Little critters flourish in local ponds

Since when do ducks build artificial islands for their nests? Well, they don't. What you are looking at is the winter lodge of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus). They aren't really rats at all, they are more

On my last walk in the local peat bog, I saw this heap of grass, reeds and other stuff sitting in a pool: Olympus Stylus 1s, 100mm, ISO200, f8, 1/160s This doesn't just happen, and we have no species like