Wednesday, January 22, 2025

January 22, 2025: Frost heaves and Buffleheads in Muscota Marsh.

No, frost heaves are not what you get when you eat bad frost. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist.) Frost heave is the phenomenon you get in areas of water saturated ground and extreme cold temperatures. The last few days of very cold temperatures here in Inwood Hill Park have been perfect for causing frost heaves in the mud of the Muscota mudflats. Frost heave occurs when the water in the ground (in this case the mud of the Muscota flats) freezes, Water expands when it freezes into ice crystals. This causes the ground (or mud) to also expand and “heave” upward. Below are some photos of frost heaves this morning at Muscota. The temperature was 10 F at sun-up. 




While I was typing the above post, five male Buffleheads appeared around the Point, apparently pushed in by the ice on the incoming tide. These are almost undoubtedly the five Buffleheads that Allen Greene saw two days ago under the Henry Hudson Bridge.


Once again, I apologize for the poor image quality caused by shooting through dirty window glass and heat shimmer.

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