Crumbly Acres Critters

Saturday was the Christmas Bird Count in our area. I could find some of my previous data.

Mourning Dove - 13 
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 3 
Black-capped chickadee - 8 
American Goldfinch - 1 
American tree sparrow - 1 
Dark-eyed Junco - 4 
Cardinal - 2

Alison, who coordinates it for our area, sent out a message. She reiterates that we can only count the highest number of birds we see at any one time. I did have to look up 'sexually dimorphic species.' (Critters that look different, depending upon their sex.) I spotted both a male and female Downy, but not together. I couldn't count 2!

At my age anything new is good. I turn 69 on Friday! Joseph Brian (my much older husband) and I had a giggly discussion about this. 

Our cottontail rabbit appeared, 2 Gray squirrels (black morph), and 1 red squirrel. It was a busy spot! Everyone wanted on the list. Some did not fit!

The deer, mother and fawn, had a nap in the yard.

I spotted this rounded brownish thing in the front yard. Turns out it was Labbit! She hunkered down in the deep freeze. Labbit spent her time cleaning up the mess the birds made. She seemed quite happy to do so.  

There was a truce under the tree, both Gray Squirrels (black morph) were similarly cleaning up.

We had so much snow, and then a melt! I thought I should show these from December.

 

 I was crowing that I captured deer actually making their beds in front of the trailcams. Apparently, I not only captures another deer making its bed, but one reusing a bed. They tend to move about, what with they coyotes. I'll find beds all over the forest.

 

Apparently this pair had to inspect the bed, sniffing them thoroughly!

 

Since a neighbour feeds deer to shoot them, we like to support our winter herd. (They disappear and spread out in the forest in summer.) We had 7 visitors on Dec. 16th, then 9 on Dec. 17th. I guess word had spread.

 

During our melt, I shuffled on down to the frog pond. The deer poked a hole in it for a nice drink.

 

Crumbly Acres: coyotes and deer beds

December is always a 🎲 crap shoot for weather. I am fascinated by the critters, and how they cope.  It's such a dance, the seasons. Butch raccoon has been in slumber. They don't truly hibernate, and I expected to see them. Also Labbit! 

I got some exercise and fresh air, walking down to the frog pond trailcam. I was very excited, as I spotted coyote tracks all over the place. (I almost never see the coyotes during the day time!) I've 4 trailcams, with two down in the forest. You can see how the paws sink down in the snow to the ground, which isn't frozen. 

Non-mental note: the tracks were down the hill, through the cedar corridor, past the frogpond trailcam, back up the hill, and along the driveway, to and from the highway. The clever things avoided 2 of 4 trailcams! I readjusted a trail cam, because I think I am smarter than they are. 😖

Here are the doe and the coyote, at different times in the same location.

It's fun roaming the forest and seeing who has been there in the snow.  This is a high traffic corridor, sort of higher ground between the wetland and our frog pond. 

The deer seem curious about trailcams, unlike bears, etc., who can wreck them!

  

I've a lot of images of deer beds. I took a photo of the deer beds in the cedar corridor, coyote tracks crossing them. There were three beds.

 

Miracle of miracles, I have a video of the deer making their beds! This is the first time I've captured it on the trailcams. As I wrote, it is a high traffic area, and maybe a silly place to sleep. The coyotes can't take down a healthy deer, however. Not with those hooves. 

 

 

 Here is the second time a few days later!

   

 We've had rain all night, and the snow cover is dwindling. It might not be a white Christmas! There is a flash freeze tonight. I'll have to change my header!

A bloody mystery Part 2

My previous post was about finding blood, then fur in the snow [A bloody mystery Part 1]. The next day, Saturday morning, I suited up: snowshoes, backpack with water, camera, GPS, and off I went.
It was supposed to rain Saturday night, so I thought I'd best follow the trail while I could. It is beautiful and peaceful on the frozen wetland. I follow the deer trails, as it is much easier to walk. This time, I had a mission, to see if I could see what happened.
 

The blood drops lessened.


There were lots of deer beds. This next one, below, looks like where our victim bedded down. Happily, after that, the blood spots were absent. I'm glad I had the GPS, as it's easy to get turned around. The constant moan of traffic helps!


Isn't it beautiful?!
 

I'd gone from solving the mystery, to wandering. The snow is incredible, powdery, and deep in spots. It's best to follow the track. I had to take my coat off, I was overheated! The bulrushes accumulates the powdery snow, it's difficult walking, even with snowshoes.
 

The deere navigate around trees, making it difficult walking in snowshoes. They don't have a care about low-lying branches, either.


I recognised the tall cedars, that and the GPS helped.


THEN, I tripped! It was a soft landing. Tricky to get up, though, when you put your hands down, and they sink up to your shoulders! It is just like standing back up on skis, be careful where you place them. I wondered if I'd have to take them off, but I managed.


I know this tree! It's on 'the point.'


This evergreen is on the back 40.


I did well. It's easy tracking with drops of bright red blood in the snow. Excellent exercise. The sun was warm. My average speed was pretty lame, but I was in deep snow! I was only out 1 1/2 hours, I should have shut the GPS off, and stopped tracking when I arrived home.


Hubby went walking above the arena, while I snowshoed, then he went to watch curling, did some shopping, and he brought me home a pizza for lunch and dinner, which he cannot have. After I snuggled under a blanket, I had a hot bubble bath with epsom salts.
The only idea I had, we've been watching the deer for signs, was this yearling with something on its chest.