Category: Wildlife

Bold

On By CarynIn Wildlife

My squirrels are getting bold. I walked out to fill the corn holders and a momma squirrel stayed just on the other side of the tree while I loaded, then came to eat before I walked away. The photo below was taken with my phone with no zoom. She was about three feet away from me.

Photo description: squirrel picking kernels of corn off a cob hanging in a corn holder on a Post Oak tree

More raccoons

On By CarynIn Wildlife

I pulled the trail cam footage again and I think there are definitely at least two Mama raccoons.

Photo description: raccoons on a porch at night, Momma has a thin tail
Photo description: four raccoons on the porch at night, babies are bigger
Photo description: raccoon family walking away from the camera, Momma’s tail looks thick, I believe this is the same family as the picture directly above

I think there is a Momma raccoon with six kits and a thin tail (maybe babies are chewers), and another Momma raccoon with a normal looking tail with three kits that are slightly older than the sextuplets, or better fed.

I also see Mommas with one or two kits, but I can’t be sure that the picture just didn’t capture the other kits because they were trailing behind.

I am glad to see the raccoon population regain hold in the woods after the entire colony was wiped out by distemper a couple years ago, but I wonder if the population boom will create another overcrowded situation. We’ll be watching.

Still deer

On By CarynIn Wildlife

We do still get deer through our back woods, as evidenced by pictures from the trail cam.

Photo description: night vision side view of a doe White Tailed Deer

Two by two

On By CarynIn Wildlife

The raccoon kits are getting big! I pulled my trail cam photos and they are about half as big as their Momma, all six of them.

Photo description: night vision view of seven raccoons walking through the woods, Momma’s chewed tail on the right, and six young raccoons following in pairs, the eye glow the only sign of the sixth
Photo description: another picture of this raccoon family, Momma on the bench, five young on the porch, and one kit on the ground between the porch and bench, all cleaning up cat food

I think the number of kits explains Momma’s tail being thin and scraggly. I think I would give up and just let them play with my tail in order to get some sleep.

Bat house

On By CarynIn Wildlife

My bat house is finally up! I was gifted the bat house a number of years ago, but had trouble finding a place near the edge of the woods, 15 feet up with a clear drop, and southern facing. None of our out buildings fit the requirements, and I was not willing to put up a 15 foot post. My eldest learned about bat houses for a project in college and found a good place on an existing tree and installed it.

Photo description: ladder leaning against a very large Post Oak on our property, with a new bat house installed on a sturdy branch
Photo description: view from the meadow looking back into the woods with the bat house installed

Now I watch for… signs of guano?