Tale from the Bush

Angie and I were out recently. We went for a walk not too far from home. It was a relatively quiet outing. Angie hand fed one lone Chickadee we encountered early on. Overall the birds were few and far between. It was a mild December morning and we were happy to just get some fresh air so it was all good.

Desperation must have set in because I got rather interested in a vocal Tree Sparrow at some point. Angie said to me "I'm going to look for a Saw-whet Owl over there" pointing to a promising grove of conifers not too far away.

Off she goes. I watch this Sparrow for a bit and then make my way over to where she is. She's still ahead of me, scoping out the cedar trees.

I felt the need to get rid of a couple coffees I had earlier if you know what I mean. I step off the path and get myself in between some spruces for a little privacy, wind deflection... I'm unzipping when I suddenly see a little brown lump of a bird about 8 feet in front of me, not even eye level. Holy shit, it's a Saw-whet Owl!

Forget peeing for the moment. Zip up my fly. Slowly back away and go get my wife.

Angie had a mix of emotions. She was happy to see the little Owl. She was kinda mad at me (in a fun way) for finding it. She was kicking herself for choosing to look in the cedar trees first, instead of these spruces.

I took about 10 photos and away we went, leaving him to zone throughout the rest of the day. Seeing this little one sure made up for a rather quiet bird walk.

There's nothing quite like finding an Owl on your own.

Regret to Inform...

I am saddened to post this, but my Pigeon friend Fitz has been euthanized.

Whatever happened to him, left him blind in his left eye. A one eyed Pigeon's life would be a struggle and rather short. If not picked off by a predator, it would most likely injure itself as it tried to get around, as well as slowly starve. The latter I know as I watched Fitz miss most of the seeds he was trying to pick from the palm of my hand that day I caught him.

I know Toronto Wildlife did all they could for him. He was in the centre for over 3 weeks. The medications and rest helped the exterior of his eye heal but they could not do anything for the loss of sight. I had high hopes for a recovery but as time passed, I also acknowledged and accepted that might not happen.

I take comfort in knowing he was in a warm, safe place the last few weeks. His belly was full. Lastly, he had apparently made himself a friend with another Pigeon, so his time was not truly awful nor alone.

I will miss him. We had almost 2 years of friendship. He had a lot of Pierre-like traits which had me favour him. He would sit on the clothes line post outside the backdoor and wait for me many mornings. It was comical to see him lean over from this post as he would peer into the kitchen window, looking for me. He would follow me about the backyard like a trusted sidekick. He was a nice bird, he was smart and a survivor.

Fitz knew our house was a good place to get a feed on and fresh water whenever desired. It was a safe place through a good part of the year, minus the winter. His visits in the winter were usually quite short and days apart if the Hawks had been hunting.

Pigeons aren't high on a lot of peoples' lists but slowly my visitors and I are changing the mindsets of some, one by one.

Last night's Whisky Wednesday was to Fitz.

Thanks for your friendship.

Cool Coyote Encounter

The other week I went out on a little Owl prowl not too far from home. It turned out to be a bust for any Owl finds or pretty much any other birds. Oh well, it was a nice sunny day which is something I embrace especially at this time of year. I don't care how cold it may be, just give me that glorious sunshine.

Somewhere along my walk, I passed a woman walking her dog. She was quite excited to tell me of a Coyote just up around the bend in a field. Her excitement was very positive. She was thrilled to see it even with walking her small dog. I know I repeated myself there with the bit about her walking her dog because that threw me as it's not normal for me to hear of a dog walker happy to see a Coyote, nor a dog walker keeping their dog on a leash as I encounter far more of the opposite to this in my outings.

I thanked her for the report as I was heading over that way and would keep my eyes open for it.

Sure enough I found the animal quite some ways out in the field. I watched him for a bit and figured that this was probably going to be the best thing I see on my walk.

Man was I ever wrong.

I turn around, going back to the main path and I see a second Coyote, only this one was maybe 20 feet from me. It was just doing it's thing, looking for rodents in the snow and wanted nothing to do with me.

Imagine that! First there was a Coyote out there not wanting to steal a small dog on it's leash. Now another one is in the area and it wants nothing to do with a human in the same vicinity as it. What is it with two myth busting Coyote encounters in mere minutes of each other?

I picked my jaw up out of the snow and then got my camera ready. It was tough to get some photographs of this beautiful animal through the foliage that separated us. I just lightly stepped back and forth, manually focusing where seemed to be decent spots to take pictures and did just that. I see Coyotes here and there while out but never have I been that close to one. I should have just admired the animal through my own eyes and not a lens but I just couldn't help myself. While the photos I got aren't National Geographic worthy, they are the best I have ever taken.

It was an amazing encounter and had me grinning. I've heard so many awful stories from people out there about these animals and how dangerous they can be. Some rather ridiculous stuff too such as Coyotes travel in packs, they use their pups to run out and play with off leash dogs, who then lure the dog to the waiting pack that will tear it to shreds. Coyotes do not hunt like that.

People need to keep their dogs on leash. It stuns me how many people walk around and think the outdoors belongs to them and not the wildlife. I always say "we live in our homes, the outdoors which includes our backyards belongs to the animals."

I'll take the chorus of a couple Coyotes in the middle of the night over loud drunken assholes any time in our neighbourhood.

Toronto Animal Services gives out free seminars across the city throughout the year. There is one coming up on December 3rd at the East York Civic Centre. I promote these seminars to people I know who do not understand these animals and live in constant fear of them. Do these people ever go? Unfortunately no. It's easier to stay home and preach their negativity over social media than go out and perhaps learn something like how to live with wildlife.

Predatory animals like Coyotes play an important role in our ecosystem. They offer some of the best pest protection out there.

People say they love their animals as much or even more than their children yet they will let their cats free roam outside day and night, and let their dogs run off leash. A lot can happen to their pets and not just by Coyotes.

Wild animals are in a constant battle for territory claims. They can see other dogs as a threat to their territories and will defend as such. There's always a reason for an attack. It's not just because. Why is it so difficult for some to understand and take simple steps to prevent this?

I know 98% of the people reading this blog are those who agree with me. I'm hoping this reaches someone in that 2% who might take a moment and rethink things regarding the Coyote.

If Only They Could Talk

Last Friday I was in the backyard. I noticed there was blood drops all throughout the snow from one end of the yard to the other. What was up with that? I was filling a couple feeders and set a couple small piles out for the Squirrels. It wasn't long before I noticed whoever was bleeding, was in the yard with me, as I saw fresh pooling at some of the feeding spots.

Okay, so it's one of the Squirrels; but who? My heart sank when I soon figured out it was my little buddy Ripper. You know Ripper, right? He comes to my hand for a big safe feed away from all the others.

I happened to see Ripper at one of the new seed piles and when he left, there was another blood pool. Pool is a good term as the pools were the size of my palm.

My other indicator was Ripper's whole demeanour. Normally he's following me around like a puppy and is quick to get on my arm and run to my hand. He wasn't like this at all. As soon as I neared him, up the tree he went. The last time he was like this was back in the spring when he was half bald and dealing with a common mites issue.

I immediately got my live trap out. He needed some medical attention. I didn't have a lot of time left with my morning and canceled all my other plans before work. He did not return. I had thought about calling in to work to deal with this but I know Ripper doesn't live that close to us. He's also great for disappearing for weeks at a time. I should add that I managed to catch another Squirrel in the trap that morning. When there's 8 or more bombing around, it's tough to catch the one you want. It's also why you should never leave your live traps unattended.

I went to work and would watch out for him on the weekend.

He eventually showed on the weekend. He wasn't bleeding any more. He was very agile and quick, looking at him you wouldn't think there was ever anything wrong with him. He even came to my hand for a couple nibbles of sunflower, just not on my hand. He also took a whole walnut and ran off.

I've not seen him since Sunday now. I do hope he's okay. I can only imagine what happened to him to make him bleed like that. Perhaps it was a superficial wound, like how we can knick ourselves in certain places and bleed like crazy even though it's not a serious cut.

It would be so much easier if they could just tell us what's going on, eh?

In other news, Fitz has been on the road to recovery in the Toronto Wildlife Centre. His eye was opening more and more every day. Last update I got, his left eye almost completely open but it was not responding to light. They were going to do another assessment a week from that, being on November 18th. The hope was that the medication was causing the no reaction, that it was still in the back of his eye, and would clear out over some more time. I am hoping that as well. The cute thing I learned is that Fitz made himself a friend with another Pigeon in care. They were often seen sitting together. I'm glad his stay at TWC has not been a lonely terrifying experience. Let's hope he's still on the right track to healing properly and will be back home soon.

Quick Bits #45

Hello! It's been a busy few weeks with this and that so I have some catching up to do.

For starts, I recently went out looking for Eastern Screech Owls over a couple evenings. The weather hasn't been great but tis the season to try. I lucked out in one spot on the 2nd evening and got what I think is a familiar Owl.

A rufous morph Screech Owl in a certain spot.

I say "familiar" because about a year ago I managed to call in a rufous morph Screech Owl in the same location.

Safe bet it is the same bird, eh?

I am disappointed that one of my reliable spots isn't as so any longer. Ever since the Owls' tree was cut down by the city, they have disappeared. There is a ravine lot nearby where I had seen them as well but not since the tree went.

My record for Screeches in one evening is 7. But really, getting 1 Owl instead of none is still pretty good, right?

The trail cam has not been used as much since it's been so rainy. They say it's okay in rain and snow but I'm not ready to test those waters (pun intended). Nothing out of the ordinary has been coming up when in use but here's a couple interesting bits.

A Raccoon made himself rather comfortable in the dog house.

I can see hay sticking out of the entrance some mornings. I can see it flattened inside from someone laying inside it. I'm considering laying some branches across the front to give it a little more privacy but we shall see.

Another interesting bit the cam caught is a third Skunk in the 'hood. I'd like to think this is Topper. She would only be 2 years of age now.

I encountered this Skunk a couple nights, crossing paths with it. It startled me as much I did it. I immediately started saying "Topper. Hi Topper." and while I did not get the reaction like the good ol' days, the Skunk eased up and continued it's digging in the garden with my presence. I can pretend, right? It's not beyond belief.

We have 2 with the big stripes and this "Topper" one. I know for certain that one of the Skunks lives close by and probably spends some days under our raised shed. It randomly and suddenly appears down there, even with first and last light, and on occasion mid-day. Thank goodness we admire these creatures.

After a month of being missing, Ripper has once again appeared. It's like no time has passed and we are best buds. If only he could talk and tell me where he's been. I suspect he's been around but we've just been missing each other. It's always a pleasure to hang with Ripper any morning. The black and white photo suits the gloomy weather we've been having here in southern Ontario.

The daytime Raccoon visits have eased off but I still see 3 to 5 on the cam captures. I will miss the visits with my morning coffee. They are real characters.

Some lecture me on being nice to them or even just tolerating them, letting them come to the backyard. The outdoors belongs to the animals. This is how we feel about the haters to not just the Raccoons but wildlife in general.

Our hand feeding Hairy Woodpecker still comes around. He's not a daily visito by any means but knows to look into the kitchen window when he's here.

We have a new Pigeon visitor who has quickly figured out where the good food is. I commented that he is a tank, because he is a large bird and very heavy compared to the others. Our friend Patty quickly threw the name Sherman out there. Meet Sherman.

He's very comfortable with me. Rarely can I get any sort of selfie with the new Pigeons without them spooking and flying off my hand; they don't like the phone being behind them. Sherman doesn't seem to mind.

And last but not least, after a week away, my pal Fitz came to the backyard on November 3rd. I was in the kitchen when I spotted him fly in. I quickly got my boots on and some food for him. Once Fitz heard the back door opening, he flew to me. I noticed he was having difficulty getting sunflower chips from my hand. He was missing half of them and just pecking at my palm. How odd. It was when I got a good look at his face and not just the right side that I saw something was wrong with his left eye. It was closed.

I felt bad for my friend. Being half blind makes him easy prey and probably vulnerable to other things like being hit by a car or injuring himself in flight. I walked with him in my hand down to the shed. This is about 100 ft away. I open the shed doors. Fitz is still in my hand. I set him on top of the cinder block that weighs down my two seed buckets. Fitz obviously has absolute trust in me to go with all these motions. I think he was very hungry too. He can get an easy meal here with me. I'm not sure what kind of struggle he may have elsewhere. I left him there with a large pile of sunflower chips while I went back to the house to look for a box. I returned many minutes later and he was still pecking away. I let him eat for a few more minutes. I set the box down near my feet. As I put my hand over top of him, looking him in that good eye, I said "sorry Fitz" and quickly grabbed him, putting him in the box. It was only when I grabbed him that he freaked out. He calmed right down again once I put the lid on.

I had made a call to TWC about him and also emailed a photo of his eye condition. They called me back and after a little chat, I was given permission to bring him in.

We are hoping it's nothing more than an infection. Something that medication and a time out will take care of. I should have a better idea of how things are with him in a couple days. He needs to be assessed and go from there. I know if it's not treatable, then Fitz will be euthanized. This will be a better outcome for him than to be outdoors, struggling with the sight loss and eating as well as not getting picked off by a predator or any other dangers. Some of you will agree. I expect some not to. He's more than a Pigeon, he's my friend. He makes me smile and forget about the awful things that happen in the world, even for a few minutes every time he comes to see me. Even if he wasn't one of the special yard critters, he's still a living being and doesn't deserve to suffer. While not all of my family and friends understand these things of me and the animals, most still respect it.

Please wish Fitz the best during this time.

January 2020 will mark 2 years that he has been coming to visit. Let's hope we get to see this anniversary.

Well, that's it for now. Thank you for stopping in.

For laughs, here is Franken-Merry from Halloween. Believe it or not she was purring while wearing this silly little hat. She loves the attention way more than the hat.

Trail Cam

Hey all, been a busy couple weeks with cat sitting for some friends. Now that's done until their humans next vacation, I've got time to blog.

I hinted about this in my last blog and here it is. For my 50th birthday, a couple close friends of ours floored me with a trail cam as a birthday gift. I'd been pondering getting one for a while now but I'm slow about doing things that can be costly, especially when I don't know much about them.

We know what goes through our backyard after dark for the most part. Raccoons, Skunks and Opossums. Oh, and we always figured there was a cat or two. What really is surprising some nights is the frequency of the visits, like hourly! Here's a few shots from the last couple weeks.

One of my first and favourite captures with the cam.

This has happened a few nights where all 3 night mammals have appeared in such a short time frame.

Skunk at 1:41 am

9 minutes later an Opossum comes through.

4 minutes pass and here is a Raccoon.

I've set the cam up in various spots. The most action seems to happen at the very back of the yard, behind the shed. Six backyards all touch here and there is a greasy fast food place just over the next door's back fence.

A couple years ago one of the neighbours gave me his old dog house. I stuffed it full of straw last fall and put a burlap curtain up. I had seen one Raccoon in it and there was random visits from an Opossum as well. The curtain did not last the winter and I think the entrance was too big to have any wild animal want to sleep the day away inside.

This fall I cut up a piece of plywood, reducing the entry hole to a 6 inch diameter. I researched the size recommended by others. It has been my goal to make this a safe haven for an Opossum. Let's see what happens in the coming months.

The action starts not long after set up. As I mentioned, some nights the visits are hourly. They've gone on into the morning light as well.

I'd be okay if that Skunk made a home of the dog house if not an Opossum. A few nights I've had teasing shots like this. He knows it is there.

Right now I think the Skunk sleeps under our shed. We had two of them for a number of weeks but one has either moved on or something happened to it.

I've seen so many dead Skunks and Raccoons on the roads the last month, it's sickening. It is like this every fall. Ugh!

Obviously this fellow lives very nearby, look at the time.

In the coming weeks and months I plan on pointing the cam at my Owl boxes. A Screech Owl was in one of them a few years back. I've heard Screeches since and have found a few Owl pellets on the roof of the shed. Squirrels got into one of the boxes again but the other I've done everything to keep them out, so fingers crossed.

I experimented one night, attaching the cam to one of my feeder poles. A Raccoon passing by the shed triggered it.

The captures are entertaining to view the morning after. An Opossum is quickly darting by the Skunk.

The cam has caught some neighbourhood cats over the last few weeks. I'm up to 4 of them now. It's to be expected although I don't like it.

I figure these night captures will make for some easy blogs in the future, providing there is something interesting to share. Like how many Raccoons can I capture? Five is the current record.

I'd like to know who is out there in the dead of winter too, when I rarely see any of them.

Thanks for looking. This blog is over.

Back again soon!

WILD Birthday Bits

I've been wanting to blog ever since we ended our 9 day vacation but I seem to have some sort of writer's block. I don't know why. It was a fantastic week off and we did things that I was thrilled to do, things I loved doing. Everything should just flow out with a blog but it's not...

We did a private raptor encounter at Mountsberg Raptor Centre. We do these pretty much yearly and this is the second year in a row where we've done it right around my birthday. Having a Great Horned Owl on the glove is always fun. Meet Octavius. You can read about his background story here that I did some years ago.

I got a little extra love with Shadow the Barn Owl. He's such a character.

I don't advise anyone to just go and stick their face in that of any of these birds they may meet; or any animal out there anywhere. Let them set the boundaries and just enjoy the time with them. Animals are individuals. They have their own moods and personalities. Some people don't understand that for some reason.

I highly recommend these raptor encounters to everyone. To be face to face with these birds, having one of their educational birds on the glove or just admiring them from their homes. It's a great way to set off a spark in a young person who may become an advocate for birds and wildlife in the future.

This was a great way to start the vacation week, or as Angie put it "your birthday week". She said for the next 9 days, I would have a present each day, not always something big and grand, but there would be something. The Mountsberg Raptor Encounter was the first gift. I don't need to list all the gifts here as this is Rob and the Animals, right? Angie did a nice recap of our week off which you can see here. Give her a little love over there, she worked hard at surprising and spoiling me.

Our other big animal adventure was visiting Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue. Angie got me a private tour for Christmas last year. We initially were going to go in the spring but with our Vegas trip and other things, we held off until our vacation week in September. We've known about Soper Creek for a little while now and have met them at a few public exhibitions the last 18 months.

What can be said about Soper that isn't said on their website? They are a caring bunch and have an impressive set up with large enclosures for the educational animals. They are a rehabilitation centre and visitors do not get to meet the patients, as it should be. The educational animals basically work, helping to raise money for the rehab centre.

We met a lot of animals on our tour. There were so many stories shared about the animals, like why they came to Soper. Sadly many are due to human interference. How is it that people think they can just take baby animals from outside and keep them as pets? Those animals never learn how to be true wild animals, self dependent and being able to take care of themselves. When people finally realize that it was a bad idea, or they get tired of caring for the animal and the work involved, or in other cases the animals are found out about and get confiscated... what then? Zoos and rescue centres if they have the space, or it's euthanasia.

Okay, let's meet a couple of their educational animals now, shall we?

Both Angie and I were floored when we got some real one on one, up close and personal time with a couple of their animals that we see in our backyard quite often.

Here I am with Persephone. What a lovely Skunk she is. She was more snuggly than our cats. She nuzzled into my neck, her face often getting lost in my hair. Angie had a mirror moment with her too. Some ask, did she stink? Did she claw us? No and no. Skunks can be de-scented. She was very gentle too.

Then there was Claire the Opossum. Of the 3 big night mammals to visit our backyard, the Opossum is the most elusive of them. So holding one was a real treat. We could never pat one in the wild. Their fur is softer than what it might appear. Claire also was a gentle creature, making her a great ambassador for her kind.

We met a handful of Foxes, some Porcupines and a Groundhog too. You read about some of the ambassador animals of Soper Creek by clicking here. Just a few photos of some of the creatures on our tour. I wish I could remember all their names and their stories to share.

A big friendly Porcupine who is named Vinnie.  He lives with a couple others named Leia and Chewie as well as two Skunks and three Crows.  If you click on Vinnie's link on the website, it says he came from the USA, living in harsh conditions.  I know we heard of someone having numerous animals, all living in small totes, and Vinnie may have been one of them to be taken from this person.

This Groundhog we have met on a few occasions.

He lives with a couple Pigeons.

One of two Red Foxes.  We weren't allowed to mingle with them in their enclosure as they aren't the friendliest.  Still something to see as I rarely find Fox on my walks.

Soper is home to two Bobcats.  Wow!  What lovely beasts they are to see.  I've never seen one in the wild. 

Chewie and Leia.

Some more Foxes we met...

It was a sunny day so it was tough photographing in the woods, inside these enclosures.  This one below probably looks intimidating due to the shadows and his coloring; but I assure you, he was not.

It was fun to be among these young ones.

Of all the animals we met, and the stories we heard, the one about this Crow has stuck with me. His name is Russell. Russell has an amazing story so far in his short life. Russell had come into a wildlife centre as a fledgling, and released to the wild when he was able to fly. A few weeks later, Russell came back to the wildlife centre he was released from, this time with a broken wing. He remembered where the wildlife rescue was, and that the people there could help him. Unfortunately his wing had to be amputated. Russell lives a fulfilling life at Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue now, and lives in a multi-species enclosure. This story just floors me, grabbing my heart strings. I know Crows are very intelligent to begin with but still...

If you are seriously interested in doing a private tour at Soper Creek, here is the link.

Also something wild that week was getting our confirmed backyard bird species #76. A Chestnut-sided Warbler paid us a visit two mornings in a row. It's fall migration, you just never know what might pop in a person's backyard.

Lastly, Angie got me another awesome perfect gift being this t-shirt. It's gotten lots of praise wherever we go and I have it on. Angie said "you'll probably live in it" and I said I would but don't want to wear it out that fast. I should get another one or two.

Oh, there is one more wild bit but that will be blog worthy on it's own and something you might want to follow in the coming months as it will give me reason just to do updates about it on here. Stay tuned for that...

Remember, give Angie some love and see what else we did on our week off. She rocks. I'm glad we share so many interests, yet still have our own too.

Thanks for stopping in.

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