Saturday's Critters

 Let's catch up on the critters, shall we? Saturday's Critters # 475 <= thanks to Eileen for hosting!

Do you remember the poor fawn with the wrecked up foot? This was Dec., 2023.

She is still hanging in.

  

hurt fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I found an in image of one with a similar injury a few years back, just like the injury back in December. Their legs seem so fragile. This was from another year, I'm having trouble dating it. 

Down by the frogpond...

  

forest deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Caitlin calls him a snow noodle! Jan 13th.

fisher from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The first image I inserted in the video dates from prior to the snowfall – to give you an idea of the snowfall! Richard Deer, doe.

deer friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

These are hungry times! This was a Jeopardy clue the other day: "women come and go / talking of _______ !" 

Chad Coyote comes and goes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We have young bucks, who look like triplets. We've a doe who had another set this past year. The males leave their mother, while the does hang out together. One buck has lost one antler, I'm still looking to see if his buddies have lost theirs. It is interesting the other two have not. Same environment, habitat, weather and climate, different hormone strengths.

Young buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Richard was sitting under the tree at 7:30 in the morning, chewing his cud, for a long time. Taken through the kitchen window, he sat in shelter under the tree in the snow. Jan. 20/23

Bucks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Caitlin came up with the title:

Two males, Richard and another (young) buck. They are playful with one another.

"You're in my spot!" from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

That was a wet afternoon!

This was a bit of a surprise on social media. It was a really nice morning, Jan. 3rd. Dry, roads clear. I posted it to my timeline and told friends on Facebook that it wasn't us. The author of the FB post was driving and saw it happen. There is, of course, much speculation online. The witness did not see an animal. The bottom line is they are fine. 

It is a lovely home, and long frontage, with pillars on either side of the drive. (Google maps)

Dashcam, JB went into town.

🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧

We had rain yesterday afternoon and all night. It was like a November day, hovering around 1, and overnight to 0 C. Mother Nature is not sure what she is doing. This morning it is -1, and the back deck is all ice. There were 12,000 without power at 5 a.m. We had 25 mm (1") rain. The snow is mostly gone. 

My camera has a friend. It looks like a spider, active in the warmer weather. It looked like ghosts, at first!

I saved a video of it!

spider web! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We stayed indoors and dry, watching the events south of the border. Ain't politics grand?! NOT.

I switched this camera to the backyard. Richard Deer

 

Richard deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'm trying to capture bunny on it. Richard is the star, however. Diva... 

We'll have a good chance of identifying him, even after he loses his antlers, because of his demeanor. He is obviously alpha male! 

  

Richard Deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Richard Deer, Little Richard, Mice Friends

 I read a book called The Forest. I found it an interesting depiction of how society changed in the life of a UK forest over 900 years. We've been watching an Amazon TV series: Sherwood, set in Scotland in 1984. It is a depiction of the UK Miners' Strike, based on two actual murders, and I looked up some information. The forest is amazing in this series. 

Critters on the trailcams have been scarce, aside from our deer friends.  They were sheltering under the large pines trees when I looked out back at 6 a.m., rain pouring down in the fog. This was Friday, Dec. 30th. It turns out our biggest buck, Richard Deer, has a hurt! It doesn't look infected, so I am hopeful he'll last until another deer hunt next year.

We can identify the bucks by the shapes of their antlers, which remain mostly the same over their lifetimes. Richard has a split on his right antler tip, that is a great identification trick. One of the triplets has lost one antler. The timing all depends upon food sources, and energy demands, which reduce their hormones. They will all lose them soon, and regrow them in spring.

You can see my problem (below)! I was on my tiptoes, trying to focus through the kitchen window, but had forgotten my reading glasses. I am resisting the urge to cut this serviceberry tree down. With the monopod and zoom lens, photos are easier, but the tree is a pain.

It occurred to me that we've two older bucks as I looked out the window. I say older, since their age range is 2 - 5 years. There are lots of hunters around us, lots of roadkill with speeding cars. In captivity, heaven forbid, they can live for 23 years I've read. Each year they add an antler points on each side, more or less.

 I think we should call this 8-point buck, Little Richard! Little Richard knows his place and defers. The big one, Richard Deer (a 10-point buck), was giving the other one the eye.

Two bucks📹

The rain was ridiculous! We've had another Colorado Low. A skiff of snow Sunday night.

Remember little bunny's hole? It belonged to Fred Groundhog, who scarpered. It appears flooded. Poor thing must have moved somewhere, unless Fred Groundhog dug a proper tunnel.

We have mice friends, no question about it. I posted my earlier video of mice friends in the Facebook group for trailcams, and got a bit of advice. Some pointed out that mice carry disease. Others like the fact that I called them my friends. That arises from the fact that Caitlin invented 'Mice Friends' who lived above the kitchen ceiling tiles, back 35 years ago when we lived in Ottawa. There are few indoors. You can see why.

This went on for hours! The feeder above is great TV for the cats. The mice clean up the mess.

mice friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I finally did another picture. I've missed drawing, I just haven't been in the right head space for it.

Saturday's Critters

 Someone nearby posted an image of a bobcat on our local FB page, from their trailcam. JB spotted one years ago, as we were watching out the back for some reason. It is illusive, and knows to stay away from humans, and staying out of sight during the day. Bobcat attacks are virtually unknown.

It's been seen twice around the lake, hunting rabbits, hares, and rodents. They are said to be crepuscular, more active dusk and dawn. There was some confusion, between it being a lynx or bobcat, but in a fuzzy photo, you could see the bobbed tail! They are an apex predator. This is an image from Wiki! They are elusive.

California Bobcat
CC BY-SA 2.0, Wiki Link

Someone else has posted photos of about 2 dozen evening grosbeaks at their feeder. It is a busy ecosystem around here, despite rain, snow, wind, and graupel! (File photo!) We've another couple of days of rain.

These images are from Thursday. I used the monopod, and does it ever make a difference. Can you see the buck in the middle of the photo, on the hill? He chased a doe back there. The poor old white pine trees are a stark reminder of chores left to do. 

They were spooked when I went out on the back deck. 

Out front, I was having fun watching three red squirrels. This isn't a great photo, I had the zoom lens on, and sat it on the monopod. It's proof of 3, though! The snow provides much protection as they work their way under the feeders.

I love the snow falling from it as it emerged from its hole. I suppose this is protection from predators. I heard the Great Horned Owl the other day. We've hawks, too.

Friday morning I counted 9 deer in the backyard, and 3 at the front at the pumpkins.

2 big bucks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

One is Richard Deer, the other needs a handsome name, as well. 

The fawn with the wrecked leg is doing well, all things considered.

 

fawn ankle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! Saturday's Critters # 472