Red Fox

We've noticed this red fox (Vulpes vulpes) around the property or on the road the past few days. The size of a small dog, they are pretty easy to spot in the shorter grass of the upper field where this one made a complete circuit this afternoon, passing the house twice, seeming not to mind (or notice) me hanging out by the front door snapping photos. Definitely in hunting mode, couple of pounces, but didn't see it take anything. Since foxes are primarily nocturnal, it is kind of surprising to see so much of this fox lately, but Habitat Home is ideal habitat as they like open woodland and forest/grass edges. This is the time that pups are born, so we'll keep an eye out in four or five weeks when they would emerge from their den.

Beaver

I recently purchased this sign and thought it would be a cute addition to Habitat Home. While walking the trails this morning I spotted evidence of a beaver. I thought this little chopped down tree was interesting and a good example of what a beaver does.

But then as I walked further along the path, I came to this ....

The beaver or beavers are doing some damage here. Beavers are herbivores and will use just about any tree along our river corridor; willow, river birch, maple, cottonwood, sweet gum, black cherry, dogwood, and oak. The beaver is probably living in a burrow dug into the riverbank which is about 20 feet away. Beavers, the largest rodent in Illinois, were once almost extinct in Illinois. They were reintroduced in the 1930s and are now thriving. We could apply for a trapping permit as trapping is allowed from November through March. But we won't as it looks like we have lost the trees already. Maybe tonight we can watch him finishing the job!

Woodchuck

We noticed this large Illinois herbivorous rodent, the woodchuck (Marmota monax) or groundhog, out sunning on our patio under the deck this afternoon. By the time I fetched the camera, he was hiding out under the stack of firewood behind the house, and attempts to get a closeup view resulted in a rather (for a woodchuck) quick escape (photo above). But we had a calming conversation with him for a while in the garden before he ambled off into the woods.

Habitat Home is a great place for woodchucks, although we rarely see them. They like forest edges but can be found in more open fields, stream banks, railroad embankments, and even residential areas. This little guy will probably start putting on some weight now in preparation for his true hibernation over winter. He will curl up in a burrow, body temperature dropping to 39°F and heart rate to 10 per minute; woodchucks rouse once in a while, and might even emerge briefly on warm winter days, but only rarely on February 2.

Shed Antlers

Yesterday was a warm sunny day. Perfect for a walk around the property and a good time to look for shed antlers. Cory, our wonderful hunter, was lucky enough to find this pair. Even though the antlers are very different, Cory thought that they were antlers from the same deer, the smaller antler a possible result of injury of some sort to the deer.

Antlers are shed every year about this time. They are not always found as they lie among the leaf litter and since they are calcium rich, they are sought by many other animals, for example, this squirrel we watched a couple years ago.

Opossum

This opossum  (Didelphis virginiana) was walking around  the yard this morning looking for something to eat.  He eats just about anything.  He was checking out the compost bins, the bird feeder and then the garage door; they like to live in outbuildings so make sure your doors remain closed.  They can become a problem  if they get into buildings.   But we rather like the little critter as he eats everything and I am always amazed when  frightened opossums  play dead.  He looks really cute here because you cannot see his ugly naked tail.

Mangy Squirrel - Not a Pretty Sight!

We noticed this squirrel up on the potting bench this morning.  A rather unusal place for a squirrel. It did not take us long to realize this squirrel was unusual in other ways.  Notice areas that lack any hair.  A quick google search leads one to ponder if the hair loss is due to mange or a fungus.   But I think it is mange as the squirrel seemed to be uncomfortably scratching.  Mange and fungus often occur when squirrel populations rise, so we may be seeing more hairless squirrels.  There is not a lot to do about this and some references even go so far as to suggest that this is nature's way of thinning the squirrel population.  Only the strong survive!

Squirrel Salad

It must be diet time for everyone! Or did he forget where the buried nuts are? This fox squirrel certainly looks like he could loose a few pounds. Of course he is all fluffed up due to the cold. He (or she, I cannot really tell with all that fluff) has been coming up to the deck and munching on these leaves. These are leaves of the fall pansies I purchased and never got around to properly disposing to the compost bins after the first snow. Wonder if I had left other frozen plants in the pots if the squirrels would be eating them? I would not recommend leaving frozen plants and dirt in clay pots to attract squirrels. If for no other reason, usually the pot will crack and have to be replaced come spring. I did not know that squirrels ate green leaves but now that I think about it, I wonder if he/she is the one who was grazing the succulents I had out on the deck this summer!

Skunks

All summer long we have been finding small holes in our lawn. We wondered who was doing this. Was it the turkeys, was it the squirrels, was it Canadian geese, was it raccoons, was it opossums?

Well, it was the skunks. We saw several this morning digging in the lawn. We never see skunks in the morning but this morning we saw two. One in the front yard and one in the back yard. Actually the one in the back yard was also on the back patio looking into my potted tomatoes. And what do you suppose they are searching for? This post now comes with a warning for those who are squeamish, J. Yes, this is what they are digging up and eating in our lawn. We must have a lot judging by the number of holes we have found this summer. These grubs will eventually develop into Japanese Beetles. So as long as the skunks don't get excited I can live with the holes in my yard.

Squirrel Season

Watch out now. It's Squirrel season! August 1st marks the beginning of the squirrel hunting season. Squirrel hunters complain that it is hard to get a good shot at a squirrel. Squirrels are busy now gathering nuts and usually up in the trees. But here at Habitathome, they are still sitting quietly on the picnic table eating the shed antlers.

Doe and Fawn

Just two weeks ago (see July15th post) this fawn was running and curious about everything. Today it seems much more aware of its surroundings but Mom is still ever watchful. I have not noticed nearly as much deer damage on the plants around the house this year. I wonder if this is perhaps because it has been such a rainy season. Everything is still so green and lush.

Harvest at Habitat Home

Here at Habitat Home I gave up any real attempts at vegetable gardening long ago. I just do not have the time to tend a real vegetable garden. Also, I do not want to have to use any pesticides. I understand that there are good reasons for using pesticides but I do not think (especially with insecticides) that the unknown risks are worth it. Perhaps fencing would work for some of the bigger vegetable pests but for Habitat Home I like the open look. So I do my vegetable gardening in containers. We have a south facing brick patio close to the kitchen where some vegetables are grown in containers. I thought that perhaps they are safer close to the house. But, do you think he ate the whole thing?

Shed Chew

We share our local area with numerous whitetail deer. We see them every day. After taking up residence and walking around the property a lot, I often wondered why I didn't see more shed antlers. The bucks lose them every spring, they're hard and bonelike and don't decay easily, they turn white fairly quickly if exposed to the sun and thus pretty easily spotted. It's kind of like thinking too long about the question of why the earth has not (according to at least some people) been visited by aliens (the Fermi Paradox). You end up asking "Where are they?"

The short answers are that sheds do decay in the sun, and, more importantly, they are a source of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals for squirrels, porcupines, and other small mammals. Still, how much effect could a few small animals have on these bony appendages?

Well, as it turned out, seeing (and hearing) is believing! We left a found shed on the picnic table about 100 feet behind the house, and one day I heard a strange scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. There was the answer: a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) gnawing away at the old antler. The squirrels sometimes work at it for five to ten minutes before, apparently, getting their minimum daily requirement and running off.

Shed antler hunting has become quite an activity, too. There are features that make antlers more (for example, a matched pair) or less (bleached, chalky, chewed) valuable, and hunters are familiar with Boone and Crockett scoring. A recent innovation in the "sport" is the use of specially trained "antler dogs"!

So while I enjoy finding the occasional shed antler while walking around the park or property, I also enjoy watching the squirrel demonstrating the maxim that nature makes use of, or recycles everything.

Fawns

We are starting to see fawns. They are so cute and so inquisitive and so playful. We have seen this one a few times. There is also a pair of twins that are hanging around the southwest corner of Homer Lake Park. The spots will only last a few months because like all children they grow up all too soon.

Do you smell that?

That being a skunk!

We woke up this morning to skunk smell.
Where is he?
What is he doing?
Will he be around long?
Maybe it is a she and she has a den with little ones?

This happened a few years back and we managed to co-exist though it all. So I am hoping that this too will be a peaceful coexistence.