When I finished my hike at the Beaver Hills Biodiversity Trail last Saturday, there was still plenty of time left in the day so I ventured to Elk Island National Park.

That was my first visit in October. I stayed away because the park staff had been working feverishly on ripping up and repaving the parking lot. They also ripped out the pavement on the trails beside the lake. That meant a whole lot of noise. I wanted to see how much they got accomplished.

On my way there I saw bison grazing inside the park fence, a coyote hunting for mice in the tall grass and a hawk that dived off a fence post but came up empty-clawed. That was a lot of action and I wasn't even at the park gate yet.

The pond surfaces were clear of ice so the ducks were busy diving and dunking for plants. The muskrats swam around the ducks; creating v's in the water.

The heavy equipment at Astotin Lake sat idle. The parking lot looked great. The trails along the lake are still being worked on. I spent only enough time there to see the progress made. 

As I drove toward the highway, a raven pecked at some garbage. I pulled to a stop. It squawked at me and took off toward the nearest garbage can for more trash.

On the way home I saw five white tail deer at the edge of the forest. The bison were still grazing and the coyote was still hunting. There were not as many people frequenting the park during the cooler temperatures so the animals were out in full force; lucky for me.

I'm looking forward to dusting off the snowshoes, x-country skis, ice skates and kicksled so I can spend more time at the park. Now all I need is snow.