Great Find on the Road to Nowhere

Angie and I were away for a few days last week up in the Muskoka area.  It was nice to be north of the city and enjoy a little time out with nature.  At one point someone recommended to us a trail in the Waubaushene area called the Tay Shore Trail.  It was on our way home so we decided to check it out after we checked out of the lodge.  The person's directions were a bit vague so I entered the trail name into my Google maps on my mobile and away we went.  The drive seemed to be taking longer than what we thought and it also took us into a small subdivision, and from there to a dead end street that had no trail.  Ugh!

Angie said she saw a sign for the trail back near the highway but we stuck to the directions on the mobile, thinking we may end up at the other end.  Since that wasn't the case, we now turned around from this dead end "road to nowhere" and started making our way back.

We had barely done the u-turn and passed a couple houses when Angie blurts out that she saw a fox.  I stopped the car and then backed up.  Sure enough there was a fox up the driveway to the side of a house on a large lot.  It was just sitting there, looking at us, then to the ground, back at us, back to the ground and then it started to dig and pounce.

I grabbed my camera from the back seat.  Neither of us left the car and just watched him from the passenger window along the road.  He was probably 100 ft away but we could see him clearly as the area was not obstructed at all.

It was rather dark and raining.  I knew any photos that I got weren't going to be great quality but I wanted to capture some of the moment to share.

Acknowledgement.

Still looking at us.

Looking to the ground.

The hunt.

Pounce.  Bounce.

I wish I took some video of this as it was so interesting to watch.

The catch.

Don't be jealous!  Get your own rodent lunch.

Gone in 60 seconds.

A good stretch after all that.

One last look before he disappeared between the hedges further back.

We don't see foxes very often, especially hunting like this and it was unexpected (not on our radar), so this was a very cool encounter.  Staying well back and let nature happen naturally is how everyone should view wildlife.

What made this encounter even better is that after we drove away, we did find the trail near the highway.  Unfortunately the rain started coming down fairly hard and steady.  We braved the elements and still checked out a long stretch of the area.  We saw a couple crows, phoebes and some sparrows.  Rather uneventful I must say.  We were very thankful for our great find on the road to nowhere!

Meet Boop

Chipmunks have shown up in our neighbourhood this summer.  We know that there is at least three of them.  Some may be thinking, "ya, what's the big deal?"  Around here, chipmunks appear every few years and sometimes they aren't a long staying guest.  Some just disappear while others have been found dead in neighbours' backyards.  I suspect the free roaming cats are the main reason.

So, in the last decade, this is probably the third summer that we have had chipmunks.  The thing that is really cool about it this time, to us anyway, is that one of them has made his home at the back of our yard.  We get to see a lot of him.  What's not to love about having a chipmunk?  They are cute and fun to watch.  The squirrels are always chasing them when they have food, trying to steal it.  Seeing how fast and agile a chipmunk can be, dodging other squirrels, running around and even under the pigeons is a new source of entertainment to our "backyard nature channel".  Merry and Molly get quite excited at the sight of these little creatures too and will sit in the window or at the back door for lengthy amounts of time, just watching.  We really have to be careful when going in and out of the house to make sure neither suddenly darts out the door to chase one.

Angie has named him Boop.  She names most of the backyard critters.  Why Boop?  Well, she booped him on the nose the other weekend and...  there you go!  It isn't something neither of us make a habit of doing, it was just something in the moment and that was it.  Chipmunks can become tolerant and accepting of human presence but I wouldn't call them tame; they are wild animals.  Yes, in the last couple weeks we have had some up close and personal encounters with this little one as he has quickly figured out we are an easy food source.  His meals have changed from peanuts, which isn't the best choice to offer them because of how fatty they are, to now getting almonds and other nuts will be offered after I make a trip up to Johnvince near Downsview Park.  Johnvince has a great variety of nuts to buy and at a great price compared to the grocery stores.

Boop enjoying almonds at the little decorative picnic table my coworker picked up for me last summer.  I love the personalized touch with our last name.

Our property is over 170' deep and most of it is the backyard.  Boop has made his home down near the shed, probably 70' from our deck.  It was hidden in a small patch of grass and we spotted it when one of us hid down by the shed, watching him go to it after leaving our deck with a mouthful of food.  We knew he was very close to us and were curious how close.  Unfortunately a few days later some animal, I think a squirrel, discovered Boop's "home" and tried to dig down into where his stash is.  I do think it was a squirrel because a skunk or raccoon would have done a lot more damage to the entry than what I saw.  Like other creatures that have come to stay with us, I did what I could to help Boop and protect his home.  We have quite a few large rocks down back and I circled the hole with some.  So far nothing else has tried to get down there.  Let's hope it stays this way.  And if you were wondering, the new addition did not bother Boop at all.

In he goes!

How about a little game of caption this with the next photo?  It's kinda like "Nyah nyah, I have a castle!"

I started this blog on August 2nd.  Now it is August 31st.  Where does the time go?  A few days in the last number of weeks I was telling myself to finish this blog but there's always something going on it seems.  *sigh*  As I key this, Boop is still with us.  We don't see him nearly as much during the work week since we have jobs and everything else that is a part of our daily lives; but come the weekend, it is backyard time and Boop finds us (or we find him).  

He gets spoiled rotten on the weekends with loads of almonds and peanuts, sometimes a bit of sunflower.  It's a buffet and we let him have his choice.  He has to search a lot for food during the work week when we aren't around nearly as much, gathering more natural stuff from the backyards.

Boop is a welcomed distraction on the weekends after a hard week of work and stress.  It's funny how such a tiny little creature can help with our demeanor.

Most will agree that it's lovely to have a few chipmunks around their properties.  I hope you are one them.  Have a great day!

Listen to Your Brain

Last week I went for a walk after cleaning out some nearby nest boxes.  My ears quickly tuned into the screeching sounds of a red-tailed hawk.  As I listened and followed, I could tell there was more than just one.  I recognized the cries of a couple juveniles and two adults.  Oh sweet!

I found the birds in and around a school sports field.  A bird on the roof, one on a hydro post, one on a goal post (all 3 were juveniles) and I soon was able to spot both parents hiding in the woods just off to the west.  Their calls were distinct of adult red-tails or what some believe to be vultures and eagles in old television shows and movies.  Maybe they still use the call of the red-tail in current films?  I'm not sure.

The young birds gave me great views and photo opportunities.  Unfortunately I only had my macro lens on which isn't very good for taking pictures of anything at a distance.  I tried to take some of one but was convinced none of the photos would turn out with this lens.  Actually, looking at this photograph, it really isn't too bad for a freehand shot using a macro lens.  What do you think?

I texted Angie about the cool discovery and told her that I would return the next morning with my big lens.  I watched the hawks a little longer and then headed for home.  As I got to the house, my brain started drilling into my head to grab the 500 mm lens and go back.  Why wait until tomorrow  They are there now, so close to home.

I listened to my brain and am so glad that I did.  I had an amazing encounter watching them for another half hour or so.  Plus, it turned out that I got busy the next morning and couldn't get over to see them.  I did return the day after and while I saw them all again, none were showing well or sitting low like that first day.  You will see what I saw in the photos below.

One hanging out on the goal post in the sports field.

He had a good preening session after the light showers through the morning.

He tolerated my presence, though I wasn't close, having my 500 mm lens.  I'd say it was because he is young and curious; and not okay with humans.

Another was up on this hydro post near the school, just screaming away.

I could hear both adults calling back from the woods to the south and west of here but neither could be seen due to the full trees.  I imagine they were warning calls to me wandering around but who knows for sure, it's not like I could climb this pole and get their kid (but they don't know that).

The young birds did fly to various spots while I was there.  They flew well.  They landed well on these "perches" but coming to ground was a different story...  they landed like Woodstock from the Peanuts as it was more of a crash landing and a tumble; I see the young peregrines do the same thing early on.

This one came to ground and put on a lovely "show" for me, which was like the grand finale, because after this encounter, I left the scene.

What a beauty!  It's hard to believe that this is a young hawk and is still very dependent on his mom and dad for care.

He walked around this area, finding pieces of squirrel to feed upon.  I also saw some rabbit parts too!

As his parents and siblings screeched and screamed, he called back.

I took a couple short videos of the birds, letting you tune into what I heard as well as saw.

Here is the one on the post.

The one on the ground.  

My cats aren't fond of these hawk calls.

I've been by the area a couple times since and have seen and heard the birds.  They are flying high and staying off the ground now.  It was like a brief fledge watch for me, only with hawks this time.

It was a reminder to me that we should embrace the moments in front of us, especially with nature, because they will not be repeated.  Listen to your brain is the only title that I could come up with.

This Opossum

Late in 2021 a tail-less Virginia opossum was appearing on my trail camera.  It was sometime in October that I first noticed her.

Any time after that first cam capture, I was happy to see her again.  Even with run ins with massive raccoons, she kept visiting.

Even as the temperature dropped and the snow was staying on the ground in late December, she was still coming around.  I had set up a small shelter down back that she sometimes used, or it was used by another like in the shot below (that's her in the forefront).  She disappeared after this night.  I kept looking out for her but she wasn't coming around.  I never forgot about her but the hope to see her again faded as we moved through the winter months.  As you may know, opossums are wanderers and I assumed she did just that, wandered off despite having food and shelter here

Then surprisingly she returned about 5 months later.  I wondered where she had gone for all those months but was very happy to see her back.  While we never named this opossum, she became one of the stand out individuals of the backyard.

Funny thing as time passed, the captures of her on the camera showed her belly getting bigger and actually dragging along the ground.

Here she is with another not that you really need a comparison.

Seeing this "development", I knew she was either pregnant or carrying young in her pouch.  I spent more time watching out for her, both with time spent out back after work, and as well as keeping the camera set up near the gate to our backyard.  I was fortunate enough to see her with my own eyes one night and I took a very short video.  Please give this a view, it's only 6 seconds.  Look at that waddle!

I threw her part of an apple, to which she took, and then I went into the house.  As much as I loved seeing her, I am confident the feeling wasn't mutual.  The trail camera was set up for the night.  Look at what the cam caught 90 minutes after I saw her.

Holy shit!  That's a baby opossum on her back!  Here is the image cropped.

This is something that I have always wanted to see with my own eyes, a mother opossum carrying a baby (or babies) on her back.  I borrowed this image from a quick Google search, helping some of you understand why I would really like to see this...

Seeing this on the cam, and so soon after I saw her for myself, drove me nuts (in a good way).  Believe me that the next week, I was spending a lot more time sitting outside after dark, quietly, waiting.  I never got lucky to see her for myself.  A couple nights there was teasing captures as she came in for a drink but then would turn around and leave back up the walkway, and I wouldn't see much of her from the shots.

Of course another opossum was coming around more now, and I even saw him for myself too.  Don't it figure?!?!

What was he seemingly snarling at through the gate?

Another short video you can see if you are on Facebook, I made the link public.  This happened one night as I sat on the deck steps waiting.  I was initially excited to see this opossum, but not as much once I realized it wasn't her; then I just got back into the moment and see him nonetheless.  Opossums are awesome!  Link here.

This past Saturday I set the camera up in another spot, right along the path between our house and next door's.  Look who finally showed up again.  Mom-op!

I think she looks thinner.  What do you think?

I'll be keeping watch, but that's what I do 365 days out of the year anyway.  This was probably it for 2022 (I cannot believe July is just days away).  Knowing we had one out there is almost as cool as seeing it.

We do all we can to make our property more inviting to the wild ones.  2022 was our best winter for having a screech owl here, a raccoon had her babies in our dog house this past spring and now this opossum.  Not that I am giving up on this opossum wish, but I do wonder what may be next?

I'm Tired - Part Two

Here we go with the next installment of why I am so tired...

Last Monday (June 13th) I saw a post on a pigeon page I am on where someone reported seeing a dozen or so fancy pigeons in a parking lot less than 10 minutes from our home.  It is believed that they were just dumped there and the birds have stayed, all together, as they have no where else to go and no idea what to do (since they were captive raised and been given food and water their whole lives).  I saw something like this years ago out at the Scarborough Bluffs and over the next couple weeks the birds were being picked off by the local hawks.

Since this was so close to home, I had to see this with my own eyes.  I went fairly early one morning and was shocked to see 11 beautiful birds hanging out in this small parking lot.

Oh, look at them, especially that one in the forefront.  Those feathery legs!

Who could have done something like this?

There was a lot of talk on the pigeon page about what to do.  Everyone agreed that they should not be left out on the street.  People were already starting to bring the birds food and bowls of water.  Someone brought a large cage to try and bait them into.  A large animal carrier was also brought to the site.  We had a few really humid days last week so people really dedicated themselves to making sure that they had fresh water sources.  A lot of "arm chair critics" gave their 2 cents on what to do with the birds, how to catch them but none of these people ever physically came out.  I know some couldn't because of how far away they lived but some others, well, they probably could have made a trip if they really wanted to do something.

My first visit to the site had me step out of the car and watch the birds, take some photos and then feel them out.  I walked indirectly towards them, seeing how they would react.  You know, not straight at them, but more like on an angle and trying to pass them, see if they flush or not.  I lightly threw handfuls of seed on the ground every few steps; hoping the birds would pick up on this and not see me as a threat.  They did not feed nor did they flush and just watched me with some curiosity.  I left the site and carried on with my day, you know that work thing.

I returned that evening, arriving around 10:30 PM.  I saw a few birds up on the roof and found one sleeping on the ground in the parking lot.  I parked my car in the first spot, grabbed my rescue towel, made sure my carrier was ready if I needed it, and then started to sneak up on this sleepy bird.  I was rocking my whole "act like a ninja" imitation as I quietly approached.  I was no less than 3 feet from him when he suddenly opened his eyes, looked up at me and I thought "OH SHIT!" and quickly threw my towel over him.  Unfortunately the pigeon got out from under and started running.  These fancy birds aren't like the feral birds that I am used to seeing (common city birds).  These fancies fly differently because of their unique feathering, plus when they fly it is really noisy too.  The bird couldn't get height and I managed to get my towel over him two more times but he escaped both times before I could grab him.

The bird upped his game and ran under my car.  It was there that he finally stopped.  If he was at the front of the car and I bent down to look at him from the same end, he would turn around and head towards the back.  Then do the same when I went to the back end to look at him.  After a few minutes I had an idea where I took out just about everything from the Mazda, stuff like my lunch bag, a grocery bin, a cooler, some towels, two hoodies, a rain coat.  I placed these things at various spots just under the car so it limited the pigeon's escape routes.  I then knelt down and tried to flush him out with my towel.  The bird made a break for it, running out towards the building and trying to fly away.  He got air but couldn't get the height so he tried to land on some of the window framing at the main entrance just below the roof.  He couldn't get hold of it and came tumbling down almost at my feet where I finally grabbed him.  He came home with me, spending the night in the car, and early the next morning I brought him inside and put him in our spare bird cage.  I gave him a dish of water and spread some seed on the bottom.  Then I left him be for a while to get his bearings.

I had already named him Mr. Feather Legs.  I had no idea if the bird was a male or not, but whatever... although I have met some people who really seem to have an issue if you don't properly sex a wild animal.  Yes, I am serious.

Look at Mr. Feather Legs.  Isn't he pretty?

In the meantime, I was communicating with people about where to place him.  As much as I wanted to keep him here, we aren't ready to have such a bird in the house.  Merry and Molly wouldn't be able to contain their curiosity about such a creature here.  They were a handful with our last budgie Moonie, having to lock them up in the bedroom every afternoon so Moonie got some time on the table at the window.  A bigger bird would really drive them bonkers.  That would be stress on us and more importantly stress on the bird.  I don't have an outside coop.  I don't know if this breed can withstand the elements, both the humidity in the summer and the extreme cold in the winter.

A home was found rather quickly for Mr. Feather Legs and the gentleman lives 5 minutes from my work.  I took that as a sign that was where he should go.  I drove him out there that day and got to see this man's little flock.  He also gave "my" bird a look over and showed me how caked his toes were in hard feces.  It's obvious his previous owner did not take very good care of him.  He was also missing a few tail feathers which is indication that something tried to catch him, maybe a cat or ???

Mr. Feather Legs looked rather content surrounded by these other birds.  He stood straight and proud, like "look at me!" and he's doing well almost a week later.  He's eating, drinking and making his way around the coop, either in the sheltered area or out to the aviary section.

I've been back to the site many times since then, both earlier in the morning and later in the evening.  The birds are quite skittish towards people so catching them isn't going to be an easy thing.  Through all my visits since, I haven't pursued them.  I had one opportunity another night where I was driving into the parking lot and noticed one of the birds standing on the sidewalk along the main road.  What the heck?  It's 10:30 PM and here he is, wide awake, on the ground.  Unfortunately before I could even try to grab him, he flushed due to a dog walker.

A few other people have been monitoring the birds but they too realize that rescuing any of them is not going to be easy.  Initially we all were very concerned about them but now we've accepted that we can't help them if they don't want the help.  It's unfortunate that they weren't hand raised and more accepting to humans.  It's now turned into just visiting them when one's heart desires, see how they are doing, if any look ill or are grounded, and enjoy them.  They really are beautiful birds.  I don't know any of the breeds though.  A few of us are keeping a thread going on the pigeon page about the site, reporting what we see.  Pigeon lovers unite!

Other than on that page, where the site address was posted, I haven't released the location anywhere publicly.  That's just me and my paranoia about someone coming over and fucking around with the birds, chasing them, trying to catch them or maybe get pretty photos and not keeping their distance.  The birds have enough food/water givers right now.

So ya, I'm tired from the stress I put on myself about these birds that first week.  7:30 AM visits and then back at 10:30 PM daily.

How about I show you some more of the flock.  If you know any of the breeds, please add a comment at the end of the blog.  I would really appreciate it.

I call this bird Prince Pretty, a nick name for a wrestler named Tyler Breeze.  He wore a lot of feathery boots when coming into the ring.  I wonder what he would think about a pigeon being named after him?  Hopefully not wanting to come to my house and suplex me.  Hahahaha!

Meet Braveheart.  One of the others who has been concerned over these birds gave him the name.  The first day she met him, he was the shyest of the birds she saw, keeping his distance and not even looking at her or anyone else.  Then, the next day she saw him, he was the only one to come down for food, being the brave one.  Hey, you gotta make up your own fun in this life and our adventure here.  Besides naming some of these birds makes it easier for us with future reports about how they are doing.  So, here he is.  If it weren't for those legs, you'd think he was just some feral pigeon as his body looks like some of the common city birds we see.

Next up is Ace.  I just named him that.  I was going to go with Bowie because of his glam look but the whole black and white colouring drew me to a KISS member name.  When I was watching him fly around last night, I watched him almost hit the window as he was going for the roof top.  As I already mentioned, some of these fancy birds aren't the best fliers.  I don't know if it is due to their feathering or ???  I'm just starting to understand how some of these birds "work", tumblers, high flying roller pigeons, etc.  

I don't have a name for this bird yet but I am very smitten with him.  I love his appearance as a whole.  The colour pattern, that crown thing on his head.  I look out for him every time I go to see them.  Such a clean bird too compared to some of the others, nice red feet that aren't covered in crap.

While I have my couple favourites, to be honest, it's hard to pick out who to look at and ooooooooo and awwwwww over.  They're all so pretty and unique.  I don't understand how someone could have these birds and then just turn them loose.  Another rumour floating around is that they all were released for some kind of ceremony.  Initially we thought there was maybe a dozen but last night's visit had me count 20 fancy pigeons.  What the hell?!?!  Have more been added or did I just miss them the first time out?

But wait, there's more...

I guess if no more of these birds get "rescued" and they start mingling with the local feral birds, we may end up with a lot of very unique pigeons in the coming months.

I know I put this fatigue all on myself but I cannot help it.  That's me.  I care.  Most know to never say to me "it's just a pigeon".  Angie has kinda laughed at this whole thing, stating that there's never a dull moment with me.  I had left her a big hand written note about Mr. Feather Legs when I brought him home that night.  I didn't want her to find out on social media.  She felt bad for him as well as all the others.  It's lead us to have some conversation about having a pigeon coop out back, be it for me to have a pair of birds, or as a place to temporarily keep ones that need help.  Let's see if that comes to light one of these days.

I will continue to check in on these birds over the next while, not daily, but at least a couple times a week.  The parking lot they hang out in gets pretty busy during weekdays.  Contractors have started redoing the roof but this hasn't scared the birds away so far.

Perhaps another update in due time.  Please wish them the best with this new found freedom they have.