Raccoon at the Lake

‘Twas a beautiful morning: a crystal clear blue sky with an abundance of bright white clouds, not too hot, not too cool, not too windy. It was just right to take the canoe to the lake and paddle its six-miles of shoreline to see what there was to see.

Hadn’t gone too far when a furry creature not far ahead along the shore came into view. As I drew closer it quickly became apparent that it was a raccoon feeding at the water’s edge –

It rapidly probed for edibles beneath the water with its front feet –

As soon as it finished in one spot it would walk a little way along the shore and resume searching for something to eat.

By paddling slowly and being careful to avoid any sudden movements, I was able to get much closer than I would have expected –

Interestingly, although it would occasionally look directly at the human watching it, the raccoon seemed unfazed by my presence – perhaps because it was young – and continued feeding.

It was impossible to see what it was eating, but  frequently there was a series of “crunches”  - probably the sounds of it crushing the exoskeletons of crawfish.

The raccoon and I moved slowly along the edge of the lake, one of us eating and the other taking photos. Finally, the raccoon went a short way back from the shoreline and looked out toward the lake –

Apparently it had enough, either enough to eat or enough of being followed, and disappeared from view.

  

At the Crossing

In the farming country on the edge of the Big Woods there’s an area of a few hundred acres that’s too wet to farm although, over the years, some folks have tried. They even channelized a stream, straightening and deepening the stream to hurry the water on its way downstream. Farming ended more than 70 years ago, but the stream still gently flows through woodland that is occasionally flooded in spring.

When I found a faint trail containing deer tracks that crossed the stream the temptation to put a camera trap at the crossing was too strong to resist. A camera trap has now been at the crossing for about two months and the results have certainly justified my decision to place it there. A sampling of photos from the crossing –

Hooded Merganser

Canada Geese

Coyotes

Black Bear

Wood Duck

White-tailed Deer

Great Blue Heron

White-tailed Deer

The camera trap will remain in place at least until fall to capture photos of the wildlife that uses the stream or crosses the waterway there.

  

Kermit

It was about 10 o’clock in the evening when my wife happened to notice it on the outside sill of our kitchen window. Responding to her summons I looked out and there it was, right on the sill where the light from the kitchen illuminated it somewhat.

The answer to the question of “How’d it get here?” is fairly simple. Scaling the concrete foundation, and siding and making its way around the sill’s overhang is fairly easy for a creature with suction cups on each of its toes. Why was it there? The kitchen light we leave on in the evening attracts the moths and other insects on which it feeds.

I went outside and easily caught our visitor – the first gray tree frog we’ve seen here after 44 years. Since I wanted some photos of the visitor, the frog was placed in a glass container we’ve used a terrarium over the years where it would spend the night. It quickly demonstrated its climbing ability by climbing part way up the glass side of the container.

In the morning as soon as it was light enough for photos we went outside, camera in my hand.

Gray tree frogs live up to the species portion of their scientific name, versicolor, since they can change their coloration to blend into the background. In the morning, the frog appeared a somewhat Kermit-like green –

A little while later, after resting on the grayish bark of a red maple, the frog gradually assumed a blotchy grayish color –

With its lumpy-bumpy skin and varied color the gray tree frog is almost perfectly camouflaged against tree bark.

Gray tree frogs, except during winter and the short time when they descend to breed in standing water, spend their time high in the tops of trees. There, they quietly pass the day on a branch and spend the night feeding on insects – especially moths. Their camouflage protects them from predators, but if a predator threatens the bright yellow coloration of their inner legs distracts the threat as they leap to safety.

Although gray tree frogs are reputed to make good pets, our visitor was released to resume its life in the treetops.

Spring at the Brush Pile

Things were quiet at the brush pile during late March, April and May. As the camera trap completed its year of watching and capturing the comings and goings of the wildlife that utilizes the brush pile behind the house, activity has seemed to drop off. Earlier accounts of the brush pile were posted here, here and here.

One of the cottontail rabbits that we see frequently seems to have taken up permanent residence beneath the pile and the camera captured so many photos of the rabbit that I deleted almost all of them.

Although nothing unusual made an appearance, the usual cast of characters did appear – although less frequently than they have in the past. Second to the rabbit in the number of photos were the gray squirrels that climb around on the brush pile and occasionally disappear in to the rabbit’s shelter under the pile.

Here’s a rogues gallery of the other visitors to the brush pile in spring –

Carolina Wren

Downy Woodpecker

Gray Catbird

Eastern Chipmunk

House Wren

White-footed Mouse

So, we’ll say Good-bye to the brush pile and the cottontail after a year of spying on them.

Perhaps I’ll put the camera back at some point in the future and resume checking on activity at the brush pile.