I came across large paw prints in the recent snowfall during my afternoon walk at work. I placed a coin next to the prints. The coin is 1 1/16 inches or 27mm in diameter. The pay prints are about 2x that size, so 2 1/4 inches or 54mm. I’m pretty sure a coyote left these prints.
It seems that WordPress does not like the photo I took; I cannot upload it.
My workplace is an industrial facility, about 40 acres in size and roughly rectangular in shape. There are two plastic lined water retention ponds over on one side and a spray field, which is sort of naturalized, in one back corner.
I was returning from a site inspection walk on a not warm afternoon. It was about 8 degrees C or 46F and I was just outside the main admin building when something caught my eyes. I veered towards it.
A crayfish (I called them crawdads when I was in Texas) was at least 100 meters from the nearest pond, and more than 200 meters as the crawdad crawls from the spray field. About 4 inches nose to end of tail. It had no business being on the concrete pad behind the building. I can only speculate how it got there.
I seemed to remember they they burrow down into soft mud in cold weather. So I took it back to the edge of the water at the spray field where it had at least a chance.
spider. This one set up shop a while ago on the side of our house, sheltering behind a downspout when necessary. I think it’s an Araneus nordmanni. We don’t mind it being here. It serves a purpose.
I came across this juvenile Mute Swan during a walk. It hissed so I maintained a respectful distance while wondering if it was in distress, being as it was about 100 meters from the pond where I previously saw it many times. It may have tired while trying out its wings.
I went past the spot a while later and it was gone so I assume it found its way to a more suitable habitat.
One of the many sunflowers on our property.
We feed the birds, which means that they and the squirrels deposit sunflower seeds throughout the yard. The seeds sprout. Sunflowers grow. Seed eating birds glean the flower heads. The seeds they miss fall to the ground. The cycle renews, year after year.
Faye and I ran errands today.
On our way home we saw a car on the shoulder and a fellow using a stick or bat to herd a bird off the pavement onto the shoulder. As we passed by we saw that it was a . . . Common Loon?!?!?! They aren’t at all common around here; as a matter of fact neither of us have ever seen one. Literally. We were gobsmacked.
So we pulled a u-turn and went back to offer help. The fellow was leaving but said he had called wildlife rescue. We decided to stay until they arrived. Faye got a small blanket from the trunk to cover, protect, and confine it, keeping well away from its long pointed beak. It appeared to have some kind of leg or foot injury. We didn’t realize how BIG a loon is!
Two animal rescue officers arrived about 30 minutes later. They packed it into a small kennel for transport to a rehabilitator.
I came across this Midland Painted Turtle on a day that wasn’t too warm or sunny. It was rather defensive when I leaned down to get a better look.
Although the species is not listed under the Species At Risk Act it is designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as a Species of Special Concern. So it was good to see a seemingly healthy individual.
