At the Window Well

Several tube-type bird feeders hang from the eaves of the house, one of which also happens to hang over a window well – a steel semicircle that holds soil away from the basement window and allows light to enter.

As birds use that feeder the hulls often wind up down in the window well, where they’re a nuisance to remove. So a plastic well cover was purchased and placed over the window well.

The cover was in place until the morning I found it moved partially off the window well. Thinking it might have been moved by a recent strong wind – the plastic cover was very lightweight – I put a good sized piece of oak on the cover.

Two days later it was moved again – yet another mystery to be solved. What would be most likely to have moved the cover: raccoon, opossum, skunk, bear? A camera trap would reveal the culprit, so I put one where it would have a clear view of the window well.

But the best laid plans … Of course, once the camera was in place the cover wasn’t moved again. In any case, here are videos of the visitors at the window well –

 

Three different striped skunks (each identified by it’s distinctive striping), a raccoon, white-footed mouse and eastern chipmunk fed beneath the feeder, but the culprit in the case of the moved window well cover remains unknown.

Speaking of skunks, a week or so before the moving of the window well cover, at 11:00 pm H had heard high-pitched squealing and screeching outside. She called me from the living room and, after turning on the outside spotlights, we saw two striped skunks locked in combat –

The battle lasted over ten minutes until the combatants separated, the larger, and apparently the victor, disappeared behind the garage while the other slowly walked away.

 

 

There was none of the foot stamping and scent spraying by which skunks defend themselves from predators. Although I’d never seen a skunk fight before, apparently they’re fairly common as males defend their territory – females aren't at all territorial.