Now - how to tell one kit from another? Certainly oe seems to have lighter colored fur than the other four - and two of them seem to be somewhat more outgoing in nature. Finding names for them will be - interesting.

A change of pace...

Well hello little bird! My neighbor appeared yesterday at the retreat with this little fellow. One of the neighborhood cats brought it to her - completely unhurt. The little critter is almost ready to fly, but is not up to feeding himself. We have no idea where the cat found him. The redwing moms in my backyard totally ignored the little one. Feeding is not a problem as milady had a formula food and experience in feeding baby birds. Our neighbor was also experienced in feeding. I think she willbe bringing the little fellow to a nearby bird rehabbing center within a few days.

Feed me, feed me....

Two Newcomers Visit the Retreat

These two characters first appeared three nights ago. At the slightest movement from me they would run - but return a little later to snack on whatever Chloe had left. Over the next few nights they started to get a little more used to me and last night I was finally able to get some good photographs. I suspect they are both young males - perhaps a little over a year old but not yet mature. One has very distinctive eyebrows - the other a slight nick near the base of his left ear. (That may vanish in time though).

Interesting Fellow

Covered in bloom!

Them bloomin' shrubs..

The snowball is almost finished, but the wigellia (sp)? is out in allit's glory.

Another old friend?

Not a very good photo - but this critter has been here before. Though I'm not yet certain it may be one of Kimmie's kits from last year. The slight clip on his right ear may help. I'm going back over the archives to see if I can get a sure ID. At least this will help identify this one in the future.

Links!

Don't forget to check out the various links. There is even a fantastic movie taken of a mother raccoon (Named Doc) and her five kits. Doc shows up frequently on The Critter Window. (thecritterwindow.com).

In the meantime I'm waiting until Chloe brings her brood to show off at the retreat. I also hope to be able to 'film' their antics before too long. ATB! Rusty

Who am I?

It's one of Chloe's youngsters - from last year. Not Alex, but it might be Jasper (fur color changing), Alpha, or Growler. My best bet is it's Jasper. Big, but very gentle and not at all 'pushy'. She waited patiently while I fought to open a new bag of kibble.

Last One Out - a new adventure!

There were three chicks in the nest - and this is the last one to leave.

On Guard

It’s interesting how different species of bird will cooperate on keeping the baby birds safe by chasing any hunting cat.

Good Morning

Between getting food, persuading chicks to leave the nest, and watching out for local cats - mom has her work cut out for her.

A good friend, but not a pet.

I was bringing the garbage out when I realized I was not alone. Chloe was standing right by my foot looking up at me probably wondering when I would put some kibble out for her supper. Now who could refuse a look like that? I was unable to completely finish a big plate of lasagna, and I thought why not? An extra treat for her - with some kibble added. If you look closely at her whiskers you can see she was enjoying the dish.

A nice change.

Her new fur coat is coming in, soft and thick. Good color too. You can also see she is nursing some kits. It won’t be long before they start moving about with her.

Hmmm - yummy!

Looking over her territory

From this vantage point she can decide where to hunt for a meal - and keep an eye open for potential dangers. Job one - feeding her babies!

Shh - I'm hunting

She hears something, and a moment later she has another meal for her youngsters.

Waiting for lunch

Eyes are open now. There are at least three chicks in the nest - and probably four. Mom is out looking for worm steak. ;)

Defensive Equipment (Smile)

A very ‘special’ tool to keep handy in case a raccoon gets a little too pushy. Very simple, easy to handle, and can be used in a manner that will not hurt the animal It will keep you safe should one of your local critters decide to enter your space uninvited. They learn quickly where the limits are. Yes, I used it last year a couple of times when a big raccoon thought he would push his way into the retreat and get into a big bag of dog kibble. It worked wonders! The same raccoon still comes by and never tries to push his luck. (the snow shovel is very light, and the blade is made of plastic).

A busy evening

It was a busy time last night. Chloe made her regular visit - still no sign of her kits though. But a little later two very big raccoons came to call. One was easy to identify as Bear, but I’m still not certain who the other one is. Both very calm and friendly though. These photos were taken as close at they seem. In fact the ‘stranger’ was more interested in checking out my camera part of the time. One of the pictures shows why one does not want to mess about with a raccoon’s claws! Yet they can use these ‘paws’ very much like we use our hands. Quite dexterous and very gentle most of the time.

Momma robin checking me out

Mom robin is busy...

Be back later - her eggs have hatched and I'm going to try and get some photographs this afternoon.

Of things to come...

It’s bound to come up soon. The yearly crop of young raccoons are starting to appear a little south of me. Cute they are - but before anyone considers keeping one as a pet, please check out this link.

http://xxx.wildlife-education.com/can-i-keep-it.php

Replace the xxx with the www

In case of problems concerning critters that may be in need of help, this link may give you, (and the critter) - serious help. At present I don’t have any information on rehabbers located in the south west of Quebec.

http://xxx.wildlife-education.com/find-a-wildlife-rehabilitator.php

Again, replace the xxx with www

Snowball virburnum

A snowball of a different sort. This shrub is going great guns this year with blooms that will last quite a while. I’m going to have to do some serious pruning later in the season though

Thriving Bamboo

The few bamboo I transplanted from my childhood home is spreading. I don’t know the variety but I do know that it can be invasive. On the other hand it makes an excellent screen and is covered with clusters of tiny white blooms later in the summer. It attracts all sorts of bees and wasps making for some interesting photo opportunities.

23 Skidoo?

Don’t you just love to wake up to surprises?
Even more of a surprise when it’s not winter - but May 8th! Well, one can say - this IS Canada. True, but….

Go have a look at this site and say a big Hi to Laura. She has lots of birds at her feeders, as well as raccoons and a few flying squirrels. Watch the fun - and have a look at her videos - all at:

http://www.northnews.ca/webcam.html

Oh-oh! I think it's heading my way..........EEEEK!

Mrs. Robin

Update on our robin. She is now taking good care of those eggs. I will try to get a photo from a much better vantage point later today.

Many birds show up from time to time, but most will vanish at the slightest motion. Sitting there and holding the camera up to my eye as long as I possible, (surprising how heavy it seems to get) - and I finally get a bird in my viewfinder. BUT - as soon as I depress the shutter button the subject is away - demonstrating some fantastic reflexes. Far faster than mine I must say. I hope I can get some better shots as the weather gets a little warmer and I become a little more motivated.

This must mean spring is here

It seems the very wet snow had little effect on the various garden plants. The Bleeding heart is going to be I it’s full glory over the next few days. The Hosta are sprouting. Ferns are going crazy and the lilac tree looks like it will be sporting a bumper crop of blooms.

I have no idea what this pretty blue flower is, nor do I know where it came from - but I like it.

Oh yes - the dandelions are doing just great!

Things Are Sprouting

After The Snow

A Minor Glitch - SNOW!

Chloe is nursing!

Yesterday turned out quite eventful. First of all, Chloe showed up at the door early in the afternoon. Eat and run - then back again several minutes later to repeat the pattern. Sure enough it seems she is now nursing a litter. Her den must be close by but I have no idea where - and I’m not going to do anything to disturb it. At one point she even came up behind Milady and waited for her to hand feed her a tea biscuit. Last week she was running away whenever Milady came within fifty feet of the retreat.

Bear Returns - with Kimmie?

Later last night I had a visit from a huge raccoon. I think it was Kimmie, aka Big Momma. This raccoon is about five times larger than Chloe - but is as gentle as a lamb at this time of year. A few minutes later an even bigger, very rough looking character joined Kimmie at the dinner table. Also a gentle giant - this one looked familiar. Sure enough, a good photograph comparison identifies this one as Bear - one raccoon I never expected to see again. (Check further down for another photo of Bear taken last year).

I have no idea what these two weigh - but my guess is they may be around fifty pounds! And yet, (at this time of year) - they are as friendly and gentle as can be.

Still one question remains, (Only one)? Is that Kimmie? If not who is it? This raccoon obviously knew me. A search through my photographs may supply the answer. About the only real distinguishing mark is that tail, (and of course the size). But marks like that are only temporary.

Keep you posted. It's going to be an exciting summer in the back yard!

This has been one of the warm spring days when I could sit outside very quietly in the shade waiting for the daytime critters to get within camera range. There were quite a few species I did not manage to photograph, but it’s a start. My friendly (?) squirrel seemed to be considering if she should check out my pockets. Having experienced those needle-like squirrel claws in the distant past made me a little wary of that idea.

A warm spring afternoon

Just a change of pace!

I added this photo just for fun. This is not the camera used to take the pictures in this blog - though it is still in working condition.

Mr Fuzzytail comes to town.

The local doves are starting to show up once more, and one of the squirrels seems to be a little less wary of me today. I managed to get a few photographs of this one.

Our favorite robin has returned and is building a nest once more in the same place. This one (I think) has a thing about constructing the nest over the spotlight. (The spotlight is turned off for the season). This is the forth consecutive year for this activity. What a chance for a video camera. That may be a project for next year. At present I don’t have the required equipment.

Chloe

Her winter coat is almost gone - and she looks pretty awful, but is in good health and as sweet as ever. I'm beginning to think she may be a lot older than I thought. I first made friends with her in 2008, but I think she may have been around at least two years before that. She will still sit up and take a tea biscuit from my hand, but I still can't say for sure if she is expecting, or has had her kits already. If she starts coming by during the day it will probably indicate she is nursing a brood. She is a real little lady - even her year-old kits are twice her size!