Heeeere Elvissss

Yep Elvis.

He's still around.

My Elvis at least. Living in the reflection pond at The Park.

I read somewhere that muscovy ducks live about 3-4 years, but it's been over 4 years since I first admired Elvis' fabulous jet black pompadour and the perfect, red, stitch- like adornment around it... and we became friends.

Over that time I've seen him hang with a changing group of guy ducks, sometimes one, sometimes three others. Once in awhile, he comes over to me and we have some time alone. I like that time.

I'll talk to him as he paddles steadily toward me, and hold out a piece of bread.

It's never anything less than amazing to commune with an animal. I always feel in my element.

Cold, Hard Reality

So, I was driving home from work past the same little stretch of park I've mentioned before and at the very end, on a little strip of green sandwiched between a parking lot and the fast moving, 4 lane road I was on, I saw something black. And big -- about the size of a high top sneaker. Sometimes I spot moss in a bundle and think it's a squirrel until I get closer but there is nothing jet black like this in the park. I knew in a second something was off, and as I got closer it was confirmed: what I'd spotted was a large, back rabbit with very long ears, munching on greens sprouting out of a faded flower patch.

I was planning on hitting the treadmill at home, but instead I parked. I figured if I walked up to it slowly and it didn't spook, it had been owned by humans. He moved as I approached but didn't go more than one hop, or lose interest in the tender greens.

It was obvious someone had dropped their former pet off. I thought through the scenario of putting him in my carrier and getting him to the Wildlife Rehab Center, a few times. They were closed. Would I have to do this in the morning, then be late to work? I guess I could go on my lunch time. But, I'm terribly allergic to bunnies, and I'd be paying for a week to do this... BUT I remembered I knew a spot in the outdoor mews at the Center where I could place the carrier and he'd be safe for the night, so I could drop him off. I'd have to put lettuce and water in with him, so I'd have to go home and get that first. BUT that was OK. So I went back to the car, opened the carrier, got my large net, and went back.

Where the bunny had let me get very close before, now he was uncomfortable. He eyed me, stopped eating. I was not moving any faster or erratically, and had the net flush to my body so it was not poised above him; maybe I was emitting a different scent...

I waited for him to relax and start nibbling again, but when I got close enough he'd hop. Because of the lay of the land, I was in a pickle. If I positioned myself in front of the dense bushes that lined the parking lot (a perfect rabbit hideaway), his only choice was to head into traffic. If I kept him from traffic, he'd of course end up in the bushes, where I couldn't reach him. Torn between the two, I stood between him and the traffic and long story short, I eventually lost him to the leafy cover.

I could have sat down and waited much longer so he could get used to me again before I'd tried to reach out for him. I could have waited for him to come out of the bushes. But I figured the temps have dropped so he'd be comfortable by day and through the night. He had food nearby, and though there was no water, he'd be OK until I came back the next day to try it again.

I admit, some of why I didn't succeed in catching him is because I was grappling with doubt that crept into my head when I told about the duck or they see the carrier, net, gloves and all kind of food and water in my car. If I were on Animal Cops, no one would blink an eye. But without a badge you get a few, boarder-line- crazy animal-lady looks. As a result, I wasn't as patient as I could have been with the net, and I didn't wait at the bushes to see if he would come out. I tried to think about it like other people might -- he'll be fine.

24 hours later, I was driving back and didn't see him. I parked and went to the flower patch by the bushes. A quick visual scan made it obvious he wasn't there... but as I looked up into the road, I saw something flat and dark. I probably said aloud what I was thinking, as my steps quickened. It was too flat and seemed too big to be him. I was sure it was someone's hoodie crumpled and flattened by tires.

But I was wrong. He wasn't fine. I'll spare you the close up.

I try to keep it happy here but nature has many sides, and all aren't always happy or fair. I've had to take those things in, process and accept them in my own way, if I wanted to work and play in it. I even try to respect it. But this is one example of man's failure, though, not nature's.

Lessons learned:
1. I will never feel doubt again when I see an out-of-place animal and try to do something about it. I am a sub-licensed wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator.

2. People who can't take care of pets (not to mention those who only want bunnies or ducklings --whose feathers they dye in pastel colors --for a few weeks after Easter), should NOT take animals on. When they don't want it anymore, they should not drop animals off in the park and hope for the best. They aren't necessarily able to adapt to the wild. If folks are going to do it anyway, then at least drop them deep within, away from traffic.

Maybe they tried to find someone to take it, maybe they thought it'd get euthanized if they gave it to a shelter, maybe in these hard times they had to decide between pet care and food on their own table. Maybe.

What Ever Happened to that Duck?

Never got the chance to continue the white duck story. So, as I posted below, I fell when I went against my own rules and jogged around trying to catch this bird. I dusted myself off and tried to enlist a few people to assist me in diverting the duck so I could pick him up but NO ONE responded as they passed. I mean, I was in a Zoo polo shirt, had nice hair, earrings. I looked perhaps like an upright person clearly with a job that involves animals... You'd think they'd at least say something back. Nope.

So I decided to walk him back to the Lake.

I left the carrier where it was, and picked up the blanket I'd brought, stretching it across the front of my body from arm to arm, forming a kind of cloth wall. And I started walking behind him. He marched forward, occasionally looking back at me. If he veered to the left, so did I. Ditto if he veered right, and it got him walking straight again.

We marched past the train tracks, and a sidewalk, the outdoor grills and a swing set, past gravel where people were playing ball and continued over the grass. The duck eventually started quacking at me, the frequency and volume escalating in direct relation to his increasing annoyance with me, I'm sure.

Apparently he can't fly, or I'd assume he'd have taken off at some point. Which most likely means he was owned by someone who dropped him off when they got tired of caring for him.

He finally got tired and resigned -- just stopped in his tracks. I slowly approached, and gently picked him up, just like I was taught as a docent at the Zoo. He sat calmly in the blanket as I walked him steadily the rest of the way, though his bill was open a little the rest of the way. Didn't know if he was hot or pissed. Just a few more steps and I could place him into the water. There was another duck already paddling around close to shore and I hoped that was a good thing. Maybe this duck had been bullied and was seeking refuge so far away. Or maybe it just needed to see another duck in the lake to realize he was one himself, and should take like the proverbial duck to water.

Once floating, I watched him for a few minutes. He seemed unsure he wanted to be there but that faded with in 60 seconds. His bill closed, he took a few dunks in the water, and then began to nibble at the greens growing below the water's surface, as naturally as if he'd been there all his life (and hadn't been annoyed by a 5'7" wingless, webless biped)

I headed all the way back in the scorching sun, numb from my chin to my hairline, collected my carrier and bread, then trudged even further to where I'd parked the car. My jeans were ripped, and prime spots were covered in dirt from my fall. So far, the novicane was holding (this paragraph only makes sense if you read the previous post). I got home and fell into bed.

Two days later, my tooth is 100% better. I'm driving to work and see a bright white football shaped thing in a similar place in the grass.

(yes Ellen, you're psychic)

THE DUCK WAS BACK!!!

Danger! Danger!

Tuesday I was driving home from work, which is a whopping 6 minute commute. I drive past about a mile or so of grass on the back end of The Park, continue on a few lights and boom: my apartment.

So I'd just turned onto Main street and within several feet saw a large Pekin duck (the Alfac kind) about to step into traffic. There is no curb, only two lanes in each direction, with a MetroRail speeding down the middle. I quickly checked my mirror and saw I had a few seconds before the fast-moving cars behind me would be on my fender, so I hit my blinkers, hopped out of my jeep, and shooed the single webbed foot that was poised above the hot cement, ready to step itself into feather heaven, back onto the grass (or in this case, a puddle left by an afternoon downpour).


... to be followed by the next step, and the next, as I continued behind him making encouraging motions and sounds until he was safely over the sidewalk, and the kiddie railroad tracks beyond.

As I did this, I glanced over my shoulder at the car several times, realizing it was highly likely someone could not be paying attention and ram right into it as I was busy walking the duck back to safety. But I have my priorities! (If I'd gotten a flat, that's what I'd have had to do, so people could think I had car trouble for a few seconds, and go around me. I've since bought florescent orange, mini construction cones for extra assurance that I would act responsibly toward humans as well, should I need an emergency stop again).

I'd never seen waterfowl on this side (not to mention this far from the H20) in the 4 plus years I've been here. To get to this road, he had wandered past picnic benches, rest rooms, BBQ grills, playgrounds (with their attendant kids, parents and pets), the children's trains' tracks and it's pick up station and two sidewalks spread across acres and acres of grass and gravel.

While I was marching the duck inland, I calculated just how far away the lake was, and realized that I could not exactly leave my car where it was for long enough to get him there. By this time he'd begun to quack loudly, clearly annoyed by me. I got him to another deep double puddle made by the earlier rain. Once his feet were in water and he had something to drink, I decided that would have to do. And he seemed happy enough to stay here. I raced back to the car and drove off, hoping that he would remain safe...

There's much more to this story so keep an eye out for the next installment!

Just Ducky

.... and Geese-y, to be completely accurate.

I took a walk in The Park for the first time in a long time. I've been so busy with all the other ways I've gotten involved with animals that the place that started me in this direction -- The Park and all the animal regulars in it -- have fallen on the back burner. * hanging head* Isn't that just like life... I never want to take things for granted that are that special. So I got myself there, with bread and cracked corn in my pockets.

I've written often about the ones who I developed relationships with, Mr. and Mrs Goose probably getting top billing (had to say it). So the first two I looked for were them. They are the biggest and the loudest, so they are not hard to find, if they're not resting deep within the thicket on the island in the middle of The Lake. Thankfully I saw them right away, padding around in a rather soggy patch of forest, pecking at greens, which seem to be a daily part of their diet.

However, when I held out a little bread, it got their attention!


I included this second picture because it shows both of their faces in profile. It's worth clicking on the picture to open and see how beautiful they are. And she, who is the smaller of the two and in the lower right of the picture, has features that just look more feminine, even though their markings are almost identical. She looks like she has a more almond shaped eye, or up-swept eyeliner on....


And then there was Elvis.... the Muscoy duck. Once in a while I don't see him but overall he is a fixture, never straying from the edges of the reflection pool


And I also saw the third of my top three favorite buddies, the Indian Running duck. I don't have any name for him but as I've written here, he quacks me up with his adrenalized personality. He runs faster than any of the others over to me, and can't stand still be cause he is so revved up. He quacks at rapid speed and also stamps his little orange feet. So funny.


As a result, most of my pictures of him are blurred like the one below, because he's in such constant motion. And he's in the middle of talking to me. Fast talking, fast walking, very verbal... this duck could easily be a New Yorker (said fondly, as I consider myself to be one -- a New Yorker that is).

He looks like he's saying: WHERE WERE YOU??? DO YOU LIKE SQUIRRELS BETTER THAN US NOW????

The answer is, no.

I'm quite smitten with them all.

A Wee Turtle's Lucky Day -- And Mine

On a recent, wet and overcast spring day I was walking through The Park in what I call "squirrel forest." It's an area that was full of tall trees and populated by tons of Fox squirrels. While there still are a lot of those, the trees took a hit between Hurricane Ike and the massive construction that went on in the area for most of 2009. There are still things that go on in the name of improvement and restoration over there, and the day I was walking it seems they'd put in a bunch of new mulch.

To this day I have no idea how I spotted this but I had just handed out nuts to dozens of squirrels and was ready to get home. I started walking toward the path when somehow my eyes fell on a tiny little shape that looked the color of the bits of tree bark mixed in with the dark, moist topsoil. I stooped to get a closer look and I thought I saw little hands or a foot. By the time my eyes focused those were gone but sure enough, it was the underside of a tiny turtle. Thank goodness I stopped because I don't know what would have happened otherwise. It was a miracle I didn't step on him, but he was also so far away from the water, I have no idea how he got there, let alone how he'd ever get back.

I picked him up in my gloves and saw that he had indeed both sets "hands" and "feet", a tail and head. And he seemed alive though his head was tucked so far back into his shell (as mine would be if an utter GIANT had picked me up) so I couldn't see his eyes. I wish I'd have thought to take a picture of it, but I was more concerned that he was alive and well. I walked as carefully as I could with him in one palm, upright and flat, with the other had cupping over it, to give him a sense of security -- if that can be had while something has taken you waaaay up into the air and now you are inevitably jostling with each resounding step.

I went to a place I knew there were lots of turtles and babies, but there was no shoreline. If he was not well, or unable to swim, I wanted him to be able to get out. I know nothing about turtles, and maybe he'd have been fine, but I wanted to pick a place that would give him the option to stay on land or step into the water when he was ready. I also wasn't sure if other turtles were territorial, or if he'd be bullied or picked on by others if he was not a part of their group. I thought of the shallows where so many seasoned duck mothers lead their little babies, but I know that snapping turtles lurk just below and with one swift motion can grab something little on the surface for s snack. I am not sure a turtle would eat a turtle, but I continued on. Finally I found a moss covered log, the same one where I've seen a turtle sunning himself every now and again. That could act as a "shoreline", where the little guy could stay until he wanted to swim away. I put him down and stood there for about 20 minutes, watching.


Slowly, his head came out, then a foot, then all his limbs and his tail. He hung there for another 10 minutes, and then I noticed he ventured into the water, hanging on to the log with the toe nails of one little foot. I smiled and took a few pictures, and decided all was well enough.

If you'd like an idea of just how small he was, here is a picture that will show you. This log is about as big as my forearm.... And that's my shadow snapping the pic.

It's this kind of stuff that makes me feel I've earned my day on earth. Call me crazy, but it makes me feel good.

Bachelor Dads

Almost two years ago now a new pair of geese showed up at Hermann Park. While previously there'd only been the grand and elegant Mr. and Mrs. Goose ruling the lake, I arrived one day to see two more gliding along it's blue surface. One was a Chinese goose with all the same brown and white feathers, the same black beak with a bump, the same plaintitive wail as Mr. Goose. It was also the same size, and so I assumed it was a he. The other had an orange beak and as big a body, but with fluffier feathers that were ashy-brown all over. I've come to know this as a greylag goose (but it could be a landes-- chime in in the comments area if you know). I assumed he was also a male due to his size and aggressiveness when eating from my hand. Where the other three were more gentle, he'd rip the bread from my fingers, often nipping them in the process (he didn't mean it though, he just needs better table manners).

While Geese are known to be good egg producers, I've never ever seem Mr. and Mrs Goose with chicks of their own, though there's six weeks a year, sometimes twice a year, when I only see Mr. Goose on his own. As the Mrs. was never far from his side normally, I wondered if they had a nest during those times...though if she was gone due to sitting on it, apparently nothing ever hatched.

I've read much about the goose's tendancy to mate for life, but I wondered about these two guys. Somewhere I came across a line or two that they might stick with a buddy if not a mate, filling that need to pair.

Interestingly, last spring, when all the Muscovy's begin to appear with lines of fuzzy babies waddling after them, I noticed that the bachelor buds were very interested in the 11 little ones of one mother Muscovy. Here were a few pictures I snapped.

The first few times I thought they were bullying them, but when I tried to shoo them away from the mother and chicks, they would not go. They were obsessed. With further observation, I realized that they were quite attached to the little ones. Over the next few weeks, I found them together in all corners of the park. They would stand guard as the babies slept under the shade of a tree, assist them as they got in and out of the water, or shepard them safely across the walkway, as I caught them doing here.

I wondered if I'd been mistaken, that they were indeed male and female, practicing for the future. But if they were both males, could they not also have some kind of paternal instinct? And it being nesting time, but finding themselves unable to fulfill nature's call, could they not have decided to adopt?

They often bent their long necks down this way to gently nudge the babes along --or to dicipline! After about 6 weeks they'd grown into juveniles and the mother was no where to be found. But I'd see the pair of bachelor geese right beside them, until one day, their little flock had grown too big to tell them apart from the other muscovy teenagers. And like all parents, these two guys were forced to watch as they swam away to have their own lives, leaving them with... an empty nest.

Considering how few babies make it to adulthood, these geese proved to be excellent parents and they should be proud. Oddly, I've never seen them do it again. But spring is coming and with the budding trees and sprouting flowers come babies of all kinds in the animal kingdom. I will be keeping a close on these two.

Mr. Foof

There's a pack of about 6 caramel and white colored ducks who must have flown in from somewhere (or were dropped off by someone) about a year ago and decided that The Park was a good place to stay. Smart birds.Plenty of places to swim, nest and sleep and the weather isn't too shabby either. Not to mention that there are lots of humans around who provide extra treats when pulling on grasses and reeds and nibbling insects get ho hum.

Each one of these ducks have a distinctive white poof of feathers on their heads. Not quite an Easter hat, definitely not a pompadour, but more like a cotton ball pillbox.



But last time I was there I saw what appears to be a mallard drake with the same poof on top -- only his was quite grand, traveling from his crown halfway down his shimmery neck. Take a gander: The front shot just makes me laugh.
So noble and yet, so Don King...


Really. It's more than a poof, hence the post's title. Anyway, here for your enjoyment is a little of this guy, dabbling among lily pads.



Having spent the better part of an hour scouring duck books and Google to find out what this is all about, I've come up with ZERO. I went to duck ID sites for hunters. I put head plumage in quotes to get as specific as possible. I Googled images using every wording imaginable. The best I found was one picture of one of the caramel colored poofers but it was on a stock photographers site. The caption was as clueless, only offering it is thought they are a hybrid.

Do any of you animal lovers out there have a clue?

Nuts To You

Oh I love The Park that I live so close to, where I am still thrilled that the "wild animals" are all so tame that they eat from my hand. When I am in need of the fix that only being with animals can give, I take a walk there with my bag stuffed with bread, raw nuts and cracked corn at the very least, so I have a little something for anyone I might run into who is up for a little snack.

I visited the other side of the lake, rather than the squirrel forest, since I wanted the little ones over there to get their due. I spotted this Fox leaping from branch to branch and pushed through some sticky brambles and weeds to catch her attention. There I offered nuts, and took blurry but satisfying movies with my other hand.




It's a shame that these movies are so big and clear on my computer and are so reduced here on blogger. Here's a picture at least of the little girl, caught mid bite.

It's odd to have a nature scene such as this have such a cacophonous soundtrack. The siren is because The Park is next to the medical center. While it's far enough away, ambulances and emergency helicopters are heard regularly on their way to it. The high pitched whistle is from a children's train that snakes around the lake and trees. Here's more....




Cracks me up to see her check me out as she's finishing this nut. I was moving around a little, picking another nut out of my pocket to wave at her once she was done. She looks me up and down quick and comes racing back for it. I don't know if you can make all that out on the infuriatingly small screen they condense these movies to. You need to come over some day and watch them on my computer where they fill up the whole screen.

If that's not enough, I have some lovely salted cashews (or cake and coffee/tea) to lure you. :-)

Finding Warmth in Winter

I always enjoy strolling through The Park on sunny days when it's quiet, because it's then that the turtles --of which there is quite a healthy population -- come out to sun themselves. Being cold blooded, they must regulate their body temps by absorbing sun through their shells. I stood far away from this lone fella, but you can see that he indeed noticed me when I said something about getting vitamin D out loud. He then turned his head back, like George Hamilton. Gawd forbid he get a tan line from turning his head too long. Or maybe he realizes he's got a handsome profile (I was kind enough to shoot this from his good side).


I went over to get a closer shot. He posed for this and then, in the blink of an eye, slipped off the log and disappeared into the water. Now in a completely different part of the lake there is a little island and I usually can find a set of about 8 turtles who crawl up on a sunny patch on the shore, protected by surrounding greens from the wind, which on this day was quite chilly.
Someone ought to get wise and set up a little shack with cocktail service in the middle there. Where's the Geiko gekko these days? If he needed a gig on the side he'd be a perfect fit.

Marvels and Ingenuity

I've begun to look in trees now that I have raised baby squirrels. I wonder how they possibly survive out in the wind and the rain when they are so little and fragile. I have seen a few squirrels peeking out of a rare cubbyhole in a tree trunk, though they probably had to fight a pileated woodpecker for the real estate. But I learned that squirrels usually make a nest (called a drey) of leaves and twigs positioned between two sturdy branches... high enough to be safe from predators but not so high that they will fall victim to high winds, pelting rain and such. The nests are lined with soft things like feathers and moss. I would love to see one up close someday, or find a film of babies nursing from their mother in the nest. Having fed them myself, and watched them sleep and grow, I have wondered many times how it occurs in the wild.

Back to nests---

I thought this was a squirrel nest when I took it... though it's pretty big. This is what it looks like from the ground:

Then closer:

And closer.


This looks so big that it may be some kind of larger bird's nest. It's a marvel in any case... how is it balancing? While it may be in the fork of two branches, it's extended so far out into space, so far from the trunk of the tree. Considering whatever made this has to carry the materials in their mouth or beak, to get something this big had to be made of many many small deposits of found stuff. How does that first little pile of leaves or twigs stay in place while the critter scurries or flies to find more?

Do any of you know? Have you seen a nest being built by any species? Any related stories or tidbits on the topic? Oh please, do tell!

I Spy A Golden Eye

I may feel like I'm not as sharp as I used to be in so many ways (I word search, am tired way too often, can be distracted by the multitasking overwhelm that modern life has become) BUT when I'm in nature, I'm highly alert. Every formerly dull sense is tuned in to the smallest of things. If something flickers in the lake, if there is a small movement in the trees, if there is a barely audible cry I pick up on it like I have SUPERPOWERS!

So I was out walking one early summer afternoon in The Park and there was the tiniest rustling.  I wasn't quite sure what had gotten my attention, just that it had. There was a ghostly sense of something, almost imperceptible really. I could not be sure I wasn't just mistaken. I squinted into the blue sky and the mass of newly full, vibrant lime green leaves and even with glasses on, could not make anything out. 

I just took a picture of the general area that got my attention, figuring if there was something there I might see it if I went home and enlarged the pic.
Sure enough, the below is what I got when I cropped it!!!!!

How cool is that? Owls are so mysterious, and usually are heard and not seen. I've just recently seen owls up close --which is saying a lot considering I've lived half a century. I saw one flying out of the smoke when I was stranded on the side of the one and only road during a giant fire on the island of Maui, the night before I eloped. Under the circumstances, I considered that it might be a spirit totem or something (either that or the prenuptial fire was a sign, lol). It had a very long wingspan but an abnormally large head for a regular bird, which until then were the only ones I'd seen. The eyes were so large and dark, and while all it's feathers stretched out when it was in flight, the fluffiness of it's head remained the same and that accounted for the proportion. It's one of those moments I'll never forget. 

Flash forward two years and I was face to face with several owls at The Center which you can read about HERE for starters (or simply click on the tag OWLS to your left on this page...).

Maybe one of you can identify what kind of owl it is. I know what kind it isn't. Not a screech owl... not a barn owl, not a great horned owl.  Any birders out there know? 

Tres Amigos

I got to The Park, finally. For the first time in a long time I went for a walk by myself and reveled in all the things that have always nourished me there. I used to go several times a week and enjoy the water, the trees, and all the critters. I've been so busy -- and adding rehabbing baby squirrels at home has barely left me energy to brush my teeth let alone get "me time" like a meandering hour in nature. But it is just the thing to revive a tired gal, and I will try to go again very soon.

To spare you seeing only squirrel pictures for the next few thousand posts, I took a picture of three new ducks I'd never seen before. They made a handsome trio and if I were a duck I think I might want to join their little gang.

Too bad you know who wasn't standing in the middle and we could come up with all kinds of nicknames for them like The Reverse Oreos or Piano Keys or something like that. I guess the latter could still apply....

I love the little poof of feathers on the top of the black one's head. Such a Dandy that one.

Bits and Pieces

BUSY LITTLE HANDS:
A little video I forgot I shot -- oh these little digital snap cameras with their mini movie capability. When I zoom in it takes it's time to focus and makes a strange noise at times. But I get the shot -- there are countless numbers of antics going on every day that I don't catch. I can hardly post the ones I do, so filming quality gets pushed even further down the list...

That said, I still hope to brighten your day. I am finding lately that when I give a squirrel a hard nut, like an almond, 3/4 of the time they bury it. When I give them something soft like a pecan or a walnut, they stay close and chomp it, keeping their eye on me, hoping for another as soon as they can chew it up.

I did catch a little one hopping around to find a spot, digging, pushing the nut in with his mouth and doing a very hearty job of packing down the soil, with one last whiff to either be sure where it is, or maybe be sure no other squirrel could detect it and steal it away....

BIRD UPDATES:
Also -- a vulture update. I told the story of the baby black vulture HERE. Last week I learned he'd gotten so big he was transferred to a big boy cage. Another woman was taking a quick pic so I joined her and did the same. This is for the Grilzzled

Scribe in particular.

In other news, the Chimney Swifts I guess got big enough to be returned to the wild. I have not yet found out how that happens... but I am so glad I got the pictures I did. Don't know when I will come across those again.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN:

And I have gotten my sub-contracting license that allowed me to take home a very sick baby squirrel who came in to the Center Thursday near closing. I had just managed to get a cc of lactated ringer’s solution down him (the fluids that they give for dehydration) and asked who was going to take him home for the evening feedings. The answer was -- you are!

I drove home probably with more care than I have in years, as I had very precious cargo. I am happy to say that he has gotten stronger with each passing day, and watching his progress on an hourly basis, for several days has been an amazing and most rewarding experience. I got him at 55 grams and unable to eat and now he's 73 grams, and quite a joyful eater. I hope to raise him just until his eyes open. Then I feel I can turn him back over with confidence that he will live.

He completely cracks me up, as he conks out in the craziest positions. I will do a little photo post of some of them in the next little while. Until then, here's the little munchkin. I swear these little guys just KILL me! Click on it to see it bigger. Those feet! So CUTE!

We're coming into baby squirrel season so I will have a lot more to feed when I go in to the Center. I just hope nothing happens like last year, where we were struggling to feed over 1200 of these due to Hurricaine Ike. Are you a fan of squirrels?

A Soggy Day with Geese

I am behind in posting things.... so this was from a few weeks ago. We had two solid days of torrential rain. I went to the park to see if I could find the lone, orphaned baby duck I had been feeding every day (with the hope it would get big enough to not be so appealing as a meal to every predator around). I didn't see it that day and feared the worst. I went it Wellies and tromped through all kinds of reeds and muck to look for it and had the fire ant and mosquito bites to prove it for about two weeks.

Discouraged, I was headed home and saw Mr and Mrs Goose searching for something in the flooded grass. I had cracked corn with me, which they will eat out of my hand, so I called to them. As they usually do, they trumpet rather loudly, and, led me Mr. Goose, the two came over. He gallantly assumed the position, threatening me with his beak in attack mode as they approached, while the Mrs. followed behind, confident that he was on the case. I have seen people run from this posturing, but I just stand there and talk to them in a bit of a sing song way. I know I am not there to harm them, and in fact, I am bringing them something natural and good to eat.



You would not believe how utterly soft they are. When they eat like this I get to feel their necks as they occasionally brush against me. They just don't make the words to describe how it feels.

I suppose it's obvious by now... These two are my absolute favorite birds and I pamper them when they let me. Something new I've noticed this year is that they both have kind of fleshy feathery knickers hanging down over their little legs, when they didn't before. I've seen Geese who have quite a bit of this waddle, but I assumed it was quite like our chins -- something that can sag as one gets on in years. Does anybody know about this?

Best of all, the next day I went back and saw that baby duck. Who knows where it was hiding when I was searching high and low. I fed it quite a bit and noticed it had doubled in size, and was getting in some real feathers, at least teen age ones, in place of fuzz.

Another Look at the Nutria

To continue on with getting to know the Nutrias, and help you see that they really are nothing like a rat, or what people think of rats (namely: ew and ick), here's a cute little guy who came over to me as I was walking in the park a few months ago. (If you're asking What's a Nutria, click that name on the tabs on the sidebar over there to see)


Now, would a RAT do that? No. He looks more like one of those miniature dogs wanting a treat. Or a very well trained gerbil. A rabbit with less cute lips and no hopping? Well, he certainly looks like a Nutria if nothing else. Because of his tail, he's in all this trouble, being called a water rat. Add a flat tail to the same body, face and teeth and he'd look just like a beaver and suddenly folks might be calling him cute.

Well, I gave him some bread, and --this was shot several months ago--it was the last time I did. I know these little guys have gotten carb addicted because people in the park throw them so much bread and they are really herbivores. I know wheat is a grain, and maybe it's not that bad for them but sliced rye doesn't grow on a riverbank with the rest of their food.


Since I've done so much training now between the Zoo and the Wildlife Center, I have stopped giving them bread... If I'm going to feed wild animals it will only be things as close as possible to their natural diets. When I see someone throw Fritos (oy!) to ducks (who will eat them) or M&M's (OY!!!) to a squirrel (who will eat them) I want to charge up and ask "What are you THINKING giving them these things? Do you think BLUE M&M's exist in nature??????" in an entirely too loud voice... or whack them upside the head (the people, not the animals).

Hey, Wake UP!

I was walking by the newly constructed foot-paddle boat launch area in The Park and saw this sight for the first time... three adult NUTRIAS on land. I see them in water, and I see them chewing reeds, and I see them sometimes on the banks of the lank on the grass, I assume hunting for tasty new green shoots. But I've never seen them stacked up like a bunch of firewood. One woke up and was in the middle of this little grooming thing they do... he's almost finished by the time my camera caught him.




I love it that he is making the same face you might do if you were scratching your underbelly. Cracks me up. I also think it's funny to watch the two duck feathers swimming around in the back ground in the same way the ducks themselves would. A sort of optical illusion (If you can imagine them as two tiny white ducks).

These little guys are so like Beavers in appearance (except for the tail)... I don't know if Beavers also do what you saw him doing, but I did read up that Nutrias regularly rub their hair with their hands to distribute natural oils that help their hair/skin stay protected while they tool around in the water so much. That was the tail end of what you saw him doing... I love how they use their little hands much like ours.

Here, it looks like he wants his pal to wake up, but he's out cold. I really was surprised to see this kind of behavior.



I realize these are not the best videos but I've been so busy I haven't been able to do much more than this. I have some great video of hummingbirds at our CO cabin feeders and many brightly colored birds that came to visit that I hope to load before I go out of town end of this weekend. In the mean time....

I had never seen a Nutria before I moved here, but they are prevalent. Do you have them where you live?

Bits and Pieces

A quick thank you for all replies on my last post. I'm on the road, sending this pre-written post from an iphone.

I do have a net and proper pet carrier and food and water if I were to catch the chicken and would have a person who could take her set up before I did anything... And I would take the hen there immediately after catching her. I can always take her to the professional comfort and care at the wildlife rehab center I volunteer at in a pinch. A vet tech there alredy offered to take her but I'm still looking for the best fit for her new home.


OK---Close to sunset baby and adult bunnies are found everywhere along the edges of the reeds and thicker patches of tall flowers in The Park. They are the only animals there that aren't used to people, scampering away as soon as you get near. I'm glad. As much as I enjoy the fact that the animals there are so tame, it's not the best thing for them.... because plenty of people out there do bad things to animals if they can get their hands on them. I was able to snap a pic before this one hightailed it to safety.
All the ducks I've seen sleep with their heads turned back and their beak resting in the feathers, tucked under their wings. This guy looks like he passed out and his beak is holding him up... exhibiting the same fine sense of balance as when they sleep on one foot. Maybe he had a tough night out with the boys. I got closer to see if he was ok. He looked up and said AFFLACK, so I moved on.

I call the one below Three in a Tree. I had given a nice juicy walnut to three different squirrels and they all managed to run up into the nearest tree and perch on a branch stump, as they are wont to do, to eat it. Usually if two squirrels go up the same tree there is a squabble and a comical chase by one after the other. This was an amazing sight, so I tried to get a quick shot. Unfortunately it doesnt show up so well here... but it's enough.



Hope you can see them all. There's one way up on the top left whose tail is facing us.

Hen Peck

I have gone to the park several times this week and have not seen the chicken. Since it's new habit seems to be standing in the road, I keep feeling certain it will get hit... or it will disappear and I will never know what happened to it... did it get squashed on a week, like this coming one, where I will be out of town, and there will be no telltale signs left as dust returns to dust? Has someone scooped him up for dinner once night (hey, in these parts, it could happen). Did the chicken indeed cross the road successfully and take up residence in a more protected area by the golf course? I would search and search and never know.

So the other day, I had just decided to dump all the cracked corn I bring for him to feed a set of 5 mallard siblings who eagerly gobbled it up and grow stronger for it... and I finally see the chicken in the same old place, pecking at the grass. And my bag is empty, grrr. Is she subsisting on insects alone? Am I the only one feeding her anymore?

I go home, I think about her, I am back the next day at sunset, when all is quiet and I see her. This time I have plenty of corn. I shot this first part from afar so you can see what an oddity it is to have a lone black hen in the middle of a parking lot beside a major street.




Right after I stopped shooting, the chicken spots me and comes RUNNING. I wish I'd caught it on tape but feeding her was more important to me and I didn't want to scare her away. Those toothpicks for legs coming at me so fast... hysterical.



I poured a pile that was way too big, on the side of the curb so she would be far away from the busy street... Doh! I should have put it UP on the SIDEWALK! I sat there in the quiet, with the sun going down, just the hen and me, waiting for the hen to eat it all, feeling satisfied for at least another day.


So opinions please..... I'm thinking of bringing a net and a carrier and catching the chicken in hopes that one of the rehabbers in the Wildlife Center will give it a home. I can't help but think it's stressful with no real cover having to hunt and pick for food... around traffic, hiding from the crowds at the zoo (it's a madhouse most days), having no other company of it's own kind.

Or is the hen happy being wild and free? Someone clearly had in their yard -- maybe got it as a chick for Easter and found it wasn't fun once it was bigger -- and dropped off at the park. Remember, it used to have shelter in an overgrown covered shack that once housed the children's train that runs around the park. That was all bulldozed and now is completed, and the chicken has no where to go... Can it be happy in the parking lot nearby, right next to the busy street and zoo? It's hard to know what's the right thing to do.

Do you Believe It? Playing Catch with Wild Birds

Wild birds -- Blue Jays and red-headed woodpeckers to be exact -- play catch with me in the park. No, really.

Who hasn't had sparrows zoom out from nowhere for your crumbs when you're at an outdoor cafe? And in these parts, if any of the other animals are getting fed, grackles appear and want their share. They're incredibly sharp.

So I guess it's not that far a stretch to think that the other birds could. But these birds sit on a nearby branch (or in the woodpeckers case, on a tree trunk) - and make eye contact with me. I show them the piece of nut or sunflower seed and when I know they've seen it I toss it -- and they swoop down and catch it in the air! They land on a branch and eat it, then return for more.

I know it's hard to believe... but, I finally caught it on film. I've several bad tries -- shooting with one hand on a little pocket digital cam (while my nice HD movie cam I bought to take with me sits at home), while spotting birds, rustling up a nut with the other hand, aiming and tossing, and trying to follow without it blurring. I'm not talented enough to do it all... but I did get this where you can see it in his mouth when he lands.

And of course, when one comes, several follow. You'll see another Blue Jay waiting for his behind the one I shot. I threw another piece in the air but he picked it up when it was on the ground (it was a bad toss), OK, are you ready? Here we go!



Woo Hooo! Isn't that fabulous? If you play it again you can see it starts with the bird on the tree trunk, where he flew to get my attention. I have never seen that happen before. I figure they cackle among themselves about how they've trained ME.

I'm in constant wonder and amazement at this and it has happened many times, so it's not just a fluke... and it's not just in one part of the woods, with the same birds. I'm telling you, someone spread pixie dust across this little park, and it's my personal slice of heaven on earth.