Veggies, scat, birds

Well sometime this past week I took some pictures of this scat.

Its much too big to be fox, racoon or deer, or pretty much any of the animals i have personally seen in the area. Last year we found similar sized scat a few times in the backyard and my dad thought it was bear scat, which i thought to be out of the question. Bears here? In the burbs? no way. Then sometime in the last few days I caught a short news story about a Black Bear sighting in North Oaks (which is the city/town just east of where i live). So it could be bear scat. The Bear that was sighted is pressumed to be 160lbs, the residents are worried and well the poor thing is mostly going to be shot if seen. Good luck little bear! I hoep you can outsmart the authorities long enough to find some safe area to den up for the winter. 

Here is some other scat i found that day, would be Fox or Raccoon. there is some kind of bone in it.

Today the Cedar Waxwings were enjoying the Juniper Berries.

Here are some of the veggies ive harvested. This was my first year trying parsnips and acorn squash and Yukon gold potatoes. i think i did a good job.

And the greatest surprise, OKRA!

I helped a Hummingbird

so i was in the yard watching the birds before the rain came in. And i was about to enjoy some coffee when i was visited by the chipmunk, since i am no longer going to give it peanuts i decided to go in the yard and collect acorns. I was over by a patch of spotted touch-me-nots when i heard the familier sound of a humingbird then i looked down and saw the hummingbird. it got its wing caught in some sort of catchweed. (not sure exactly what it is but i will find out)

So i gently held the hummingbird in one hand and slowly released its wing from the burs it was caught on and removed a few more that were stuck to its tail. The bird i know was very frightened, it peed in my hand, but didnt struggle while i was taking the burs out of its feathers. Then when i got all but 1 or 2 out it flew away. I am not sure if its ok, i can only asume that since it was able to fly away it will be ok.

Here is all the photo evidence i have of the ordeal. Its tiny feathers stuck in the burs, which are also stuck to the cuffs of the sweatshirt.

I didnt want to take photos of the poor thing struggling in the plant and getting more caught up. granted it would have been an interesting photo op but i just couldnt let the thing hurt itself while i went to get the camera.

it was an osprey

I had posted the picture of the unknown hawk on the wildlifegardeners.org forum asking for help with an ID and within an hour someone replied saying it was an Osprey. I still wasent sure so i e-mailed the Minnesota Raptor Center and sent them the image as well, they also said it was an Osprey.  Always exciting to see something new around!

This picture is of a very vibrantly colored leaf-hopper. This is only the second one colored this way i have seen this summer.

It was sitting on the Spotted Touch-me-nots.
And now that the spotted touch-me-nots are going to seed i have come to understand how they got their name. With the slightest of pressure put on a ready seed pod they will explode shooting the seeds out in all directions. I wanted to get video of it but it happens too fast for the camera.

Some pics and videos!

I hadent planned on being home this afternoon but had some time between shifts and i am sure glad i came home.

 The Broadwinged Hawk was in the yard.

The red squirrel got up the courage to let the hawk know how he felt.

Here is the Broadwinged Hawk showing itself off for me or basking in the sun...

 

Some kind of hawk and a Bald Eagle were chasing eachother (not the greatest video but i was taken by surprise) 

  

EDIT: ok first i was sure this was the hawk, then i thought it was the eagle, now i think its the hawk again sicne it has longer feathers on its wings.

Here is a screen capture of the hawk. might be more usefull in identifying. 

 

Looks like a Short-Tailed Hawk to me but it cant be one since they are only found in Florida. Must be some sort of Kite or something.

And here is video of an eagle about 30 mins later circling overhead 

and here's pretty pictures of the sky 

Spider

A few nights ago I went out on the deck and had the lights on. I noticed a moth flying around the light above some sort of funnel web spiders web. Then i turned around and I am glad I saw this guy.

EDIT:(08-24-10) With help from my sis-in-law and the amazing suunto  at wildlifegardeners.org I have discovered this is a Barn Spider most likely Neoscona crucifera. Its an orb weaver. Its very cool looking spider though.

Here is a feeder intruder.

This guy crawled into the "bee-proof" humming bird feeder. He was still alive, i let him out.But he wasent the last to find their way into the feeder.

Here is a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and another yellow jacket/wasp who lost its life drowning in the feeder.

New Hawk! and other pictures

Well today I had quite the surprise, but unfortunatly i didnt great the greatest of photos, actually they are god awful.  A Goshawk was in my yard! The bird book i have (published sometime in the 1970's) says they hunt grouse, so i dont know why it is here, i have never seen a grouse.

It was exciting.


Now in the last post I had been complaining about not getting any pictures of hummingbirds, or seeing them, well i guess that old saying is true "ask and thou shall receive"  (These I actually took within the hour after the last post, so now i prefer to think " all you got to do is complain and..." )

 

 

 

 

Here is a Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly 

 

I guess the complaining works for Turkeys as well. 

 

The Chipmunk likes worms 

  

Grey Tree Frog 

This guy I tried to take photos of last summer, he sat on a leaf of the menarda for almost 3 days, but blended in so well the camera refused to focus. Today, i got 2 out of 15 attempts. 

Now for some deformed animals. 

first is this grey squirrel, it has some sort of growth on its right cheek area. It does look like it just has nuts stuffed in there, but it's been like that for the past 2 days (that i have seen it) 

 

Day 1

Day 2

I also discovered today where it lives, which is in the middle wood duck house at  the bottom of the hill.  

And Mr. Peter Rabbit, who is getting fat on my veggies, but also is helping weed my garden. 

The beet in that picture i pulled up only to find that half of it had been eaten, either by mr. peter rabbit or mice/voles, or both. 

Just adorable isnt he? 

now for his deformity. I think its an extra paw/leg but Im not sure. I didnt notice it till this past week. I thought it was just fur hanging like it had been attacked by a cat or hawk, but today i realized it looked more like an extra limb.  But maybe i am seeing something that isnt there.

August

August is my favorite and least favorite month. Its awesome because its my birthday month; it also sucks because it means summer is almost over.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird


This summer has been quite different in terms of wildlife than i remember last year. This year I have only seen 2 Hummingbirds, where last year on almost any given day i could see 5. Last summer I could sit out near the Menarda in the afternoon and 3 hummingbirds would be feeding on and off for a few hours. This year its maybe once a day that I catch a glimpse of a hummingbird in the yard.

Last summer we had a pair of turkeys nesting in the neighbors yard and i think 8 babies hatched. This year there is a lone female with one baby that forages in the area. I again have been unable to take a decent photo of them.

Something I know I shouldnt be at all sad not to find in the yard are Cabbage Moth caterpillars. I found maybe 4 at the begining of July; since then i havent found anymore.

A Broadwinged hawk has been enjoying the yard the past few days.

The only thing ive seen it catch was a toad.

I spent one evening outside with the lights on hoping to grab a picture of one of the flying squirrels but I found this moth instead.
I think it is a White-lined Sphinx Moth

Its pretty big, at least 2 inches long

Not sure what kind of moth or skipper or butterfly these are

Some sort of Three-lined Potato Beetle

Squirrel lounging in the shade on a hot day

Here is a better photo of a Spotted Touch-me-not (native)

This i am pretty sure is Evening Primrose (native)

This is velvet leaf, its an invasive non-native from India

Rose (Kashmire)

One last animal i havent seen any signs of are the deer. I havent found any deer scat in the yard or on the hill all summer.