habitats

A few weeks ago Bobby told me he saw an eagle. I missed it, but did see the shadow on the ground as it flew overhead. This morning I got a glimpse of it. It soared like the hawks that frequently hover, but it also dove into the pond. I've never seen a hawk do that. Grabbing the binoculars, I was even more baffled. Its feathers were mottled (a mixture of brown and white), but but the center of its head was white - like a mohawk. The rest of its face was brown, like a golden eagle, but it clearly had the short, hook nose. Its tail, in flight, showed stripes, but when perched on the tree appeared to be a solid dark color. I'm not sure but the underbelly was also lighter colored, like that of a hawk.

I spent some time reading this morning on wikipedia about birds in North Carolina. I don't know if golden eagles and bald eagles mix breed or not, but at this point we're leaning more towards a young bald eagle.

The last five years we have seen more wildlife than I have ever seen in my life. I've seen numerous foxes, a few coyote, wild rabbits, herds of deer, hawks, blue herons, beavers, o'possums, raccoons, a river otter (we think...could have been a mink), a groundhog (at church in the parking lot this past Sunday!), and now maybe an eagle. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with living near a pond, and some has to do with all the wooded areas nearby slowly being developed, but it can be a bit unnerving. The first time I saw a fox, I wasn't sure what I was seeing. My brain was processing details so fast it wasn't funny - cat ears, cat stance, dog size, bushy tail, funny legs/paws - can it be? Am I see a fox? It was very weird and strange. And they move so fast, that once they're gone you sit there thinking "Did I really see that?"

There are times that I really hate having a pond at our house. It brings a lot of visitors, both human and wild, and takes a little extra work to maintain. But I have absolutely loved seeing the wildlife, even when it scares me a little.

early bird lessons

It's not quite 7am.
The geese go crazy.
I finish fixing breakfast.
The dogs are going crazy.
Bobby looks outside and frowns.
"The geese are paired off," he says.
It's nesting season, not mating season.
Perhaps the flux in weather has them mixed up.
The dogs go berserk.
A fox is staring them down, right outside their pen.
I run out on the back ramp, and yell at him like before.
He ignores me, and the goose chase begins.
I run inside, grab the gun, pull out the bullet box, sending wheelchair replacement parts everywhere.
I start trying to figure out how to load the thing, calling for Bobby.
He's outside watching the chase!
I am not a happy camper.
He comes in, giving instructions and a play-by-play account of what's happening.
Directional communications has never been our strong point.
It took 5 minutes to load one stupid bullet.
I can't see through the scope.
I point in the direction of the fox and shoot.
It scares him off and everything gets quiet.
We eat breakfast.
Bobby finishes getting ready for work.
I get a lecture on gun safety.
Our geese are safe.
I've shot a real gun for the first time ever - a .22 rifle, to be more specific.
My heart is still racing.
Sitting at a computer typing and drawing boxes seems a little lame at the moment.
Go GEESE!

and then there were 3

Saturday morning as we were getting up, the dogs started going crazy. They were throwing themselves at the end of the pen, and yelping like they do when they're on the scent of something. Then the geese went crazy. I looked out the window and saw a FOX! Not on the dam, or in the corner of the woods, but actually in our yard! I grabbed the shotgun, realized it's not loaded and I have NO idea where I "safely" stored the ammo. Then I realize by the time I find the bullets, get Bobby to tell me how to load and fire, then put my shoes on, that fox will have either eaten the goose eggs or a goose, or disappeared. So I run out on the back ramp and start screaming, "Get out of here you stupid fox! Get!" He ran to the dam, then turned around and looked as if he were reconsidering. So feeling stupid, I yell, "KaBoom!" He took off running then. Unfortunately, either he already had the eggs, or else Mr. Raccoon has been back to visit during the night. The two nests containing a total of 20+ eggs were down to three. I went ahead and claimed the three eggs from the third nest, but left the other three (partly because Chirpie {one we hatched in year two} was nesting on them!) They were gone Sun afternoon.
I feel mean for taking their eggs and incubating them, but if I leave them in their nests, something always gets them. Maybe next year I'll get a special fence and nesting boxes up, but this year I just don't see it happening. I do have the boxes ready, but I don't feel up to putting up a fence right now.
Meanwhile, my egg turning chart and incubator are now back in commission.