During the past week or so we haven’t gotten any new snow, so the tracks have been building up. Sunrise-to-sunset time is about 5 hours, so there is little daylight during which to see (in real time) who’s been passing. Our resident snowshoe hare has been dashing everywhere. We first saw it in the latter half of October—it stuck out so boldly, white against the snow-less landscape, that we could even see it after dark. This species has only recently colonized our neighborhood, probably drawn by the increasingly open woods as aging aspens have fallen. Until now, we have not had one actually spending time in our yard. It seems to love to run on the deck. Of course we call it Thumper.
Today at dawn—around 10:00 AM—I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye and saw Thumper cruise across the yard. It was remarkably hard to visually follow it on the snow.
Super Moon rising
A few nights ago I went out on the deck to uncover and light the grill to cook some salmon. It was about 5 F, and dark. I had turned on the deck light and was uncovering the grill when I noticed a northern flying squirrel on the bird feeder. At first it was very still, then it went back to its eating. Lighting the grill, sweeping up some snow, and going back inside did not disturb it, just a few feet away.
Part of my November writing view.
I’ve been trying to get some writing done each morning on work stuff, and so have been leaving after it gets light out. We’ve had some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, with mostly clear skies. Those familiar with my posts know that we have a resident red fox that we only occasionally see. It cruises the yard regularly, by the tracks, and I suspect the presence of a certain squirrel graveyard earlier in the year made it rewarding for him to come by fairly frequently. Anyway, one morning recently he went trotting along down the middle of the road, nonchalantly sniffing at this and that on each side as he went. Bold. Remarkable.
Bird-wise, we have the usual suspects, plenty of Black-capped Chickadees, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Hairy Woodpeckers. Boreal Chickadees have been unusually scarce, but it’s not really cold yet, and redpolls have been feeding in the birch trees. Last weekend a male Ruffed Grouse showed up all blustery, with tail erect, black hackle feathers raised around its head, and body plumage all puffed out. He was moving in toward us in the house, clearly threatening something we couldn’t see. When we got up to the window and peered down, it turned out to be a female he was threatening away from the crumbs of sunflower seeds the chickadees sometimes leave below the feeder. All fun activity when we’re home to see it.
On the commercial ornithology front we’re more active than usual, having not gotten a moose this year (and none in the yard yet for entertainment). We’re having chicken and turkey both this week. It’s a fun change—the spare chicken we’d laid in three years ago, right before our success with caribou. It roasted up as tasty as could be.
Happy animals inside and out.