I spend a lot of time watching the wildlife in my yard. Sometimes I will sit and watch for quite a while, but a lot of what I do is stop as I pass a window and look at what is going on out there. I won't apologize for writing about the critters too often...just be forewarned. 😀 (And every window I looked out of ISN'T pointing toward the backyard...)
--The computer room is on the side of the house, so the window doesn't actually face the backyard. I do, however, have a view of my neighbor's fence and the trees in their yard, two of which are large pine trees that are growing against the fence. I believe the grey catbirds have a nest just on the other side of the fence from where my window is. This summer is the first time I have, to my recollection, seen grey catbirds and it has been quite fun to watch the pair bringing bits of food to the little ones. I haven't seen the young 'uns and haven't seen the adults for a few days, so I'm thinking the nest might be empty. It was fun while it lasted.
--Today I watched the chickadees forage through the pine trees. I'm not exactly sure of what they were looking for...I didn't see what they were eating. It was fun to watch them flit from branch to branch, close enough that I could almost touch them.
--Because the neighbor's have feeders in their yard, the birds use the pines as shelter, so I get to watch a great variety as I sit here at the computer. There are nuthatches, goldfinches, blue jays, wrens, warblers, and so many more. Winter will be a busy time outside of this window...
--The other day, in my backyard, the birds gathered...not sure what was going on, but I had--at the same time--grackles, blackbirds, blue jays, robins, brown thrashers, woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds. Some were in the trees behind my yard, some were in the feeders, and some were on the ground. I'm not sure when the last time was that I saw such a variety at one time in and around the yard.
--I have a shallow birdbath/bird feeder that was given as a gift from friends. Since they gave it--a couple of years ago--it has been kind of hanging out in the backyard, doing nothing. This summer I decided to relocate it to the front yard and keep it full of water for the summer. The goldfinches have taken a liking to it and drink water when needed. They don't stay long and are very skittish, so it's a joy whenever I get to glimpse that flash of bright yellow in front of the porch.
--The squirrels have been busy, busy lately. I don't know if this means a long, cold winter or if someone in the neighborhood is overfeeding them, but they have been active. I do find them not only burying their peanuts, but they have been moving them around from place to place. And they have found that the turned over soil from the drainage work is a great place to bury what they have. I guess grass seed should be put down sooner rather than later, with the hope that they won't continue digging. But why stop them from having fun...
--Also, the squirrels are doing their annual pruning of the neighbor's oak tree. They are going at it fast and furiously this year...I have quite a number of branches in the backyard. I have never figured out why they do this...they start way too early for them to be gathering acorns and too late for them to be building nests. I would really love to know what their plan is.
--Chipmunks are moving into the yard again...and I no longer have anyone around to trap them. I'm hoping the neighbors will do their part to try and keep them under control...after all, it's them feeding them continuously, every day all year long, that is the major cause of the little rats' existence. I could possibly become friends with one of the 'mountain men' and see if they want to have any chipmunk pelts...probably too small to be worth it to them. 😆
--I caught something on the backyard camera the other night, but it just moved along the bottom of the range of the camera. It almost looked like a cat, but I don't think it was. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't a skunk, either. I'm thinking it may have been a weasel, possibly a muskrat. I'm not sure what else it could have been...and as small as this critter was, I don't think it would trigger the camera if it walked through the middle of the yard. I'm now wondering if I will have to get a regular critter cam before winter sets in...
--I had a young six-point buck in the yard for quite some time last night. I don't believe he ate any of the apples that have fallen from the neighbor's apple tree. There really aren't enough for anyone to make the effort and come to pick them for their bait pile, so I have no idea what is going to happen to them other than rot on the ground. The lawn guys are going to be dealing with one horrid mess!
--Haven't smelled any signs of skunks recently...which is good. If I knew there were a lot, then the chances would be good that my yard is being overrun by grubs...something that would need to be taken care of. I have only seen one on-camera and that was only because I was doing a look-see and happened to catch it in the backyard. They are much too small to set off the motion detection, so I have to catch them at just the right time. I really don't need them to set up housing under the storage shed like the did a few years back.
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