mammals
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Raptor Wednesday
I’d hoped to be able to report some exciting falcon-reveal news about the local American Kestrels. The parents have been here and there, but as of this, written late yesterday afternoon, we’ve got nada to say about fledglings.Meanwhile, can I offer you this dicey situation as a substitute for your Wednesday raptor needs? A perched…
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Mammal Monday
Telephoto edition.There were at least two young squirrels in here. *** Interesting programs at the Linnaean Society and Brooklyn Bird Club tomorrow. Unfortunately at the same time. The LSNY is a double-header: Sara Lewis on fireflies, followed by J. Drew Lanham on the art of writing natural history. The BBC has Tessa Boase on the…
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Earth Day
This beat-up skull comes courtesy of a Great Horned Owl. The owl chomped this down and then spit it back up after the bird’s battery acid stomach had a go at it. I think these might be the remains of a Grey Squirrel skull. Found with plenty of grey hair smushed into the cavities. Cleaned up…
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Mammal Monday
It’s just remarkable how the sound of teeth gnawing on hickory shells travels in the winter woods.
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Mammal Monday
Curling up on a roof on a cold winter day. For two days, this raccoon spent daylight hours up here on a neighboring roof. The gutter, and poor roof drainage, provided water from the recent snowfall. It disappeared just a few minutes before sunset the first day. I thought it might be a goner, for…
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Mammal Monday
The raccoons have taken a walloping from canine distemper, but they aren’t finished yet. In honor of the bloggiversary: all the mammals on the blog! And a couple of personal favorites: Eurasian Red in the ice-cream. Muskrat at dusk.
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Mammal Monday
Wait, what?This gruesome sight greeted me recently not very far from where a roosting Great Horned Owl was being yelled at by Blue Jays. Suspicion isn’t evidence, but caching of prey is something these big owls do. Especially in nesting season. The male has to hunt more than usual since the female spends so much…
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Mammal Monday
In which we attempt to glide your way into the working week with something mammiferous. Twice I passed this hole-in-the-bole recently and the Blue Jays were screaming and the Red-breasted Nuthatches were wailing and one or two jays actually got on the lip of the hole and peeked in. “By Jove, there’s something in there,…
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Mammal Monday
If it’s quiet enough, not generally a condition found within the bounds of NYC, a squirrel gnawing on a walnut will ring throughout the area.The eating of buds, on the other paw, is much more subtle. You may only notice when things start falling on your head.
Backyard and Beyond 