Saturday's Critters

UPDATE: We had 14 cm snow overnight, not the ice rain they'd predicted. Tomorrow maybe ice rain. If so, there will be power outages. We'll see you on the other side of that.

Friday vs Saturday!

We found a ribbon snake out back! Joe let it go in the grass.

Nutmeg on the front sidewalk: 

Butch:

Butch Raccoon is doing well.

   

 I've been using my Merlin App, since it is tough IDing spring birds from only their songs. This bird, Merlin told me is a red-shouldered hawk.

Guess what? It's a blue jay imitating a hawk!

 

The fisher turned up.

   

 The deer are impregnated in November-ish. They give birth in April or May.

 

Saturday's Critters # 589 <= visit Eileen's meme and Miney!

Bird watching!

😷 It is Autumn, and while it is flu season, our COVID numbers for the vulnerable are significant in our small health unit. We are being careful. Below is last week compared to this week. Two more deaths.

 

🦻 In other health news, JB's hearing aids seem to be working well. It is a miracle. Since he is a senior, we get $1000 back from the government. Bonus. He was reading in the living room, I was preparing dinner, and he could hear me crinkling a package as I opened it. It makes TV watching much easier. For weeks we've been putting oil into his right ear. There is a ball of wax. That is loosening up, but it is really close to the eardrum. They couldn't remove it. No wonder he couldn't hear me, sitting on his right in the TV room.

It is a learning curve, but we're getting the hang of it. Taking off glasses requires a bit of care,  as does putting on and taking off masks. as you wrote, A/C. We only use N95s, which is less of an issue. The man at the hearing centre said that he had the same number of people losing hearing aids during the pandemic as he did in the previous 10 years. Duly noted! 

🛩 I watched this plane go overhead and looked it up.

I'm getting a little better at filming them!

air plane from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐦 Closer to the ground, bird watching has been enjoyable. I've the zoom lens on the tripod looking out the front window. 

They've all mated and nested, and I can't tell adults and babies apart. A blue jay and a white-breasted nuthatch. 

I sent Joseph Brian in to the feed store for cracked corn. I love the mourning doves, who like the corn. 

Mr. Cardinal has that cute little tilt to the head! Poor froggie, with a bird on his head.

I have seen the female, but she is a less frequent flyer, and the blue jays are bullies. They have to be careful.

Something the citizen science bird watching sites tell us to watch for are bird-bird interactions. The mourning dove and cardinal will feed side by each. 

Incoming! 

🐸  I relented. I could see several and they challenged me. (It's good to have a purpose in life!) I moved 5 more. The few days I took off helped. We've rain on the way and I am tempted to drain the pond some and get a few more. The water barrel and eaves system will refill it to protect the water lilies. 

I think I am down to a handful. 

Oct. 11  a.m.  –  7 frogs moved

Oct. 11 p.m.   –  7 frogs

Oct. 12 p.m.   – 13 frogs

Oct. 13 p.m.   –   5     

Oct. 14 p.m.   –   3     

Oct. 18 p.m.   –   5       = 40

September is nearly done!

As we head into October, a peek at September rains.  

rainstorm Sept. 17 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've been having fun with outdoor decor. Scarecrow sits atop the cat. 

Just before I placed her there, I found a dock spider attacking a caterpillar. 

dock spider from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Some birds migrate, like phoebe. I heard one a couple of days ago. 

Some of our birds do not migrate.

I have heard our hawk in the forest. It is a juvenile rough-legged hawk, and has figured out how to fly and eat prey!

The crows and blue jays are having issues. They are calling to one another. It made me think of West Side Story 1961, The Jets and the Sharks.

 

crows & blue jays from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I heard quite a few motorcycles making a lot of noise on the highway on the weekend. For someone with anxiety (triggered by noise), I got so irritated. I am glad to know what the point was. There were 400 motorcycles in Perth to honour veterans.

   

Bird watching

We are expecting more snow Wednesday/Thursday. Maybe 10 cm. We shall see. In the meantime, it is spring out in Vancouver. Jesse sent a photo of the girls with blooming snowdrops! It's wild, across the country. They have recovered from another bout of COVID. 

 It's been chilly. OK, cold. I am happy to feed the critters. We had icy rain, followed by snow. It wasn't pretty. I couldn't shovel the sidewalk or driveway, as the snow stuck to the ice. I gave up! It has since melted and I cleared it off. More is on the way, however. An Alberta clipper preceded by a Colorado low!

OK, back to our reality: the birds.

 Under the feeder we have friends. They have little tunnels, and pop out suddenly. I love the little paws tucked in. They look as if they are fretting, but they are aggressive.

The mourning doves nestle in the evergreen tree.

The blue jay took a drink.

Then it proceeded to land on the tray feeder.

I love this set. Blue Jay kept throwing the cracked corn aside, looking for the sunflower seeds.

I did have a great sighting: a red-winged blackbird.

The poor blackbird in the snow! This is an early sighting.

 

red-winged blackbird from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

⛄ Winter carries on...

I did enjoy bird watching from the front window, again, but the thermometer told me I should get out. I managed to avoid the urge until the afternoon. Cold in the morning, it warmed up. I thought about making a snowman, it was that kind of snow, but I have photos of the old snowpeople!

This morning it is -4 C., and it is hovering there. I have to put the garbage out by 8 a.m., I shall bundle up.

I was curious about Richard Deer's wound. It seems pretty good. I used the zoom and the tripod to get a better photo.

You can see where the antlers used to be attached. I haven't a hope of finding them. I am sure they are not on our property. They shelter deep in the wetland.

Look at the doe on the right (below), those legs are so strong. She is clearing out snow to uncover the small amount of food beneath.

The colour of their coats is so pretty. 

I tried to convince Cinnamon to come walkies, but he was reluctant. No wonder. I began without snowshoes, and fell twice. You sink in the snow, at temperatures above zero. I went back for them. I noticed, after my walk, that the dead leaves, oak and maple – finally flying in the wind. They land in the footsteps from the deer who follow my snowshoe path.

It's fun watching the deer.

 

buck branch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

After I took out the garbage, Jan. 30th, they were there to greet me. One was having a rest. I talk to them. 

morning deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.