I was surprised to find some major excavation going on at the OWLS site east of Bismarck today. To say “OWLS site” is like saying “PIN number” because OWLS stands for Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site. So if that’s one of your pet peeves, too bad. There are other OWLS in the area, by the way. One of them is on west Century Avenue.

They’re obviously trying to make the channel of the manmade lake deeper. Now is probably the best time to do it, but I sure hope it’s able to fill up before the fall migration season. Lakes like this are a waypoint for migrating bird species as well as photographers. Right now the OWLS lake, which is fed by a natural stream running along the east edge of Bismarck, is in dire need of more water.

The floating bridge I was standing on for these photos is drooping badly, and areas I never thought would be exposed to the air are poking well above the watermark. I don’t know what that does to the wildlife, but it can’t be fun. Hopefully we’ll get enough rain to stock it up again soon!