Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge

We decided to take a drive up to Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge.  The entrance to the Refuge is just a few miles from the Canadian border and there are parts of the 30,000-acre refuge that abut the border.

We visited this refuge a couple of times in 2011.  Our friends Caroline and Wally were volunteers here.  

One of the first things we saw was a Bald Eagle on this large nesting platform.  This platform was here in 2011, with an eagle. Was it the same bird?  Who knows...

Bald Eagle on Nest

The volunteer sites were empty on this visit.

Two volunteer sites for the refuge.

They could use a volunteer or two to replenish the brochure rack!

There was a restroom near the brochure rack with a light that apparently stays on all night. There were still a couple of moths hanging around. The Rosy Maple Moth is much more colorful than most dull brown moths. The One-eyed Sphinx is named for a couple of large eye-spots on its hind wings. This one wasn't opened up quite far enough to see them.

Rosy Maple Moth

One-eyed Sphinx

It’s a very pretty area and we spent some time walking around.

We never did see a moose, but we saw a few other critters. 

This large female Snapping Turtle had just finished laying her eggs on the roadside. They scrape out a spot, deposit their eggs, and then bury the nest.  If the eggs don't get dug up and eaten by a raccoon or skunk the baby snapping turtles will head downhill to the pond.

Snapping Turtle

Snapping Turtle close-up

Snapping Turtle nest

We also came across this interesting scene on the auto tour loop.  This group of butterflies is "puddling", which is when they gather around a source of nutrients to ingest them. The nutrient source in this case?  Animal droppings!

White Admirals puddling

All-in-all we had a nice morning on the refuge. 

We left the refuge and headed to Eastport. 

We wanted to visit Raye’s Mustard Factory to see how they make mustard.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any times posted for the tour and we arrived too late.  The factory was closed.  They only offer one tour a day at 10:30 a.m.  We headed on downtown to the store.

We bought a few things while we were there.

After visiting Eastport it was time to head back home.