Saturday's Critters

Pond life

These are teeny critters! The pond is coming alive:  I love these little creatures: amphipod, AKA: freshwater fairy shrimp.

Mosquito larvae – from my old macro lens days!

Fairy shrimp and mosquito larvae! 

frog pond action from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Cinnamon and I were wetland walking on the shoreline, just beyond the trailcamera. I noticed a yellow-bellied bashing away at the tree. (This is the bird that bangs on the satellite tower to call for a mate!)

yellow-bellied sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Moving over to the tree, once it had flown, I could see why they call it that! The sap was oozing out of the holes. 

The trailcam tails

Not too far away, the trailcam showed a pregnant doe and her last year's juvenile.

pregnant doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, there is the porcupine!

porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The wood ducks walk between the frog pond and the wetland. 

wood ducks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is the turkey in his splendor. I don't know what triggers him to display. He went by another time, the second part of the video, and did not. His colours are amazing. Hormones on legs!

wild turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting Saturday's Critters # 437!

Still ditch diving: 6 bags full!

 More ditch diving Monday morning. I filled three more bags, which gives me a grand total of 6. There were the remains of 2 - 3 boxes of 6-bottle packs of beer, strewn across a longish debris field. I was happy they didn't break, at least. Me, either. I didn't fall. There is a lovely slope in the ditches.

Proud of myself, I had to go back down for a Tim Horton's cup chucked there since last week's ditch diving. Just to add insult to injury. I did the ditches in October [Fall chores], and began for Spring cleanup April 4th (my late mother's birthday, 1925 - 2006).

Just as I began, I heard, then spotted the yellow-bellied sapsucker! They are so funny! The males have learned to bang on things to appeal to the females. He usually starts here, then moves to the metal Internet tower. He banged on the shed, as well as the arbour. 

yellow-bellied sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The traffic was anxiety-provoking, but I burned on through it. I have to cover my ears, sometimes, or turn my back. Noise is my trigger, and they really burn on through on the highway. Roaring their engines, and passing the larger trucks. 

traffic from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There is talk of an amalgamation, or an extension of Perth's town boundaries. It might give Perth a bigger tax base. Right now they have a population of 6,000. There are many lakeside communities, with both seasonal residents, and large mansions just outside town boundaries. I don't know what that would mean to our services. We are a small municipality. Our recycling isn't as robust as Perth's, and we cover a larger area, hence the community ditch diving. We shall see!

My other project, Western Chorus Frog survey, began Monday. I could hear them! More on that venture later.

 

Happy play time

Our daffies are coming up!
Things are moving into spring.


The cats were happy to play outside.




Cinn and Nutmeg from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The yellow-bellied sapsuckers are a hoot! Can you see him??!!

Yellow-bellied sapsucker 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


sapsucker 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Down at the frog pond, the wood ducks appeared on my trailcam. It's not quite set up properly. I shall have to fix it. I've ordered a new stand for it.

wood ducks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Spring Birds Mosaic

It is so good to see them back! 

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Of all the spring birds, this one was a loud one. This little guy is a hoot. Tapping on the metal to get attention. It bores holes in trees to find sap, which helps the other birds, as well as hummingbirds, many moths, bats, and even larger animals like porcupines, take advantage of the Sapsucker's hard work.

"The shallow rectangular holes that need to be maintained for the sap to continually flow. New holes are made in line with the old holes resulting in neat rows across the tree. "(Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre)


Yellow-bellied sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.