A list of wildlife.

I've been remembering all the wildlife encounters I've had during the last ten years on this road.

I've made friends with the foxes, tried to stay away from the bears, watched as moose meandered down my driveway, enjoyed the otters playing on the river ice, saw beavers and muskrats swim by, watched a hungry lynx look for pigeons at my deck and listened to their eerie calls during mating season, had a groundhog look at my cat through the door screen, avoided the porcupines at the compost, chased countless toads from my basement and had one pet toad (Toadie), listened to the calls of the Northern Peeper Frogs in the early spring, watched the squirrels and chipmunks on my deck (and the feral cats that hunt them), checked the tracks of rabbits at the bird feeder, and then there are the birds!

Canada Geese use the river to rest on their migrations, north and south. Partridge stay all winter and I fed them at the end of the road. Blue Herons fly over calling with their legs dangling in the wind. Seagulls, Turns, Mallard Ducks, Loons; they are always around in the summer.

The bird predators: Red tail hawks have eyed my cat, Northern Goshawks, Great Horned Owls, and Bald Eagles roam the area looking for likely candidates to grab. I count Ravens as a predator because they have killed some of my crows and fly away with them.

I've chased Pigeons from the bird feeders and fed all the song birds. Blue and Grey Jays, Dark eyed Juncos, Redpolls, Sparrows, Finches, Chickadees, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, and a host of others. I love the imitation calls of the Starlings as they sit above my bedroom window. One minute they scream like a jay, the next they tinkle like a music box. They only eat from the compost taking choice tidbits of meat, catfood, dogfood, fat and other goodies. They never come to the regular bird feeder.

I've enjoyed the noise made by the woodpeckers; Downy, Hairy and the great Pileated that nest nearby. I've even watch a Ring Necked Pheasant walk through my yard.

And then there are my crows. :)



"The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued. "

by Robert Frost

My crows are very quiet in the winter. Probably to escape notice from predators. They don't answer my calls and only come to the feeding area after sitting in the tallest tree to make sure there are no threats from other wildlife. Only one bird goes down while the others watch.
If I do happen to go outside when the crows are in the tree, they seem content to let me talk to them as they contemplate their next move. In the summer months they would vocalize between themselves and answer me. (The -30 deg.C. temps probably freeze their mouth.)

The ravens seem to be invading the area more than usual, although only 2 actually attempt to get food from the feeding area. They are wary of the dogs next door. If the crows are around, they dive bomb the ravens to chase them away until they tire of trying. The ravens have great stamina and are built for the cold weather.

Pam