the shore in another picture.

2008-06-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

2008-05-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Count them

2008-05-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

Color

2008-05-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Garden Flowers

2008-05-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Sounding the Alarm

2008-05-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

What a couple, what a view!

2008-05-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Up High

2008-05-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Rabbits

2008-05-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Look twice. This was near the bluebird stand right before the wooded hillside.

Beaver was here

2008-05-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Beaver Protection

2008-05-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

The white birches are not common in North Carolina. The beaver ate two stands of them. This one is now protected.

Beaver Creek Lake from the Apex Peakway Entrance

2008-05-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Rain on the water

2008-05-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

The Beaver Dam

2008-05-15T09:09:00.000-07:00