Srping 99 yn text

The muskrat lodge
from Ducks Unlimited's Puddler magazine Spring 1999

See that boring pile of plants in the water? That's actually a lodge-a year round home for muskrats. Muskrats made this lodge from dead grasses, cattails and other plants held together with mud. It's about six feet wide and four feet high...and it's a very busy place!

This lodge is home to a family of muskrats.
The muskrats get into their home through underwater openings. They have made many "rooms" inside the lodge. Each room is clean, dry and lined with soft grasses. There is even a nursery, where the mother is resting now with three new kits!

You might walk right by this muskrat lodge unless a muskrat caught your eye. But then you would miss all the other action on this mini island. Dozens of other kinds of animals use muskrat lodges, especially in spring.

Take a closer look...


	Songbirds like this red-winged blackbird make muskrat lodges their singing spots.

	What better place for a snake to catch some rays than the top of a muskrat lodge?


	This mallard drake is "loafing" (resting) on top of the lodge. The lodge is surrounded by water, so it's hard for hungry animals to reach. A hen mallard may even nest on a muskrat lodge.


	A muskrat lodge often makes the best lookout for food. The great blue heron knows this. It stands quietly, watching the waters below, until it can snap up a fish like this one.


	A muskrat lodge can be a cozy resting place in winter. This snapping turtle slept away the cold months snuggled inside an unused muskrat tunnel.


	Muskrats aren't the only ones raising families in this lodge. Insects, spiders and soft-bodied animals such as worms laid their eggs here last year.