1 December 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
Oh, it was cold, -15 C, and blustery Saturday on the Canadian Prairies. For this entire week, beautiful flakes of snow have fallen, often blown around by gusts so that not much has accumulated on the ground. The little birds look huge with their feathers all puffed to stay warm. They amaze me. Despite knowing all the science behind how they stay warm just seeing their tiny feet causes me to marvel at how well adapted they are. Clearly more than humans! There are more cats are coming to the feeder as the weather gets colder. We watch closely for Brock to arrive at the door so that he can have a big bowl of wet food. If we leave it out, it will freeze. He normally comes around 1600 and the girls often alert us to his presence. It is quite sweet.
Today, Mr and Mrs Crow were at the feeder together. First time I have been able to photograph them at the feeder at the same time! There was great competition for those peanuts.
Inside, ‘The Girls’ piled into the conservatory the minute the door was opened and the after the heat warmed up the room, they relaxed.
Hugo Yugo went to sleep in the little house on the cat tree. We are waiting impatiently for her surgery.
Baby Hope loves looking out to the Crows.
Baby Hope really looks like her Mamma Calico.
Missey is the sweetest most mysterious cat. Other worldly.
It has taken a few days to get used to winter finally arriving. Today, the winter coats, the ones marketed for -30, came out, along with the warmer boots. We went to the nature centre for our first walk in the snow. It was really beautiful. One duck was near the open water, and five Canada Geese were there. I cannot believe they are still here! They were eating snow and grass.
After the ringing, Mum returned to the Port Lincoln nest, where she fed Wilko and Kasse and enjoyed that Red Mullet (or at least I think so).
There was one rather trampled fish left on the nest mid-afternoon and Wilko decided to work on his self-feeding.
So much excitement. The pair were really tuckered at the end of the day.
Lots of fish yesterday, but so far it is noon and nothing on Sunday at Port Lincoln.
Dad came in with a headless fish at 1525, the only fish of the day at Port Lincoln as far as I know. Just look at those wings! Good thing they got those trackers on their backs yesterday.
Mum came through again bringing in a whole fish for her and the kids later in the afternoon at Port Lincoln. She is sure getting a gold star for keeping this nest going. So if anyone ever asks you if the females fish and bring food to the nest before the osplets fledge, you know that the answer is ‘Yes’. (There are other examples, too). But, yeah for Mum.
1639 was the time.
So many wrote to tell me they were new blog readers and had yet to learn who Roy Dennis is. I was so grateful that they took the time to check him out. Here is an interview of Roy Dennis with environmental activist and BBC presenter Chris Packham. It’s just 7 minutes long; please have a look and listen. https://youtu.be/T7nJYpGfEJM?
One of the Coobowie osplets got itself into trouble during high gales. Thanks to the perseverance of photographer Dave Wetherall and some others at hand after Dave had found her, this little lady was saved!
Guess who’s home? Monty and Hartley!!!!! https://youtu.be/TJ82sb277Nc?
At Orange, our precious Xavier had a swollen left leg on the 29th. It was slightly better today. Still limping some.
Ron and Rita are sleeping at the WRDC nest. Will they be next to have an egg?
At the nest of Gabby and Beau, the most stunning sub-adult eagle pays a visit. https://youtu.be/DV2Kkzkv93k?
They were busy on Saturday at NE Florida.
The AEF gives us a cute little video of the pair working on their nest. https://youtu.be/IZbHEM4RHXs?
Trudi Kronenberg has posted images of the new pair at Dale Hollow building a nest noting that it is not River from previous years.
‘SP’ sent me a wonderful story of rewilding that I was unaware and I am delighted to share it with all of you. We can make a difference!
“Mary Ann, you may be aware of this project. I was astounded to learn that the rewilding here has resulted in an increase in the bumblebee population by 116 times what it was 2 years ago! Wonderful!” https://www.scotsman.com/hays-way/bumblebee-population-increases-116-times-over-in-remarkable-scotland-project-4882622
And to close, the beautiful wildlife of a forest in Tasmania.
Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘SP, Port Lincoln Ospreys, blogorgonopsid, Dave Wetherall, SK Hideaways, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, American Eagle Foundation, NEFL-AEF, Trudi Kronenberg, The Guardian, The Scotsman
Remember if you didn’t already know, that female cats are the leaders of the cat communities. It’s the females that raise the kittens and hunt for their food when the kittens begin to eat solid food, if they don’t have people homes. Cats hunt voles, mice, rabbits, and yes rats. They have admirable hunting skills that are taught to the kittens by bringing injured voles for them to get used to. Kittens will eat insects too. Cats are not big hunters of birds regardless of what we have been told recently. It’s obvious they are interested in anything that moves and I admit birds do move but to be able to catch a bird for food, from the cats vantage point, is just not worth the energy for the amount of food you get. Cats are also interested in fish but what it takes for a cat fish-lover to make that happen is just that– the love of fish. If you haven’t watched a skilled hunter hunt, and most people haven’t seen their cat hunt for real, then if given the opportunity you should watch. It happens fast and it’s over.
Females in their communities also rely on their sisters and aunts to help with the kittens. When mom needs to go hunt, a sister or an aunt will tend to the kittens and keep them safe. Males don’t help with the kittens and given the opportunity could kill them. Mothers don’t bring the kittens around where males are until the kittens are around 10 weeks or so. There’s always going to be exceptions like where a single male and female make up the community. Males are almost always there for one job. They also defend their territory.
I wish we could have it so all feral cats were neutered but until then we as responsible people will have to feed and trap-n-release (TNR) cats. All owners of cats need to spay/neuter their indoor cats. It is a huge problem. The suffering that goes with living without an owner for a domestic cat is immense. Domestic cats can live into their late twenties when in a home. When feeding feral cats they should be given a high protein premium diet so they aren’t tempted to go after birds if they are so inclined. Let’s put to rest the idea that feral cats are the reason that small mammals, birds, and reptiles are missing or going extinct because of them. To me, it’s just another excuse for humans to not take responsibility for their own failings.