April 8, 2007

ometimes you have to look for more than just fur or feathers to see the wildlife. Maybe you have to look up, down or under. When I go walking in the bush I am always looking in all these directions. We have so much wildlife here on our land, yet it is rare to see them all the time. Mostly you have to look for the signs they left in their passing.

This week I have taken a few pictures of animals and the signs they were there.

Picture left and below: The Sandhill Cranes are returning as of yesterday morning. We have a huge breeding ground not too far from us. The Sandhill Cranes. Adult cranes can reach four to five feet in height and weigh seven to twelve pounds, with a wing span of up to seven feet. They nest in marsh vegetation or on the ground close to water. The female lays two eggs on a mound of vegetation. Cranes mate for life; both parents feed the young, called colts, who are soon able to feed themselves. The Sandhill Crane does not breed until it is two to seven years old. It can live up to 25 years in the wild; in captivity they have been known to live more than twice that span. Mated pairs stay together year round, and migrate south as a group with their offspring. Last year there were hundreds of them in a field not far from here.

In the next 2 pictures above and below: A red squirrel home and eating spot. In this old tangled root from a tree logged or fallen long ago, this squirrel has made a home in it. Not an arm length from the home, in the picture below, up in a tree about 5 feet from the ground. A squirrel had brought up and stashed a bone or old antler in the debris, I presume the squirrel had also put up there.. like a shelf. You could tell it was well knawed on. Squirrels require calcium and that is why they eat the bones and antlers to get it into their diet.

In North America there are 10 species of squirrels. We do have Flying Squirrels in our area, but I have not yet seen any on our property, which does not mean we don't have them.

Squirrels will eat nuts, acorns, wheat, fruit, bird's eggs, and mushrooms. Sometimes they will also eat leaves, berries, seeds, oak buds, and corn as well as insects, moths, bird eggs and nestling birds. What they eat depends on the time of year. For example, nuts and acorns are typically eaten during the fall. A squirrel needs about two pounds of food a week. If it can't find it, it will move.

Squirrels live about 6 years in the wild.

In the picture below: An old moose track

In the picture below: An ant log. They had taken up residence in an old Poplar tree and hollowed it out almost 3 feet down and 8 feet up the trunk. It was a dangerous tree though and we had to cut it down. It looked like the ants had moved on anyway.

What is amazing to me, other than the pictures of the cranes on the ground, all these pictures were taken all within a 50 foot circle.