What Did You See In Your Yard Today?

[ksnow]

Saw a nice healthy doe (whitetail) by the pond. Have had them on the cameras the last few days, VERY pregnant. This one looks like it may have dropped its fawn finally. Been cold and wet here. Tough on the little guys.

[TonyK]

I was out feeding the squirrels and noticed one of the young ones has a bit of nylon netting around his neck and front leg. Getting around just fine but wonder as he gets older how tight it might get. Can already see a crease around the neck so......  First thing I thought of was how can I catch it and clip the net which would be impossible. Also noticed a squirrel hopping like a rabbit since his rear legs seem a bit unstable. Hate seeing these things but the wife reminds me they can't all live forever. Sad as I've got to know different ones with different personalities and how they approach me and aren't afraid when I'm working in the yard.

Still have the large mouse/small rat critter hanging out with the squirrels during feeding time and randomly running around. Have a small bird with a damaged wing hanging around the last 2 weeks. He can fly a small distance horizontally but can't get any height so he's here to stay. He gets food from the seeds I feed the squirrels so he stays alive but for how long?

[A modeler named mike]

1 hour ago, TonyK said:

I was out feeding the squirrels and noticed one of the young ones has a bit of nylon netting around his neck and front leg. Getting around just fine but wonder as he gets older how tight it might get. Can already see a crease around the neck so......  First thing I thought of was how can I catch it and clip the net which would be impossible. Also noticed a squirrel hopping like a rabbit since his rear legs seem a bit unstable. Hate seeing these things but the wife reminds me they can't all live forever. Sad as I've got to know different ones with different personalities and how they approach me and aren't afraid when I'm working in the yard.

Still have the large mouse/small rat critter hanging out with the squirrels during feeding time and randomly running around. Have a small bird with a damaged wing hanging around the last 2 weeks. He can fly a small distance horizontally but can't get any height so he's here to stay. He gets food from the seeds I feed the squirrels so he stays alive but for how long?

You sound like me with my little critters. I have have a squirrel with a front leg that looks as if was caught in something. He was a bit gimpy for a while but is doing much better. The only suggestion I have for the fellow with the netting is to try to catch it in a live trap and use "heavy" gloves to hold him while carefully cutting the netting. I sure it wouldn't be an easy task and you could end up accidentally cutting his skin in the process. Some of my family members refer to me as Doctor doolittle.. I'm cool with that title. Good luck if you decide too.

[Falcon Ranchero]

6 hours ago, bobss396 said:

Crows are notorious for stealing hatchling from nests. I saw 2 cardinals going after one some years ago that just stole a chicken from them.

There's a pair of grackles with a nest the the big cedar in front of our back patio; as far as I know that crow hasn't found them there yet, but I noticed when one parent brings food, they perch elswhere, like on the garage roof, or on the deck and look around before actually heading into the nest. I know back in 2022, a pair of robins had a nest in that same tree, and a crow found them. Woke up at 6am on a saturday in the middle of July to look out my bedroom window to see a crow pickin' away at a chick on our back lawn, being harassed by the robins and some grackles too. Rushed out there in my pajamas and shooed the crow away, but by the time I got there the chick was shuddering and then died. Turned around and saw, coming out from under the deck, a disoriented but very much alive robin chick that must've fell out of the nest in all the confusion. Ended up taking care of it for a day or two before the parents took him back; it was on the edge of being a fledgling at the time I found it. Named it "Bagu" after the clementine crate I had him in. Put an old nest in it and had the robin chick stay out there in the garage.  

[bobss396]

Nature can be quite brutal. Last year I started spring with 6 squirrels, then I was down to 3, now I have 4 or 5. So I must have little ones mixed in. They don't have a very long life span. I had one with a partial tail, something happened to that one. 

[bobss396]

I managed to get the garden planted despite the cops and wet weather.

I haven't planted corn (knee high by July!) in years. Celery is a first. The patio pots are doing very well.

[ksnow]

Saw a young of the year Great Blue Heron perched in the dead ash tree by the creek. Its amazing how big they get by this time of year. It flew off to the Southwest, I am assuming it was from a nest on that direction, there is a rookery down that way.

Also saw an Indigo Bunting. We see a few every year, this is our second this year.

And a female wood duck was spotted flying into one of our nesting boxes by the creek. Have only seen her a couple times this spring, wasn't sure if she was nesting or not.

[Falcon Ranchero]

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just hit my grandma's front window of the house. And it is dead now unfortunately. Was about to sit down when I heard knock at the front window. Looked down out the window and there it was, still breathing, but by the time I got out there it had died. Beautiful bird too. A shame, really. Going to bury it somewhere later.

[bobss396]

19 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just hit my grandma's front window of the house. And it is dead now unfortunately. Was about to sit down when I heard knock at the front window. Looked down out the window and there it was, still breathing, but by the time I got out there it had died. Beautiful bird too. A shame, really. Going to bury it somewhere later.

There are a couple times during the year when birds think they can fly through my house.

I have found some with broken necks, dead. Most do survive, I have held a few while they recover. The last was a catbird. I was able to get a close look at it. On the under side, it has a rusty red coloring.

[A modeler named mike]

Yep, some times a little comfort helps these little hurt birds till they can get it together and be able to fly off again. 

[bobss396]

I had a wren like that who rang his bell pretty hard. I was in the driveway working on my Ford when I heard the THONK!

So I pick up the bird and put it in a box in the garage with a shop rag for cushion. It took a little while, but I looked in on him/her and the bird perched on my dirty finger. It soon took off.

[rattle can man]

I had a bird fly into a window during a cold snap a few years ago.  I lined a box with some old towels and put it in it. It flew away with in 30 minutes. 

All I saw today were weeds and about 30-40 locust trees sprouting in my lawn. I've been traveling so the birds didn't get fed and the lawn didn't get mowed.

[bobss396]

No picture but... I was at my girlfriend's place yesterday, the back yard alone is a 1/2 acre. She points out something in the yard, she was concerned it may be a dead cat.

So I was volunteered to take a look. It was a very deceased possum, likely there after the lawn was cut on Wednesday.

Green flies all over it. I then volunteered her daughter's husband to deal with it when he got off work, which he did.

 

[ksnow]

We have a grey catbird visiting our feeders. They are usually pretty elusive, so its neat to see one up so close.

Also saw a litter of fox kits out in the field next door. Romping and playing just like a bunch pf puppies.

[bobss396]

I was going out the back door and I see a squirrel drinking water out of the top of my recycling bin where rain water collected.

I noticed this was a momma squirrel who was nursing. I put out a bowl of clean water for her. She was on my deck rail close by and waited for me to bring the water out.

[TonyK]

There's a potted plant by our patio that collected water over the winter months and I noticed the birds and squirrels would drink from it so I put a shallow bowl in there and keep it filled. Now it's used constantly and the little birds are taking baths in it also.

[ksnow]

Finally was able to spot the yellow warbler that's been singing in our mountain ash tree the last several days. 

Birds and other wildlife love the little baths, make sure to change the water every day or three, to keep the mosquitoes from breeding in them.

[TonyK]

Oh yeah. With all the drinking and the little birds splashing about I have to refill it every day or twice a day. There is a plant in the pot so it benefits with the water splashing into the dirt.