Helping a Vole

Today our cat, Mitten, had a small vole in his clutches. I, being the sort of person I am, and knowing that Mitten is perfectly well fed, was compelled to rescue the vole. I was able to grab it and put it into a bucket. It was a very young vole, not even close to full size. I named it Voley-vole.

I'd say it was about half the size of a standard vole (unfortunately I know this from a few that I didn't manage to rescue in time).  It is a southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi) as one can tell from the colour of its fur, and since there are only a few vole species that live here, that is a distinguishing feature.  Its fur was a bit bedraggled after having been mouthed by a cat, but it will dry off.

If you are not familiar with voles, you might be thinking that I'm talking about a mole.  Moles are quite different from voles.  They are larger and have bigger feet for tunneling under the earth.  They make little dirt mounds in your yard, if you have them.  Voles make little tunnels under snow, which are obvious as the snow melts. 

Voles are approximately mouse-sized, or a bit bigger, but they are not mice.  They have shorter tails and smaller ears than many mice, and a more rounded nose, whereas mice have pointy noses.  Then there are shrews, which are even more pointy-nosed, but they have extremely tiny eyes. 

Anyway, after rescuing Voley-vole, I put it into a bucket with some chicken grain so it could replenish its energy.  It ate heartily, and did some cute little face washing with its paws.  I'm such a soft heart when it comes to little animals.  I had to pet Voley-vole while it was in the bucket.  No, it didn't bite me.  No, I will not get rabies.  Or fleas.  Or the plague.

After it seemed to have eaten all the grain it wanted, I released it into the woods where I know the voles like to live.  I put the bucket on its side and Voley-Vole came to the edge of the bucket and hopped out onto the ground. 

Then, it promptly ran over to my shoe and hopped up on my toe.  It sat there for a good 15 or 20 seconds before hopping down again and running under the leaves and making its way in the world.  I felt, with apologies for my anthropomorphism, that it was saying thank you. Be well, Voley-vole.  You are much loved.

What To Do When You Find a Severed Leg

No, not a human leg!  Thank goodness!

I found this bird leg in my garden a few weeks ago, just laying there by itself.  I saw the orange foot first, and reached down to pick up what I thought was a piece of plastic, and found myself holding a severed bird leg!  Yikes!  I looked all around for the rest of the bird, but I didn't see anything else - not even a pile of feathers.

I had a close look at the foot and realized it was some kind of duck leg, given the webbed foot.  Of course, one of the things I immediately noticed was the leg band.  I had to get out my magnifier glasses (yes, I have reached that stage in life) to read the band.  Interestingly, it had a website on it, as well as a 1-800 number.

I went to the website (www.reportband.gov) and learned that it run by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory in Maine.  The Center is part of the United States Geological Survey, and it cooperates with the Canadian Wildlife Service on bird banding projects.  Here's some information from their website:

The Bird Banding Laboratory was established in 1920 to support the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the status and trends of bird populations are critical for identifying and understanding many ecological issues and for developing effective science, management and conservation practices.

The laboratory administers the North American Bird Banding Program, which manages more than 77 million archived banding records.  Each year, approximately 1 million bands are shipped from the BBL to banders in the United States and Canada, and nearly 100,000 band encounter reports are entered into the BBL systems.

Using the website (or the phone number) is the way to report any sighting or finding of a bird leg band (which unfortunately often means a dead or injured bird, since most birds don't sit on your lap and wave their leg bands around for your perusal).  I entered the number and the information on how I found the band using the screens on the website.  It was really easy.

I received an emailed certificate of appreciation! 

The scientists who study birds need citizens who are interested and motivated to send in information to help them track and learn more about birds.  My bird leg was the leg of a female mallard duck who was hatched prior to October of 2015.  She was banded near to where I live, so it wasn't surprising to find that band locally.  Here's a mallard in considerably better condition than the banded one - I took this picture at the waterfowl park last year.

I expect that she was preyed upon by either an owl (we have quite a few around here) or possibly a raccoon.  Or perhaps she died some other way and her body was moved by a scavenging animal.  I think her leg ended up in my yard without the rest of the body after having been carried here by a raccoon or something.  It was a little bit weird, but I'm glad I submitted the leg band number.

So now you know, if you ever find a bird leg with a band on it, submit the number!  Some of the bands are metal, like the one I found.  Others are coloured plastic.  Some bands also come with a monetary reward for reporting them! 

Warbler Watch

This time of year is the best time for me to be watching for warbler species in my yard.  The year before last, I identified 9 different warblers over the summer months.  Last year, I had almost no time to go looking at birds, so I only saw a few.  I am hoping to see more this year.  It's good to watch for them at this time of year because they are in full breeding plumage, which often makes them more easily recognizable.

Last week, I managed to spend about 45 minutes "stalking" warblers in my woods.  They tend to be up high in the trees and they move fast, so it can be difficult to photograph them.  Fortunately, I was able to spot three different species during my short time of looking for them, so I'm blogging about my finds so I remember which species I saw this year.

These aren't fabulous pictures - but they are pictures that had enough characteristics for me to identify the species.  I'll try to keep up with any more species I see this year.

Blackburnian Warbler - June 1, 2018
This is the male Blackburnian warbler.  It's the first time I've seen one of these.  It's the only species in this area with the orange head with black markings, so it's very easily identified if you can manage to catch it on film!  He was moving fast!

Yellow-rumped Warbler - June 1, 2018
This is the male yellow-rumped warbler.  Again, he was moving fast, but his markings are distinct, so these pictures were enough to identify him.  This is a fairly common warbler.  There is a difference between the plumage in the western form and eastern form of this bird.  This is (obviously) the eastern plumage.

Here's an "in motion" shot.

Magnolia Warbler - June 1, 2018
I was really excited to see this little ray of sunshine in the woods.

His markings are unmistakable.

This is the male magnolia warbler, and it's the first time I've seen one of these.

At the end of May, I managed to photograph a few other species of warblers.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - May 24, 2018
This is the female black-throated blue warbler.  She really doesn't look anything like her mate, so she can be a bit tricky to identify, but that white wing patch is a distinctive clue, as is the white 'eyebrow' marking.

You can see the white wing patch more clearly here.

Wilson's Warbler - May 24, 2018
See that blurry little yellow guy?  That's a male Wilson's warbler.  Terrible shot, I know, but because of his little black hat and yellow plumage, it's a giveaway identification.  I'm only including this shot for my own records so I can remember what I saw.  Hopefully I'll get a better shot next time!

Bay-breasted Warbler - May 24, 2018
This is the female bay-breasted warbler. This one is particularly exciting because it is classed as "vulnerable."  It feeds heavily on spruce budworms, so increased use of pesticide sprays has caused a significant reduction in population.  I'd like to see the male as well - hopefully they will visit again.

American Redstart - May 24, 2018
Although this bird doesn't have "warbler" in its name, it's still in the same family as the warblers and is therefore classified as one.  This is another fast-moving bird who is difficult to photograph well.  He was also really high in the tree.  I'm glad to have a good zoom lens when I'm trying to photograph warblers.

So, I'm off to a good start with 7 warbler species identified in my yard so far in 2018.  Hopefully I'll have more time to spend outside with the camera so I can capture a few more!

Weekend Roundup: S

The prompts for S from Tom the Backroads Traveller are: Starts with S, Favourite, and Silver.

Starts with S

Here is a pair of American goldfinches at my feeder.  

Why, you are probably asking, am I showing a goldfinch, which starts with G?  Well, their scientific name is Spinus tristis, and that starts with S!  The male American goldfinch puts on a beautiful coat of yellow feathers in the spring, and then they go a sort of dull greenish-brown during the winter.  I think their summer coat looks like sunshine!  The female is less bright, but she also puts on more colour in the summer than in the winter.  Obviously, she's the upper bird in the above photo.

This male is nearly finished moulting his winter feathers, but you can still see the remnants of his winter coat on the back of his head and the top of his wing.  The one in the picture above no longer has those brownish feathers.

The Spinus genus of birds includes the goldfinches (but not other finches) and a whole lot of siskin species.  Occasionally I see a pine siskin, but not as often as I'd like!  The name for the Spinus genus of birds comes from the Ancient Green "spinos" which is apparently a name for a bird that is no longer known or identifiable.  Meanwhile, "tristis" is Latin for sorrowful, because apparently some people think their song is mournful, but it doesn't sound that way to me!

Favourite

Spring really has "sprung" here and my crocuses are in full bloom, so I took this picture this week of a favourite patch.  I love this little group of blossoms because there are purple ones, white ones, and also the white ones with the purple veining.  They are so cheerful and remind me that summer is on the way.  I have a couple of patches of yellow ones also.

I also noticed some tulip buds are forming!  Hooray!

Silver

I am trying to go for regular walks these days, at least when it isn't raining.  On my 1-hour walk circuit, I go past the end of a lake.  The lake is called Silver Lake and it is a lovely view as I go by.  As you can see, things are just starting to turn green around here, but none of the leaves are out yet.

At a different part of the lake, during the summer, there is a swimming area set up (with a barrier to keep kids in the safe area) and there is a boat access ramp.  People go trout fishing on the lake as well.  It is very irregularly shaped, as shown in the map picture below.

I enjoy looking for the loons that are sometimes at the spot where I walk by.  Unfortunately, since I don't take the larger camera with the zoom lens on my walks, I don't get good pictures of the loons.  If you look closely at this shot, you'll see a tiny black and white blob in the middle. That's a loon. Really!  Trust me!

Osprey Sighting

On Saturday I went for a walk because it was a lovely day.  I saw a couple of loons on the lake as I walked, and wished I had taken my camera, but I don't really like taking the camera for exercise walks because it's too cumbersome.  As I neared home, I saw a large bird of prey slowly flying overhead, and then I noticed it was holding something.  I wasn't sure, but I thought it had a fish (from the same lake where the loons were, most likely).  At that point, I realized that it was probably an osprey.

The osprey went over my head and then settled on a nearby utility pole to begin devouring the meal.  I ran (well, I jogged...well, I kind of walk-jog-walk-jogged) to the house to get the camera in the hope that I could get home, get the camera and run back to the pole before the fish was gone and the bird had flown.  It was the end of my walk and I was already a bit tired, but I put in the effort so that I could try to catch a few good photographs of this wonderful bird.

As you will see from the pictures below, I wasn't disappointed!  He saw me coming, but he didn't seem disturbed by my presence because he kept eating his meal with gusto.

Chow down!

I was very glad to have such a good zoom lens and the ability to crop these pictures and still have decent images.  I think, given my burst of energy, my hands were shaking a bit.

He did look at me from time to time as he ate.

Maybe he thought I would make a good dessert? 

I also managed to get a picture showing the stripes under his tail feathers that are characteristic of the osprey.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to watch, and photograph, such a majestic and captivating bird.  An unexpected bonus as a result of going for my walk!

Weekend Roundup: Q and R

I missed the weekend roundup last week, so I'm doing 2 letters this week - Q and R.  The prompts for Q from Tom the Backroads Traveller are: Starts with Q, Favourite, and Quiet, and the prompts for R are Starts with R, Red, and Favourite.

Starts with Q:
I'm feeling woefully inadequate for Q this time around.  Here is a picture of a pair of American Wigeons taken last month at the local waterfowl park.  American Wigeons are ducks.  Ducks say "quack" which begins with Q.  (see....really not very inspired).

Quiet:

Here is a quiet bunny.

Did you know that rabbits actually do make noises?  Most people think that rabbits are entirely quiet, but this is not true.  They make a range of noises, but many of them are soft noises that you wouldn't normally hear.  An annoyed rabbit makes a soft growl or grunt noise.  Sometimes Pippin does this when I pick him up and he doesn't want to be picked up.  Sometimes it's also accompanied by kicking feet.  Happy rabbits sometimes grind their teeth a bit (just gently - serious grinding is a sign of pain).  The grinding can make a soft noise almost like purring.  

In cases of extreme distress or pain, rabbits can actually scream.  This is a horrible noise and one that I never want to hear again.  I heard it once, and it was unforgettably bad.  

Starts with R:
This week, the helpful local carpenter (who built my little barn and chicken coop last year) was able to build and install six raised beds for me in my backyard.  I am really excited about this because it means that I will be able to grow some veggies of my own this year.  Raised beds are great because they tend to have fewer weeds and are easy to fill with ideal soil blends.  I will be filling these with some of my own compost as well as some compost from the farm where the carpenter lives.  As you can see, they are positioned near the chicken coop.  In the fall, when the beds are needing to be cleared out, I will make a portable raised bed frame so the chickens can forage in a bed for a day, without being taken by hawks.

The carpenter and his team carried the beds from their pickup trucks into my yard.  The beds are made with extremely thick rough-cut lumber.  They are lined with poly to help them last, but given the thickness of the wood, they will last a looooong time!

Then they positioned them all as I had requested.  This arrangement takes best advantage of the sun that I get in the yard (which is limited due to all the trees). I took this picture from the balcony off my bedroom to show the arrangement with the trees.  This is facing mostly east, but slightly south.  I put some cardboard in the bottoms of them to prevent weeds growing up, although they are 24 inches deep, so they probably won't have a problem with that.

They are constructed with a ledge around the top edge that I can easily sit or lean on for comfort while gardening. He even rounded the corners so I would not hurt my knees while walking around the beds.  It is great to have good help!  He is coming next week to help me fill them.

Red:
Last week I was able to photograph a pileated woodpecker.  It is the largest species of woodpecker we have in this area, and it has a bright red crest.  The male (seen below) also has a red "moustache" along the side of his face.

Favourites:

Here are a couple of favourites from the last couple of weeks.

A mourning dove on a wood stump in my yard having her fill of seeds.

A purple finch on a branch in the yard.  The favourite aspect of this picture is that the buds are swelling and getting ready to break.  I am so very ready for green!

A Bath for a Guinea Pig: Rolo's Spa Day

Our long-haired guinea pig, Rolo, sometimes needs to have a bath.  His fur is so long (6 inches or more) that it trails on the ground, and since he isn't all that particular about where he goes to the bathroom, his fur can sometimes trail in the litter in his cage and he gets a bit grubby.  Guinea pigs shouldn't be bathed too often because it can irritate their skin - once every couple of months for long haired piggies is fine. It's not that difficult to give a guinea pig a bath, so here's the process.

First, I set up a "bathtub" in the shower stall.  I am using a corner litter pan here, but any kind of container of this type will do.  I also have a large water jug handy.  I use warm water in both, and have them prepared before I get Rolo out.  I recommend wearing an apron - it can get a bit splashy!

And here he is, in the tub.  He really doesn't seem to mind the warm water.  It's spa day!  The important thing is to make sure the water is not too deep - a guinea pig should be able to stand comfortably and not feel like it is about to drown.  As you can see, his head is well above the water line.

Here you can see how long his fur is!  I make sure there are no tangles and ensure all the fur gets wet.

Once he's wet all over (except for his face), I use special pet shampoo to get him lathered up.  A bit hard to tell here, but he's all covered in shampoo.  I wash all over, including his belly and underside.  Just gentle lathering and rubbing to ensure he gets all cleaned up.

Then it's back into fresh water - he looks sort of like a mop!  I use the jug to pour fresh warm water over him to rinse out all of the shampoo.  I do 2 or 3 rinses to make sure he's all clean.

Then he's wrapped up in a towel for the initial pat-down drying phase.  Piggie burrito.

I use a blow dryer at this time of year to ensure he doesn't get a chill.  He doesn't seem to mind the blow dryer either, although mine is not especially loud and I use a low heat level because they have sensitive skin.

It takes a while to get the drying done.  It's convenient to put him in the (dry) sink on the towel so he doesn't run around too much.  Only thing is, sometimes I'm not sure which end is which!  He looks like a toupée now!

Nearly finished!  I dry underneath his belly too, but it's too difficult to take a picture with one hand, hold the guinea pig up with the other hand, and take a picture all at the same time! 

And that's a wrap for spa day!  Just a little bit of brushing to ensure there are no tangles.

What a handsome piggie!