Saturday's Critters

 August rushes by us. I am usually happy when August is finis. The garden and forest are spots that require taming. We miss the critters, of course. 

Fred has been creating a new burrow. I've spotted him on the deck, too.

 Auntie Fred has taken ownership of the shed burrow. The burrow under the lower deck floods in spring. Not a good choice! Soon The Freds will be hibernating. In the meantime, digging is the call to action. He does doggy digging, shoves the sand with his snout, and the sand flies!

   

 I think MiniFred is a male. You can giggle as he stops to groom, and rolls over. I think he likes self-deprecating humour! 

   

 In the backyard, Momma Butch has 3 kits! If you like the moths dancing in the light in the night, keep watching! We still have fireflies in the yard. Front and back. 

   

 Yesterday, I posted a video of the fox going after leopard frogs in the garden. Apparently, that is what the skunk is after, as well as Butch. In this video, Butch accidentally trotted towards skunk. It thought better of it! You can see the motion sensor lights by the garage reflecting on the white pine trees.

Finally, we celebrate twin fawns frolicking in the forest!

 

Saturday's Critters # 660 Visit more at Eileen's blog.

Frogbit vs. Duckweed, Barry beaver, Doe, Butch, #75!

 Things have been hopping in the news! Here is the Gordie Howe Bridge. A wonderful testament to progress, technology, and engineering. This is Howe's grandson, Gord and wife. They are the first ones to drive across the bridge. A grand gesture. They aren't public figures, but appreciated the opportunity. There was much lobbying, $ millions spent in petitions, by the private owners of the nearby Ambassador Bridge. They donated millions to the orange felon. This bridge is a much better, faster, smoother highway to highway drive. 

The bridge is beautiful! CBC.ca

🦫Barry's wetland is filling up. We had 12 mm Tuesday. Barry has lots of water. It is pouring even as I write!

This from the other side of his inlet.

Nov., 2009 Long Lake, in Bala, Muskoka

Our Barry Beaver has vastly different conditions than beavers in lakes and rivers↑.

Point of clarification! Frogbit vs. Duckweed We have both in the wetland! 

It's a busy yard. Cinnamon got himself breakfast. A fat, juicy vole.

Nutmeg took off.

Cinn back at it.

I won't bore you with the whole video, but here is a screenshot of Phoebe who is still in the yard and doing bug clean up!

Butch has been happy eating Serviceberries!

 

 The Cardinals have been busy foraging, as well. 

   

 The doe is foraging in the dawn. 

 

#75 seems to still be around.

Saturday's Critters

 What a week! So happy to relax and watch our critters. New shingles on the roof, and a root canal for me! The pain is lessening. We're moving into the Computer Age, and watching the news and soccer, hopefully, on the Internet. 

In the peace and quiet, after two days of banging, hammering, and chaos, the critters came back out. 

I have to repost Barry Beaver, who is cleaning up his mess. It all blew over in our big storm.

July 11th, our regular pair of kits were hanging out.

I think this is Auntie Fred, July 17th. 

In the peace and quiet, I could hear the Black-billed Cuckoo.

 

 It's not a good video, but I think it is the Fisher at the back door. July 7 Between humidity, heat and rain, condensation tends to condense on the camera lens. 

   

 Labbit came by! I haven't seen her in ages! 

   

 Butch has been active. 

   

 The coyote colours are amazing. 

 

Saturday's Critters # 657 Visit Eileen for more critters from around the world.

Lots of critters!

Our release squirrels are doing well. I've removed this camera as I wanted it elsewhere. 

 

That said, I spotted three black squirrels on the path beyond the shed, leading to Barry Beaver's habitat. It has to be them, as they normally don't travel in threes! It is about 100m from their nest box. Good sign.

 

 They are wise to get out and about. While they watched the pregnant doe steal their supplemental food, they don't come out to watch Butch. Butch Raccoon was the one who knocked the camera askew! Sound up, as it chirps away. Another racoon was at the tree.

 

Imperial Moth

I found a poor little moth. It was flapping in the lawn. I believe its wings didn't unfurl properly, or dry properly. They emerge from the cocoom and hang off a branch, letting gravity straighten their wings. I put it in the weigela bush. 

 From my archives. They show up on the cameras at night!

The Freds have been rambunctious.

May 25 – my lovely basket. Fred has done a number on it! What I think was last year's kit, Big Fred, has disappeared. The 4 kits have been rotating around the 4 remaining burrows. Or they've all picked on. 

June 17th – nipped in the bud!

The signage doesn't seem to work! 

You'll notice Cinnamon watching them.

You can follow it right around the corner to the front garden.

Fred incident June 6th

The Freds continue to hang around. After momma led them away (teenagers: move out, find your own shelter?), they dispersed to four burrows. Two hang out together. Then they don't. Wed., Jun 10th, I could Momma at the shed burrow. Three kits were grazing in the wet grass. We had 14mm rain. About a half inch. 

She was unusually vigilant:

 

 More whistling.

   

 She led them to the septic bed burrow.

   

 I realized later that a coyote had taken a groundhog.

   

 This miniFred shadowed her.

 

UPDATE: on the released squirrels...

Our pregnant doe has been stealing the squirrel food! I laughed so hard. I didn't realize the squirrels came out at night. You can see the doe's eye reflecting the trailcam light, and a squirrel on top of the nest box, watching the doe. I thought squirrels were diurnal. Who knew?! 

We have to provide food and water for about a week, until they learn to forage.

We continue to get raccoons ambling by. I was reading in bed, Muskoka room door open, and heard one on the back deck. There was nothing it could get into, though. This one, with the skinny tail, has been out. It fished out some stones I had in a container. They rattled. It held paperwhites in the winter. 

And a fun one, a large male bear on the driveway. Video on Saturday's Critters!

What a busy Sunday!

Momma Fred continues to manage the kits. 

I think my fencing has worked. She tried!

This was a hoot! 

Momma Fred and the kits ended up at the burrow under the lower deck. Imagine two old farts fascinated enough to stand here for 20 minutes watching them. 

MiniFred on the right kept up little chirps, trying to scare us, or defend them.

Cinnamon was keen on the action, as well. He was on the top step watching them, he jumped down onto the deck, and little Fred was startled, which startled Cinn. They are wary of each other and that is a good thing. Mutual respect!

Fred began whistling, and I couldn't figure out what she was worried about.  

She was vigilant.

Hearing a sound in the garage, I figured it out. Butch Raccoon! They knocked over the seed can, and got into the bird peanuts. You know, the bench we just cleaned up!

It moved to the front deck after I chased it out of the garage

Monday it was only 7 ℃, my plants look good, though.

Butch raccoon

I don't have a conclusion for our ill raccoon. I have to process it all. Short story, it appeared, slept in the wood shed, and it left in the night. 

April 13th

We spotted Butch raccoon wandering around. It didn't look quite right to me.

 

 It came right up to me, which was worrisome. It wasn't aggressive, which was good. 

  

This is not normal behaviour! It wasn't aggressive, so it isn't rabies. We don't have too much rabies around here in the wild.

It settled itself in the shed. I was curious.  

MiniFred wasn't amused. She began whistling, her warning signal. (They are called Whistlepigs in some places!)

After dinner, down I went to check it out. Curled up in the wood shed, it was asleep. I was worried it was dead, but I could see its chest gently rising and falling. The next morning it was gone.

 

I cleverly put a trailcam on the chair, facing Fred's burrow. Sadly, I had no useable footage. The wind knocked it over.

I'm wrong. There is lots of useable footage, but trees blowing in the wind lose their appeal after 700 videos!

Joe Brian did some research. He thought it might be Distemper. Dogs and cats are given inoculations against distemper. Our cats are up to date on their shots. 

 

I emailed our Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (RVWS), sending them the photos and videos. They are busy with baby animals that are sick, lost, abandoned or injured. Their summer staff haven't begun. The universities are in exams. 

Kayley said she checked with ED Linda, and they thought Butch was too co-ordinated to have Distemper. Anyway, I went out the next morning, Tues., Apr. 14th, and it was gone. You'll recall, we all released a dozen raccoons back in mid-October. They have scattered. There seems to be a group of 3 and another group of six over the winter. 

RVWS said to call them if he returns and we will figure out what to do. 

Saturday's Critters # 644 for criitter fun.