Backyard Critters
You may have seen this bird swimming in the lake or perching on the raft. It is a double-crested cormorant. This bird is a little more than two feet long with a wingspan of about four feet. It has dark brown to black feathers, a long hooked bill with an orange throat pouch, a long tail, and webbed black feet. Adults have tufts of feathers over their eyes. Males and females look alike.
The double-crested cormorant dives for fish and marine invertebrates from the water's surface. After catching a fish, the cormorant surfaces, flips the fish in the air and swallows it head-first. Don't worry we have enough fish to share as long as only a few cormorants visit Shell Lake.
The double-crested cormorant breeds from the coast of Alaska and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the Bahamas. It winters on both coasts north to southern Alaska and southern New England.
The double-crested cormorant nests in colonies. Both the male and female will build a nest of sticks, twigs and seaweed. Nests are built in trees and shrubs and on the ground of rocky cliffs and islands. The female lays three to five eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month. Both parents also feed and take care of the chicks. The chicks fledge in 35-40 days.
The double-crested cormorant doesn't have well-developed oil glands and isn't waterproofed very well. It often dries its feathers by perching on the raft at Shell lake and stretching its wings out. Enjoy watching this critter!
March 5, 2009...
The ice is melting on the lake and the critters are coming out. The ducks and geese have been swimming. I even spotted two muscrats today. They were really cute swimming in the water and sitting on the ice. Muscrats have an effect on our stable economy and it is usually not recognized by most people. This mammal is truly a unique animal, not a large rat. Covering this mammal's body is a thick, waterproof coat of fur. It eats this food with its four very sharp incisors and a very powerful jaw. This critter has the ability to eat vegetation or catch prey underwater without swallowing water. It will eat lots of weeds in our lake. The muskrat gets its name from the musk scent that is secreted from the glands of the male during mating season. Have fun watching them out there.
COYOTE WATCH
Coyotes have been seen in our area!
Preventing Conflicts With Coyotes
Don't let coyotes intimidate you!
Don't hesitate to scare or threaten coyotes with loud noises and bright lights. Don't hesitate to pick up small objects, such as a tennis ball, and throw them at the coyote. Let the coyote know it is unwelcome in your area.
- Secure your garbage! Coyotes will raid open trash materials and compost piles. Secure your garbage in tough plastic containers with tight fitting lids and keep in secure buildings when possible. Take out trash the morning pick up is scheduled, not the previous night. Keep compost piles in containers designed to contain but vent the material.
- Don't feed or try to pet coyotes! Keep wild things wild! Feeding, whether direct or indirect, can cause coyotes to act tame and over time may lead to bold behavior. Coyotes that rely on natural food items remain wild and wary of humans.
- Keep your pets safe! Although free roaming pets are more likely to be killed by automobiles than by wild animals, coyotes do view cats and small dogs as potential food and larger dogs as competition. For the safety of your pets, keep them restrained at all times.
- Feed pets indoors! Outdoor feeding attracts many wild animals to your door!
- Keep bird feeding areas clean! Use feeders designed to keep seed off the ground as the seed attracts many small mammals that coyotes prey upon. Remove feeders if coyotes are regularly seen around your yard.
- Close off crawl spaces under porches and sheds! Coyotes use such areas for resting and raising young.
- Cut back brushy edges in your yard! These areas provide cover for coyotes and their prey.
- Educate your neighbors! Pass this information along since your efforts will be futile if neighbors are providing food or shelter for coyotes.
MORE Critters Seen In Our Neighborhood Backyards
Chipmunks play an important role as prey for various predatory mammals and birds, but are also opportunistic predators themselves, particularly with regard to bird eggs
The Osprey has a body length of 21 - 24 inches, a 5 - 6 foot wingspan, and weighs 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 pounds.
An Osprey’s diet is almost exclusively live fish, and includes a wide variety of fish species. The Osprey uses low, slow flights over water, and occasionally hovers to search for prey. When a fish is spotted, Osprey make dramatic dives from heights of 30 - 120 feet to plunge feet first into the water after their prey.
The red-tailed hawk is 18-25 inches in length with a wingspan of four feet.Small to medium-sized mammals, primarily mice, ground squirrels, and jackrabbits, birds, and reptiles are eaten by this hawk. Red-tailed Hawks hunt by swooping down from an elevated perch to seize their prey, snatching birds while flying, or pursuing prey from low level flight. They will also take food from other species. This is called pirating.
The Green Heron is sometimes called the green-backed heron. It is a small heron that is about the size of a large crow. It is a foot and a half to two feet in length.
Great White Egret or Great White Heron feeds in shallow water or drier habitats, spearing fish, frogs or insects with its long, sharp bill. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.
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