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Critters in and out of winter mode

Mike Bleech Outdoors Columnist

We get a blast of cold weather and a few winter birds show un in the back yard. A couple of days later and afternoon temperatures are in the high 40, the snow melts and winter birds disappear.

Some of the winter ducks have moved to the Allegheny River. Several small flocks of bufflehead and goldeneye have been seen. That likely was due to rough conditions on Lake Erie. Ducks do not have to get too high to see Lake Erie, Chautauqua Lake, the Allegheny River and numerous other, smaller bodies of water. And straight-line distances are considerably shorter than highway distances, to it does not take long for fast-flying waterfowl to move from one waterway to another.

Several days ago, come to think of it on Tuesday when I got a haircut, a sharp-shinned hawk flew into the street ahead of me and landed in a tree limb. There was a fair amount of traffic, and people were on the sidewalk. This hawk apparently is at ease among people. I’ll bet it was making its rounds to the neighborhood bird feeders.

Hawks must eat like anything else. Numerous wildlife species have learned to adapt to life among people and find that it may be safer than life in the completely wild.

Yet while in our own backyard where critters have equal opportunity. I regularly construct shelters for the birds and rabbits and squirrels. Sunflower seeds are placed under the overhanging firebox to our barbecue where a rabbit likes to feed. A mid-yard brush pile maybe cover to all.

Photo submitted to Times Observer What's that? (Clue; what appears to be a bright nose is a background light? Whatever it is, it visited Jeri's helipad.)

It is hard not to develop sympathy for the animals that visit the back yard on a regular basis. Too much feeding generally is not a good idea. But now with the huge decline in North American bird populations doing whatever we can to help birds survive seems prudent.

The City of Warren is a haven for waterfowl during winter. A list of species seen here would be impressive. Warren is close enough to the Kinzua Dam outflow that the river only very seldom freezes completely in city limits. They are here because there are open water and food. They do not have to be fed. But I doubt if it hurts anything.

What does hurt, disastrously, is releasing those white ducks folks give for Christmas. They can interbreed with mallard and black duck. This waters down the genetics and threatens the existence of the black duck.

Meanwhile on Jeri’s helipad, a.k.a. patio, activity has been changed by the onset of true winter. The first surprise came on one of the colder nights when the only visitor was an opossum. Ol’ possum, he is not supposed to be out and about on such cold nights.

Here is something I have noticed recently. Most of the critters I have seen presented read views, including ol’ possum. It occurred to me that every one of these critters has a really big butt. Could it be a steady diet of peanuts in the shell and black oil sunflower seeds?

Still, I have not filled or replaced any of the bird feeders. We have been trying to avoid anything that concentrates deer, and earlier anything to be too attractive to bear. That has been successful, probably because we put out smaller amounts of food that are intended to be eaten before nightfall.

Except for a dog treat that is set out for a gray fox. Just a few days after much procrastinating, I set a trail camera looking over the helipad. A gray fox was the first animal to appear. I had seen it three times previously, but it has not been seen since. The pattern in which is has appeared indicates it only comes through every few days.

The big raccoon that had been visiting frequently seems to have disappeared. It did not even show on the warmest days. That was surprising because raccoons often run on warm winter days.

The most frequent helipad visitors are blue jays that appear to be hiding peanuts all over the surrounding area. With a black squirrel and a gray squirrel doing the same, tree critters should have plenty to eat this winter.

This morning I was delighted to see a crow track in the back yard. I enjoy having crows, blue jays and ravens around. They are our most intelligent birds. If a person can establish a relaxed relationship, they will get quite close. Jeri had a raven take a Trisket out of her fingers. There is a bird brain joke in there somewhere, but Jeri makes really good chicken lips and apple pies.

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