Sunday 7 April 2019

Pileated woodpecker, Maggie, et al

Isabelle and I went to the trailcam, Sun., March 31st, just before they went home, and down there we noticed the pileated woodpecker had been busy. I went back.


You can see in the first photo, above, that the shoreline has begun to melt. I went back on Monday, and it had refrozen overnight. Funnily, a weather page said -5 ˚  C., the Weather network said -1 ˚, but it was -8 ˚ C.

The ice was beautiful!


I managed to find a spot where I could cross to the base of the tree. This gives you an idea of the size of the hole. That's a lot of sawdust.


In case you've forgotten, here is a pileated woodpecker (Feb., 2018). They are beautiful. I have heard them calling in the forest.  Its long tongue wraps back behind its brain to protect it as it smashes into the bark.

This is where I crossed to the base of the tree, the tree is in shadow. It is a bit iffy, as you can see. I trod carefully.


There were friends in the forest overnight. Raccoons, fisher, coyote tracks.




The moss has frozen overnight, still a bright green.


This is my favourite tree! It's an old white pine, and it has lost a lot of limbs.


The trailcams provided the evidence. Doe, a deer, April 1st.

March 29, 11:30 in the morning, I got a coyote butt! This was prior to the melt.

For this reason, I moved the camera to a tree opposite this position.  They came by, again, in the night. In the next photo, you can see coyote #2's eyes on the far right! It followed its buddy across the path of the camera.


Finally, the mystery. I opened the metal garbage can that holds the bird seed. Lo, and behold a mouse. It did not budge. I picked it up by the tail, and it was dead. I put its little body on one of the garden flagstones. Later that day it was gone. I was sure it was rigor mortis, but who knows??!!


Also, Maggie.
Poor Maggie, as we call her. She's had a dislocated knee since 2015.
Hunting season rolls around again... – Nov. 2016
Maggie, the dear deer
Maggie, the dear deer – Dec. 2016
Maggie: Broken-legged deer video – April, 2017
JB talks to her. – Nov. 28, 2018
Video: March 16, 2019

This video is about Maggie deer April 4, 2019.

9 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

It's happening. We have by times now opened both house and car windows.

Tom said...

...wonderful images, spring looks like it's in the air!

Nancy J said...

Hypothermia for the mouse? you are so brave, I would be literally ill, I cannot bear the thought of a mouse or worse still a rat anywhere near. That moss is so lovely across the snow, soon you must get warm, we have cold mornings now, and dark too. Lights on a lot earlier, and the wonderful heat pump, instant, and so easy. The fire is waiting for the really cold nights!!

Christine said...

Nice to see things melting!!!

Red said...

Yes, the leg is badly out of place.

Nancy Chan said...

Nature is interesting.

Lowcarb team member said...

I always enjoy your videos …

Ice patterns can be so nice, but I hope Spring gets to you soon!

All the best Jan

William Kendall said...

I've seen those woodpeckers at work, including one up close that knocked into a window and needed a few minutes of time on the deck to recover. I sat nearby in case the cats were in the area.

Out To Pasture said...

Heart-warming to see Maggie trust JB enough to let him get so close with the feed. What a rich assortment of wild-life in your yard. Thanks again for sharing your patch.