Wildlife in Your Life

The bird bath was only recently acquired/inherited and we've been pretty conscientious about keeping it clean and with fresh water but you're probably right what with West Nile fears etc.

Re: murder of crows. I think there's a Scottish saying about death, as in so-and-so died, he's away the crow road. Crows and death <shiver>

Your starling must be very particular (aroma therapy for the nest) or not very bright (CAT mint!)

A wonderful long weekend of wildlife on our trip north. The resident garter snakes were waiting to greet us on arrival (one has taken to sunbathing in the space between the screen and inside doors) and we saw another interesting snake (grey with a sort of argyle sock design) along the foundation. Discovered a nest of baby bunnies under our kindling pile (which we then avoided), a beautiful emerald green climbing frog, and a toad we almost missed as it was the same colour/pattern as the cement window sill on which it was perched.

(Speaking of perch, in an effort to get ehBeth to drool, I'll volunteer that we went to a terrific perch/whitefish dinner [it was perch derby weekend] but since we hadn't been previously introduced I didn't feel badly eating them.)

Saw and heard the usual bluejays, chickadees, sandhill cranes and buzzards, with the addition this trip of a pileated woodpecker. It was huge and noisy and very much like the cartoon character in personality.

But the best part was the moose we saw on the way home. Just south of Sudbury at the side of the highway stood a young male moose. Neither my husband nor I had ever seen one in real life and our first thought was "why on earth would someone stick a plastic moose way out here?" No doubt he was wondering whether to cause total chaos by charging out into multiple lane traffic.

The trilliums were out in full force, the fern were starting to unfurl and our lady's slippers were just about to bloom. In spite of near freezing temperatures overnight it was a glorious weekend.

Tai Chai--

Lovely scenery, interesting inhabitants, excellent descriptions.

Back to your crows for a moment, Tai Chi. A few years ago we began to notice a tremendous increase in the local crow population. We met the beginning of each day with a sunrise explosion of caws. It got to the point where we were wondering if there was anything we could do about reducing the numbers.

Then west nile hit the area and destroyed the crow population. We went from dozens (if not hundreds) of crows in the yard to barely any in one season. The following year we began to see rabbits for the first time since moving here 10 years prior. By the end of summer, there were rabbits everywhere. Then the bluejays, hawks, falcons, and owls arrived. Predator birds that were small in numbers (certainly in comparison to the crows) proliferated.

We're starting to see a few crows again. We still have rabbits and the other predator birds. It will be interesting to watch how the balance changes now that the crows are returning.

As an aside -- the reason the crows were more affected by WNV than the other birds is because they also cluster feed on road kill, sharing the virus amongst themselves. The other predator birds and song birds are infected only when stung by an infected mosquito.

Noddy -- I didn't have a camera handy so I'm glad you liked the descriptions.

JPB -- That's interesting about the crows and west nile. Here it's the bluejays the health unit asks us to keep an eye out for (dead birds are collected and tested). I wonder if they're more susceptible to mosquito bites?

(Yipes! As I'm typing near an open window "my" crow came swooping in to land on the sill. He seems to be on his own these days. Maybe he's been kicked out of the gang. I hope he doesn't think we'll adopt him!)

Do they scavenger feed or are they mainly predators? I'm not that familiar with bluejay feeding habits. I think the scavenger feeders are more susceptible than those that are primarily predators. Or, maybe it has something to do with the relative number of bluejays in your area in comparison to other birds. Are they finding large numbers of infected birds?

I'm not sure what the story is re: the jays. I just know that we've been encouraged to feed them in the winter to keep them healthy and therefore more resistant to the virus. I don't have a problem with that -- we really enjoy leaving peanuts out for them and they're quick to call us if we forget. They do tend to travel in groups though which might help spread the virus. (I don't know if they eat carrion -- I'm going to have to do some research.)

Awesome, these are great descriptions. Woke up to the mockingbird again today. They seem to be off the car alarm kick and are just doing what sound more like the sounds that crosswalks for the blind make. There isn't one around here, the closest one (I think) is at BU and so is a few miles away. Perhaps the new sound spread West on the green trolley line and ended up here.

As far as WNV is concerned, remember that other arboviruses, notably Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, affect the same populations and have been endemic in North America for centuries. Once the avian populations get thinned down and adapted to WNV, the same thing should happen, whether you feed the birds or not. So far, the infection rate curves as the virus moves west seem to reflect that precise occurence. Bottom line: West Nile is here, and it won't be going away. Eventually, we should expect St. Louis and Jap B viruses to do something similar. The only question is when it will happen.

One of these flew into my yard today. Scarlet Tanager.

So...I'm learning to live with snakes. We have a rural property with an old building on it that's been neglected for these last many years and well, wildlife of all kinds have taken over and now we're trying to co-exist. We noticed lots of garter snakes last year and I think I coped pretty well. Mostly they just hung out on the cement porch on sunny days (never more than 3 at a time) and if it got really hot they hung out under the platform around the well. Once in a while they'd periscope their heads up between the wooden slats of the platform and look around. It was kind of cute.

So a couple of weeks ago we head up to camp -- way later than usual due to car trouble -- and arrive after dark, open up the building and turn on the hydro and check the mouse traps. Three are sprung but empty -- I can't find the fourth. I'm thinking this is impossible. Nothing big enough to take off with a trap should be able to get into the building. Right? Then I see the trap. It's under a vinyl floor runner and upside down. That mouse must have put up quite a fight I'm thinking as I lift the runner...and see the snake. We've caught a garter snake in a mouse trap. No way I'm touching it. Mr. Fix-it arrives still wearing his leather work gloves from unloading lumber and when he picks up the trap the snake starts MOVING! Lucky snake. We dumped him outside and after a little recuperating he slithered off. (For any of you wondering, no, we don't sleep in the building.)

These are photos of a ring neck snake. This would be the second snake I encountered INDOORS. (Unless it was a juvenile brown snake -- they have a yellow band around their neck too.) Apparently in summer they like to hunt at night which explains why it was so active about the time we'd finished watching the late news and were heading to bed (in our -- so far -- snake-proof trailer). If not for the bright ring around its neck I probably wouldn't have noticed it undulating along the baseboard heading for that rotten floorboard (where it made its escape). So by this point I'm not coping so well. I haven't flown into hysterics or anything but the adrenaline is definitely flowing. The good news is that we're working at replacing the rotten floor during the day and I have steel-toed shoes...and gloves...and I wear jeans no matter how hot the weather. The better news is these snakes are shy and not venomous. <<sigh>>

Our property has no running water. We do have a well with a hand pump and we keep a barrel filled for "solar showers". If it's hot weather and you're filthy from ripping up rotting floorboards, believe me, you'll put up with a brisk shower to feel clean. So for 18 days I showered in the great outdoors occasionally swatting at deer flies and mosquitoes, sometimes getting more pleasant visits from butterflies and the occasional leopard frog. For 18 days we had no rain; the ground was dusty and like concrete -- except for around the shower where the splashed water made the ground damp and the plants happy. You've already guessed that this attracted the garter snakes. Yeah, at this point I'm hysterical. I can't handle the idea of something slithering over my foot while I've got shampoo in my eyes -- you know? Mr. Fix-it says helpful things like, "Just tap him on the nose with the fly swatter -- he won't hurt you." Riigghhtt...

Tai Chi--

The snakes will keep the mice away.

Noddy --

In the 18 days we were there we caught an average of 2 mice a day in traps. The snakes are really quite benign -- they eat mostly slugs, worms and crickets from my research (I'm just being a baby ). It got me thinking about the whole Adam and Eve thing though -- I mean, who'd eat anything given to them by a snake?

Tai, is this all happening in Maine? The mentioning of deer flies got me thinking. And solar showers. Did stuff like that in summer camp. I don't recall snakes but an awful lot of six-legged things. Oy.

Tai Chi--

A mouse would be an outsized morsel for a garter snake--and evidently your mice are smart enough to know this.

Personally, I like snakes and find the little ring-necked garter snakes adorable. I'm collecting Social Security and I've never, ever had a snake offer me an apple or any other sort of nourishment.

On the other hand, serpents are noted for their wisdom and metaphorical possibilities.

Remember, Eve accepted the apple and Adam rather than take responsibility for his actions blamed his apple-eating-adventure on Eve.
Seems to me that Adam is the sinner in the standard scenario.

Oy Thai, that would be enough for me city girl to abandon the wilderness
in a hurry.

Then again, I live in the city, but high on a canyon, and we have coyotes,
skunks, bunnies, mice, plenty of rats, and this summer an abundance of rattle snakes. Luckily for me, I haven't seen a snake so far. I'd be hysterical to no end.

A mouse or rat in the house would be a good reason to move immediately. I
take great precautions to not get them into the house, since the lush landscaping around us is attracting them big time.

I really treasure the few hawks I've seen around, and an golden eagle
as well, and I love our little hummingbirds.

Here is one bird I captured. I thought it was a golden eagle, but I am not
so sure...

looks like a falcon - peregrin?