Frog pond tails

Firstly, the ducks have been busy!

ducks on pond from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 I've the camera set as the wood duck is on her nest with about a dozen eggs. 

I think the male uses a lot of energy keeping the other males away from his mate. That said, the wood ducks have eggs!

 

wood duck eggs from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The lone muskrat! This is the new home of the muskrat. Under the dock.

You can see that Muskrat likes several paths through the weeds. 

I went down May 1st, and spotted the little varmint!

The Spring Peeper tadpoles have hatched out! 

I've spotted it on the pond, first time in April. I wondered what it was up to!

muskrat frog pond from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The raccoons like the fallen log, although it goes nowhere. In the middle ground, Muskrat goes under the deck.

 

raccoon & muskrat from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

A new bird for me: a chestnut-sided warbler. I was filling the water fountain. The video helped me, but I had to do screen captures to ID it. The bird sang in the tree, then landed on the electrical cord. Happily, it was too hot for mosquitoes, and I could be patient to capture the moment. 😛

We've a Cardinal nesting in the lilac bush. It is a popular spot. I noticed a female Cardinal chasing momma robin away. 

The phoebes and the hummingbirds land here↑, as well. Not only that, but going downstairs for a workout, I spotted a bird in the tree being fed by an adult. Running upstairs, I grabbed the video camera (and my reading glasses) to try and get a closer look. Sure enough, there was a baby bird. 

Turns out, it is the cowbird, who had been in the phoebe nest (Cowbird in phoebe nest ). It hatched earlier than the phoebes. The parents are feeding both the cowbird and phoebes (4?) at the same time.

cowbird juvie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is one of the adult phoebes.

phoebe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

At the back 40, I still cannot capture the wood duck on camera. She is too quick for this, the camera too slow. There are still 9 or so eggs in here.

Remember our Bear? The date is terribly wrong. There are way too many bugs to stand there and reset the camera date! This was 8 a.m., May 31st. He's been seen not far away, on Elm Grove Rd. I was worried about bear and the wood duck nesting box, but Momma was wisely quiet, and he ambled by. 

bear from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'll leave you with Silverback Coyote. They used to be called 'Chad' but this one is quite different.

 

Coyote May 27 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Off to the big city!

We under a lockdown, indeed.  My chorus frog survey has been put on hold. It's so sad. I really enjoyed getting outdoors and listening for wood frogs. This was a health decision, but the premier isn't listening to the health teams, more his cabinet and lobby groups. However, our government has backtracked, and parks are now open for kids. sigh. 

There was a terrible incident in Alta Vista at midnight Tuesday/Wednesday. They put the photo on Twitter, and kindly blurred the house number. They gave the street name. How dumb is that? The driver died. No one else was hurt. Stay safe, peeps. (Yes, I know I am preaching to the choir!)

 Yes, I am aware we are in a lockdown, but... we were off to the city with some nervousness.  

JB and I had our first vaccines Saturday morning at 8:30. It was a well-run event. We left at 7:20 a.m. and drove the 68 km, arriving about 10 minutes early, as requested. We were hoping for an appointment closer to home, but this was the best I could do. Everyone in our 60+ generation is anxious to get the jab.

It was in the Eva James Memorial Community Centre. JB had visions of long lineups, but this was a finely tuned machine. If you watch the video, you can see how the parking lot filled up between 7:30 arrival and 9:00 departure! needle  

No photos allowed inside, sadly. It was a sight to behold, with social distancing, all staff in masks and visors.  Lots of employees with iPads checking us in and out. They asked, as we entered the parking lot, that we were there at the right time. We were directed to wait in the car until our time slot was called.  They had a bullhorn and announced, '8:35 appointments times enter the building.'  

We went in together, as many couples did. A quick questionnaire, hand sanitizer, showing our healthcards, answering the standard questions: have you traveled, do you know anyone who has, or who has tested positive? They found us a place to sit until a nurse was ready. Monica was a peach. I'm not good with needles, and she asked about my favourite trip. I didn't feel the needle.  She was happy doing what she is doing, she told us. So many healthcare staff are burned out in ICUs, with terribly stressful work.

 We were out of there by 9:15. Off home we went. I was really hungry, as I couldn't eat before.

Prospect is an interesting little town, which we drove through on the way home. Smack on the highway between Ottawa and Perth. The first signs I noticed said, "If you are driving over 75 km/hr I hope you have a sh*tty day!" This is a high traffic commuter route. The speed limit through Prospect is 60 km/hr. I am always tailed when I travel through it, people outrageous I am slowing them down.

The next sign was a little gentler (see below). "Slow down, 60 km/hr"

When we arrived home at 10:15 a.m., I had breakfast. Next, off I went to see the trailcams. Totally unexpectedly, there were wood duck eggs! I posted the image to our family photo stream. I know Jos was quite excited about it. She helped me clean out the boxes. Everytime I go down to the pond I scare them off. This time, the female flew out of the nesting box, which is a bad thing. The eggs can get cold. Normally, they sit there on their eggs and listen to me with baited breath. 

The new Project Nestwatch guidelines tell us to limit our visitations. In the past, I've been able to go to the far side of the pond and watch them. 

Their incubation period 28 - 37 days: May 28th or so. The countdown is on.

Mickey Muskrat is back. We had a family with six kits in 2014. [Milly, Molly and Mick Rat, of the Perth Pond Pilers!!! ] They opened up the pond, and cleared out the phragmites that year. I was hoping they'd come back. JB's seen them around the point. This one was eating underneath the dock. We've had them from time-to-time. They find the safety of the dock comforting,  we've many predators out and about.

🔥Fire Ban update: April 16, 2021. At this time, the fire ban will remain in effect for all of Lanark County. The Fire Departments plan to reassess on Monday however firefighters have been actively fighting grass and brush fires for the last three weeks.

• Crews battle grass fire close to Beckwith forest – April 13

• Rideau Lakes grass fire under investigation Mar. 26
• Firefighters respond to rapidly spreading grass fire in Rideau Lakes Mar. 23
• Montague Fire Department  attended one of their earliest grass fires yet on March 17.

Finally, here is a sign spotted in Smiths Falls! I love it. A long story, but he's our MPP and a pandemic denier, hosting all sorts of protests. 

critters

Our big news is that school is out until September. Other than that, things are motoring on. We are slowing down here. We're still not out of the woods, though.

This is one of those photo fails. Both phoebes were on the rail, and I just missed one.



Here is their nest under the deck. The chain is for my hanging basket chair. I'll not be doing any swinfing here for awhile.



THREE EGGS!

You can imagine how hard it is to grab a photo. Between my cataracts, holding the mirror with my left hand, the camera in my right...



I went back today. Four eggs!

Grecian windflower, along with my lilies and lily bugs. They are back. I've been spraying them with nearly the last of my neem oil.

I love the eggs. They take them out of the nest and I find them out and about. I know the one on the right is a robin. Hard to tell the other one.

I managed another tick. This time a nymph bit me. They hurt, just like black fly bites.


 I did a dumb thing. We had leftovers and I thought I'd donate it to our raccoons.
It was the end of Isabelle's rich chocolate cake, and a squash. He ate the squash first!



The wood ducks nest box is doing well! She've uncovered them, in the warmth.

Clip1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I hope you are safe and sound. These are trying times.

How to make a cat collar, and other tails

Annabelle needed a collar as she is quite well-hidden from the birds when she nestles into dead foliage. This is what I did awhile back. My friend, Nancy, showed me how.

Buy a breakaway collar, sew a piece along the long edge, about twice as long x 6" wide, and put the collar inside. Easy peasy!

Hooper is the main culprit. It helps having him outdoors at night. Annie found a mouse in the basement. Hooper lost out with a mourning dove! (R = released!) I was at my client's house and her barn cat snagged a grouse. These are cats citiots have dropped off at her barn. Such a shame.

All about birds...

It's a busy yard. Just as I walked out, I spotted what I thought was a red-eyed vireo looking for a home. Later, after a great video, Bobb-ll Know ID'd it for me. A house wren. I've never seen one! They are wee, and aggressive. We'll see what shapes up here. Chickadees nested here one year.


It's a house wren.


This plant was a gift from Caitlin on Mother's Day!
hummingbird on fuschia from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The trailcam tales

The trailcam revealed the wood duck entering the nest #2 –on the far right. I've been trying to figure out a setting to capture the moment when the ducklings launch themselves out of the nest after the mom. Photos work best, as opposed to video. I think. Wish me luck! They only stay in the box for 24 hours, then they are off.


 See if you can count the eggs! When I took my stepladder, I think I counted 22. They could hatch Tuesday!
wood duck eggs from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The meadow has been busy, as well. Bless their little hearts for eating the bugs. You can hear the peeps of the wood ducks. They make such a funny little noise!
Meadow magic from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The only other critters I've seen on the trailcam has been coyote. OK, Butch raccoon, and the scrawny bucks, but they are pretty regular.


The goldfish are doing well, despite the low temperatures. I checked it yesterday morning and it was only 6 C. Monday it was 10 C, and the fishies are merrily zipping about.

While I was watching...

Trailcam #2 – June 21 23:00 hrs. Junior Bear






They hung around most of the morning!

We've had 17 eggs hatch, the wood ducks are gone for another year.
Wood duck eggs from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Again, at the frog pond...salamander larvae. They are prehistoric-looking! Their gills are on the outside.
Salamanders from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, the bullfrog tadpoles, who overwinter, are quite large, and pop up for air.
Tadpoles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Hooper continues to play with Annabelle. When Daisy goes after Hooper, Annabelle comes to his rescue. It's an interesting dynamic.  Daisy is going after Annie much less. 




Then there was action at the trailcam while we were away.
The coyote peed on the ground, right in front of the camera.
Trailcam June 10-11 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

When will they hatch?

Wood duck box

We still have Wood duck eggs! I was so surprised. I thought they were gone and went down to the pond to clean it out. I opened the hatch, and off she flew. Oops, me bad! She flew down to the water, quite irate.

The snake scope wasn't as good as I thought it to be, and momma was likely out for a bite to eat. I'd waited a couple of weeks to check her out, nearer her due date (June 15;  gestation = ~28 - 32 days) The eggs didn't come up on the camera, surrounded by down.
I've been waiting for her to hatch them in order to rescue our cut wood from around the frog pond. Not yet!

I can't tell how many eggs! (17?)
Can you?

First bout in the summer: July, 2011.
These boils are terribly itchy.

OCT. 2011:
The open boils spread
onto other areas if unchecked.
I have a salve from the dermatologist,
 which I apply to each spot. This curtails it.

In the meantime, with much rain this month, it appears we have more poison ivy. I've found some in the spot where I sit and watch my pond, as well as at the east side of the pond. I have had a couple of spots on my leg, another rash starting, and another on my belly, where I had a terrible time of it July, 2011. I'm going to have to be really careful, since I've had terrible reactions after my first encounters. It's a specific, painful itch and rash. I know it well!


The wild parsnip is everywhere, as well. It's in the ditches, and birds have carried seeds into our backyard, front yard, and they pop up everywhere. I've been spraying it individually with the good stuff, as I am very susceptible to it, having had several infestations of poison ivy. Each time is worse. Meantime, walkies down to the pond are curtailed. The deerflies are horrible, too.



I know they aren't as colourful as the males, but they are beautiful creatures.


Female Wood Duck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Female Wood Duck: can you count the eggs?