Wildlife Wednesday: February 2018

It's the first Wednesday of February and that means Wildlife Wednesday hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says....".  It's still cold down here in South Texas on most days so wildlife sightings are not as easy. But I did observe a few interesting things this month.

One bright spot in winter are the Cardinals which visit our feeder almost daily.  The best squirrel-proof feeder we've found is this small basket suspended on flexible electrical cable.  The original top degraded in the sun and we replaced it with a plastic bowl from the thrift store.  The feeder is too slippery for squirrels and also keeps out larger birds like Pigeons and Jays.

They often appear in pairs taking turns at the feeder and are quite thoughtful of each other.

Speaking of squirrels.  What we have here is a stand off....

...with the cat.  She arrived as a feral cat and has tamed down quite well though she is still an outdoor cat.  We have also made sure she cannot reach the feeder so it all works.

We have both foxes and coyotes in the neighborhood.  Last month I showed you a coyote walking through the yard in daylight.  Below is a fox on the deck.  She's not happy there's no food in the cat bowl and leaves a mark in disgust.  I originally labeled this as a coyote but Anna pointed out it is a fox.  They are similar but the fox is smaller with shorter snout and more fur.

We now place a gate across the steps to help keep coyotes away from the house.

The deer herd has migrated back to our end of the creek and we should be seeing new fawns soon.  Not much to eat with such dry plants out there.  They don't eat the prickly ash juniper which is the only green in the background.  While several of our neighbors feed the deer, we have chosen not to with the exception of water in the heat of summer.

She's still not happy about being fenced out of the garden.

Check out the comments section at "My Gardener Says..." for more blogger backyard wildlife.

Wildlife Wednesday: January 2018

It's the first Wednesday of 2018 and that means Wildlife Wednesday hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says....".  It's also been really, really cold down here in South Texas for the last week or so.  Not as cold as some places we've lived, but we chose not to retire to Boston for good reason.  With busy December behind us, I did get some cool wildlife photos.

American Robins joined us for Christmas week this year.  Tell a child the Robin's scientific name is Turdus migratorious and they just might find bird watching more fun.  My kind of fun fact is their eggs are the same color as a Tiffany box.

True to the "migratorious" designation, Robins are only temporary spring and fall visitors so we don't get to see their nests or eggs.

Round orange bellies and active, assertive personalities make them fun to watch while they're here. 

Coyotes have been increasing in numbers around our neighborhood which is a serious cause for concern since they have been taking pets and deer.  We've heard the pack at night loudly tearing into their latest catch.  While the local deer herd could use a little thinning it's a very unpleasant sound.  I was quite surprised to look out from the kitchen around 5pm last night and spot a coyote wandering across the yard in daylight and sub-freezing weather.

He must have been looking for water but it was all frozen.  Neal went out and made some noise which is the best response according to the city website.  Make them feel unwelcome.  Okay, that's pretty much the case since I really don't want to look up from weeding some day and find one of these canines walking around like he owns the place.

Despite all appearances, we don't live in the country.  There's a 9-story hotel looming over the back yard and 70-foot high flyovers of a major freeway interchange are just a few blocks away.

We're warming up fast and should be back in the 70s by Sunday.  That's a good 50 degrees warmer than yesterday!

Check out the comments section at "My Gardener Says..." for more backyard wildlife.