Saturday's Critters

It has been a busy week. We're still tying up loose ends on the bank account fraud. My client's funeral is this afternoon. It will be a lovely celebration of life. I managed to sleep in until 6 this morning. This is good. I think I have it together enough to attend the funeral. 

 Spring slowly flips to summer, as the early plants bloom. The seasons unfold as they should. The milkweed is huge, and I hope we get monarchs this year. 

I sit out back and listen to the birds. They'll drop off after nesting season. Things get a little quieter. I have to enjoy them while they sing! It was chilly and with cold northwest winds, I needed a blanket. My toes were warm in the sun. I'm having issues with my tractor, hence the lovely patterns on the lawn. 

Phoebe continues to fee their young. It's about two weeks for fledging. I think they hatched  May 22/23. 

This is from another year, when they were nesting on a shelf.

 I just love them: both the horse chestnut tree and the bees on them!

bumble bees on chestnut tree from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Our cottontail bunnies has disappeared. In their place, a hare. You can see the bat flying about, as well.

 

hairy tails from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

In the predawn, the bats still flit about until bedtime. The birds begin their chorus. I love listening to them. Sound up, if you want to experience dawn!

 

bats & birds from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Every morning I go through the Reolink videos on Crumbly Acres. We had an unusual guest appearance.

 

hummingbird from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The millipede was on the lower deck again. I am not sure how much of a coincidence this is. Last time I saw it, it looked to be headed down into Fred's burrow??!!

 

Millipede from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We didn't see a new fawn last year, as I recall. This is the time of year. This doe seems pregnant.

 

pregnant doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The black-throated Green Warbler has been a hoot. Singing away out the back 40. I've only one photo of it!

Saturday's Critters # 546 <= for more critters visit Eileen's page!

Memories of going batty and the catch-and-release program

Meadow Vole

Get me outta here!

Yesterday, Dorah brought me in a field mouse. "Look what I found, Mummy!" She meows to celebrate her catch.

At this point, I've caught more rodents with my butterfly net than butterflies!
She brings her prey into the house, still alive, to play with it. She isn't hungry, well-fed on her big sister Sadie's hypoallergenic, vet-prescribed, expensive cat food. Just sayin'. They come and go during the day from the cat door in the Muskoka Room. She's brought us a chipmunk, duly released, but mostly her favourite field mice.

"Mommy!"

Buster brings his prey into the Muskoka room, or on the back or front porch to eat it. He is our nocturnal hunter, happier outdoors away from the
deerflies of the daytime. He'll leave the kidney or liver or something, the part they don't like to eat! They are good mousers outside. Unlike the fearmongerers who cite that cats catch billions of birds, mine catch very few birds, preferring to sit in the grassy fields and watch for mice. The older cats watch the feeder, but they don't bother running, experience tells them the birds will fly off before they get there.

Meadow Vole are big guys!

 Even with a house full of 4 cats, we get deer mice in the attic. I've got a cat carrier, baited with peanut butter, and I've been catching the mice at night, usually around 9 p.m., once dark falls.

Putting the traps in the cat carrier means that I don't have to worry about catching any cat paws in them.

I put a spot of peanut butter
 in the doorway to lure them in.
I've trapped 11 this way.

I've never seen the mice in the kitchen, only climbing up the brick wall to the attic. So far, I've caught 11 mice in the traps.
It's a shame they cannot stay outdoors!

Bats

Yesterday, there was a bat in the house. Again. They come in through the chimney, escaping the heat of the night to get into the cool dark safe spot.
This time I opened the sliding screen door, and it made its way out.
Last year (2013) I wasn't so fortunate. The bat went round and round the bedroom ceiling fan.
I went on Twitter and had some helpful suggestions. Eventually, it landed and I used the butterfly net. In 2012 one landed on the chimney brick in the dining room. I caught it with the butterfly net.

The 2012 Bat event

I'd forgotten about the video. It really was quite an event. Daisy hung in there, watching it go around. The poor bat was exhausted. I did release it.

2013

As I was sitting doing my blogging, a bat flew into the room. They come in through the chimney, when a hot night changes into a hot morning, around dawn. It went into the bedroom, where Buster was happily sleeping off his midnight carousing. It promptly began to fly in circles. It became tired and reversed direction!


Bat in the bedroom from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Now, having turned off the light, it has gone behind the painting on the wall. I'm not sure what to do next! Daisy and Buster are intrigued.
The dilemma: | The rescue: |
Visit more critters:

Saturday's Critters #36

It's that time of year. Are they driving you batty?

Bats range in size from the world’s smallest mammal, the

batty

bumblebee bat, to the 6-foot wingspans of the flying fox. Our native bats in this area are small, most weighing about the same as a few pennies.

The thousands of insects they eat each night save farmers millions of dollars on insect control and crop damage. That makes bats the most organic form of insect control you can get. 

The US Wildlife service posted more info, video and photos at our blog today

The US Wildlife services want us to remember that bats are not to be feared, and that they are in danger die to White Nose Syndrome: 

bat

What should we fear this Halloween instead of bats? Their extinction. The deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) disease is devastating our hibernating bats. Named for the white fungus that appears on bats, WNS has killed more than 5.7 million bats in eastern North America. It’s even led to a 99-percent drop in northern long-eared bats in the Northeast, which is why we proposed to protect them as endangered just earlier this month. (In fact, WNS was discovered in New York in 2006.)

• Bats in Canada are on the endangered list
• Bat disease is  spreading
• Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

Here is the last bat I captured!

From August:
Bats in my belfry? Nope. Bedroom - just 1 bat
This one flew from the chimney opening downstairs, upstairs into the living room, and then into the bedroom, where it was circling the fan.
See the previous post for THAT video!



 .

 I'm happy to share it, since they featured Canada on their infograph map!!

Bedroom bat!

Bat in my bedroom part 2 - the rescue

Here is the last bat I captured!

Around and around she goes... the last one, on the fireplace brick, was a piece of cake! Buster had captured it in the bathroom, then it flew onto the brick. I've written lots about bats:

• Bats in Canada are on the endangered list
• Bat disease is  spreading
• Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

This one flew from the chimney opening downstairs, upstairs into the living room, and then into the bedroom, where it was circling the fan.
See the previous post for THAT video!

It hunkered down behind the large painting leaving me wondering what to do next. A helpful Tweet from an acquaintance suggested gloves and a blanket, after putting the cats out. We have two bat houses outside, on 16 acres of land, and many trees with suitable holes, this one liked the cool chimney on a hot night.

1. Jennifer Jilks ‏@jennjilks1h

   @johnefrancis Good advice! Normally they land on the chimney bricks and are easily captured. Like this one. pic.twitter.com/ohokaqfoIA

    View photo
   

   •  Reply 
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2. John Francis ‏@johnefrancis54m

   @jennjilks you need a bat house - These are nicely made - http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=70692&cat=2,51555 …

   Expand
3. Jennifer Jilks ‏@jennjilks46m

   @johnefrancis I think there are bats in one of them. Meantime, its back to circling the fan.

   Expand
4. John Francis ‏@johnefrancis31m

   @jennjilks quick, throw a blanket over it! Avoid using a net, will get all tangled.

I peeked at it, knowing I couldn't life the painting alone, when it flew back out and resumed the revolutions.

Batty was still going in circles when it collapsed falling behind the curtain. I managed to scooch it out into the Muskoka Room, with nice screens for holding on to.

Buster was supervising outside on the deck

What a relief! You can hear it chittering at me.

bat secured in Muskoka room from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I DID IT! It slipped down behind the curtain. I scooched it out into the Muskoka room. Poor wee thing. Buster watched from outside. It flew in more circles, hung off the screen, then fell to the ground. I popped the butterfly net over it. It has flown off to safety outside. WHEW!

How to get a bat out of your house!

It was up above the stairs that lead down to the basement.
I used a butterfly net. It wasn't long enough, so I taped it to a yard stick.
Then, you grab a magazine and pop it over the opening to keep it in the net.
Next, I put it outdoors in the tree house! I didn't realize they were so soft and furry!
It was hissing and showing its teeth, but not when I was taking its photo!

Bats in Canada are on the endangered list

Bats are on the endangered list

A report was released last month by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).  It is due to the Whitenose syndrome. Such a shame.

A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.

White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.

The disease is a fungus that grows and is white on their nose. It causes them to wake from hibernation early and they can be seen in the daytime, and starve since the insects are dormant.


Bat killer moves into Ontario (Tor Star)
Mysterious fungus decimated U.S. bat populations
A lethal fungus that decimated populations of the winged critters in the Northeastern U.S. was discovered in Ontario last month, and researchers fear it will have the same devastating effect here.
 25,000 Indiana bats dead
400,000 dead bats in the US
The fungus gives them the appearance of a white nose, and wakes them early from hibernation. Of course, the bats cannot find the moths, fireflies, mosquitoes upon which they depend. They become dehydrated, underweight, fly about in daytime, trying to drink the snow, in extremely cold temperatures. It is very sad to watch.

Bat, Tri-colored  |  Perimyotis subflavus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: ON, QC, NB, NS

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Eastern Pipistrelle

---

Myotis, Little Brown  |  Myotis lucifugus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Little Brown Bat

---

Myotis, Northern  |  Myotis septentrionalis

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Nothern Long-eared Bat

Bat disease spreading

Bat in our Bala carport - they'd visit every night

For anyone who follows bats, that means anyone in cottage country who knows that bats eat a ton of insects at night, this is very sad. I have written about it before.

Reflections from Cottage Country: Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

Apr 10, 2010

Bats are a big deal in Muskoka. That proverbial cycle of life: bats eat night-flying bugs (800000 gm /summer),  a Muskoka scourge, and bring important nutrients to be accessed to similar cave dwellers, newts, endangered cave dwellers.

The fact that this disease has moved north is scary. They were first discovered in Canada in March, 2010. Now there is another report.

Area bats have white-nose syndrome

Disease isn’t considered dangerous to humans

By DAVE DALE The Nugget

Same bat? Same carport, old house!

Posted 15 hours ago

A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.

White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.

The disease is a fungus that grows and is white on their nose. It causes them to wake from hibernation early and they can be seen in the daytime, and starve since the insects are dormant.


400,000 dead bats in the US

The fungus gives them the appearance of a white nose, and wakes them early from hibernation. Of course, the bats cannot find the moths, fireflies, mosquitoes upon which they depend. They become dehydrated, underweight, fly about in daytime, trying to drink the snow, in extremely cold temperatures. It is very sad to watch. This video is very telling:

	White-Nose Syndrome in Bats 5 min - 17 Mar 2008  US Fish & Wildlife Service

While the MNR discourages civilians from handling live, dead or sick bats, the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre and Natural Resources Information Centre is collecting data on locations where bats hibernate and reports of the disease.

Holy liftin snappers - single digit temperatures

From 30˚ C. temperatures, and humidity to pray for, the weather changed as hurricane Earl whipped up the eastern coast drawing in northerly air and bringing in cold, rainy, cloudy days.

The Habitat for Humanity Build knocked off early, but they still did some work! I found time, between blogging, packing, doing executor work (4 years, it's been!), and took some Bala Build photos.

What a temperature shift!

Summer was longer than in previous years, as it warmed up early and we were able to swim in relatively warm water in May/June.

We can be grateful for that!

Saturday, the high was 13˚ C., but the lake was much warmer than this for now. Sunday morning the thermometer reads 9˚ C.

Town was busy, lots of folks up in the rain, with kids and families hanging about. This is the time for indoor games.

Heavy heavy rains didn't dampen everyone's spirit.

Determined kids were out tubing, with poor old parents dragging them around the lake in the pouring rain.


No spirits were dampened there.

can you spot it?

I scooted him back out into the forest.

As I was out packing up in the carport, I spotted this little guy.

Oliver eats frogs, crunches their little legs like the chicken bones he steals from the garbage.
I'll take you closer. He was nowhere to be found, and the frog lived to tell another tale.

Whaddya want, woman?

Later, we arrived home from dinner out (we sold our dining room table!), to see the cat sitting on the wood pile.

I figured out why.
Look up.
Look waaaay up!
Good little bug eaters.