Still Here - October 2020

I haven't blogged here in a little while.  Bad me but with some valid reasons which I won't get into.  I wanted to pop in with a little of this and that, like I tend to do after a bit of an absence.

First off, we are still seeing one of the skunks very regularly.  He wanders about dusk and dawn almost daily.  It's been fun watching him grow over the last few months, getting bigger (and fatter) for the upcoming winter season.

He digs around the garden much of the time and has left a couple small holes in the ground throughout.  We don't mind.  We always say we would rather have a backyard with a lived in look and seeing the wildlife; over a pristine lawn and worrying if even a couple leaves fell on it and seeing no wildlife.

He sure appreciates the bath basins that he can easily get a drink from.

The neighbourhood seems to now have a resident raccoon.  I bet there's a dozen around us but this guy makes his presence known.  He's young and is out at random times during the day.  Most are respectful of seeing him, one neighbour kindly and softly says things like "you should be sleeping somewhere" whenever he appears in her yard.  We see him here a fair amount too and it's good that while he is out during daylight hours, he is cautious and skittish at the sight of humans.  He runs, ensuring there is a lot of space between us, when we step outside.  I kinda wish some people would do this, keeping space between us, during this pandemic.

I spotted an Eastern Cottontail in the yard last week.  This is the first one to be seen since back in the early spring.  Let's hope he becomes a regular like the winter visitors last year.  Perhaps he is one of them?

Ripper the Squirrel is still coming around.  Sometimes I won't see him for a few weeks.  Then we will have time outs on the deck for days in a row.  He's still awesome!  And we are in our 4th year with him.

Charlie the Pigeon is still another regular.  We had a Cooper's Hawk come in mid-August, which was rather early for us.  The Hawk managed to take out 2 Pigeons over 3 days but moved on after that.  Charlie went MIA for a few weeks which is her thing, being smart, knowing to stay away while danger lurks.  But she's back now.  It is odd that we aren't seeing any Hawks now into October.  I'm okay with that, as are my Pigeon pals.  I don't hate Hawks by any means but having the Pigeons and other birds here, well, you surely understand.

Charlie is just months away from her third anniversary with us.

I'm still volunteering with the Toronto Wildlife Centre when possible.

Here's some release birds from this fall that got a second chance.  Not very many stick around for a photo opportunity so when one does, I certainly take a shot at it (pun intended).  I've said this before and will again, I do not chase the release birds.  I stay where I am and just take in the positive moment, seeing these birds go back to a wild life.  I got lucky with a few of the birds in lovely autumn backdrops.

Bay-breasted Warbler (that is my guess...  fall warblers can be a challenge to ID)

Swainson's Thrush

White-throated Sparrow

I have an odd story that is blog worthy, once again about dealing with some of the public while picking up an injured animal.  I will leave that for another entry soon.

This was just a "I'm still here" blog notice.  I'm wondering if you are still here too?  Please say "hello" if yes.