Look for the osprey's large stick nests in dead trees or utility poles as you travel through the park. They mate for life and build nests on raised areas like small islands and muskrat houses. As the downy, yellow goslings hatch, they feed, like adults, on insects, wild rice and other aquatic plants. At 45-60 pounds, the beaver is North America's largest rodent. Beavers use their webbed hind feet for swimming and flat tails for balance, communication,and fat storage.
Dams help maintain water depths under the ice, allowing the beavers to stay active all winter.
Carp Carp, the largest of the minnows, can be over three feet long and weigh more than 50 pounds. Introduced from Europe as a game fish around 1877, they have become common in many areas. Carp are bottom feeders, often uprooting aquatic plants and clouding the water with silt, resulting in declines of some native fish which need clear water to spawn. This mound of cattails is a muskrat house. The muskrat's eyes, nose and breathing system help it adapt to life underwater.