Tuesday 26 January 2016

The bird bath: poo, birds and ice crystals

UPDATE: I think it was a raccoon!

It was a frosty morning four days ago. The thermometer read -20 C.! Yesterday we hit 6+ C., and this morning it is -5 C. Such a range in temperatures.

The bird bath attracts our overwintering Robin, the deer, cats, as well as a mysterious critter who has left me some green poo! I think the raccoons are still hibernating. It could have been them, You can see it in the third and 4th photos. It looks like Serviceberry berries. It is a significant amount, more than our squirrels would dump, methinks.

What do we have? I've seen Mink, Ground hogs, Squirrels, Porcupine, Red fox, Rabbit and Snowshoe hare, plus lots of birds (Wild turkeys, Blue jays, Sharp-shinned hawk, Barred owl). [Coyote, Coywolf, or Bear, I don't think they come near the house.] All could have been the culprits. I suppose it is all fertilizer for the plants, but it has me quite curious!
Who do you see at YOUR bird feeder?

Porcupine: s/he lives across the highway.  I think the porcupine would have had difficulty climbing, plus in winter they stay within 100m of their burrows, I've read. Coyotes and bears haven't come near the house. It's not deer poo, which looks like giant, black rabbit pellets! Between the deer tracks and the melt, I couldn't determine any tracks, which would have helped, but my money is on the Red fox!




...but back to the crystals. The bird bath had some pretty ice crystals. I took some better photos last year, but here you are! We haven't had a very cold winter!


7 comments:

Cloudia said...

I love your wonderful creature shots!

William Kendall said...

Those macro shots of the crystals really stand out nicely!

Debbie said...

pretty crystals and beauties at the bird bath!!!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I would recognize rabbit and deer and bear poo but none of the rest. It's amazing to have so many creatures in (or very near) your own backyard. For those of you hardy enough to deal with that snow and cold it is a true Paradise. Since I am not, I very much appreciate your shares. Amazingly beautiful.

Red said...

From the photo it looks like porcupine poo. They're pretty messy

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I join the chorus of 'oohhh look at those crystals'!!! I bet there is a 'wild scat' info page somewhere online... YAM xx

Cynthia said...

The crystals are lovely and glad you solved The Mystery of the Green Poo. But there is still a mystery -- what on earth has the coon been eating??