Nature

[Rommie]

They paid rent in bird poop? Great fertilizer!

[Thumper]

Unfortunately not so much on concrete or car paint.

[Thumper]

After a cold snap, big winds and big rains quieted alot of the spring animals down, the Lightning Bugs have slowly returned. It was well above 80F the last two days. Saw several Tuesday night and one ambitious one last night. Heard what sounded like more than one coyote in the back yard last night. They kind of frightened the girls. They are kind of scary sounding in the dark.

[Thumper]

Indigo Bunting sighting each morning over the weekend. Mrs. T said we had seen one on the property once before years back. I didn't recall. Also possibly saw a Baltimore Oriole Sunday morning. Also more and more bluebird sightings on the property.

[Rommie]

The past few days have been the first ones up here that felt like summer. Yay!

Might sound like a weird observation, but you know what I love most about summer in this part of the world that I hadn't appreciated before? How green everything is. Dutch green was an agricultural kind, so everything was really well cultivated with only a few strips of trees tossed in. Green here is lush and with trees everywhere you look.

The other one I've been excited about is the smell of cut grass. Dumb as hell- surely they cut grass in Europe!- but I guess you don't have much of it in cities there versus here.

Also fun, but I am pleased to note that for the first time in my life as an academic I am now in a building covered in ivy, with a view outside framed by it. It's the little things!

Final note, damn the water is highest it's been in ages around here after all the rain. Record high in Lake Ontario, and they can't let out water else Quebec will flood (it's already done so, I mean flood more). They're hoping to bring things back to normal in a month or so, but until then, I rented a kayak this past weekend (it's like CA$20 for two hours!) and the water was all several feet higher than it should be, with all the trees standing in water. Craziness!

Also saw some turtles while kayaking sunning themselves beyond the Canadian geese and ducklings etc that I was expecting, which was awesome. It's also a half hour from work or so, so think I'll be back a few times this year.

[Thumper]

Yay Turtles!

The transformation from brown and grey to green is always amazing, even when you're used to it every year.

[Thumper]

My Kingbird has started visiting me while I mow. I tend to only see him for a few weeks around the 4th of July. He sits on a line overlooking me, then hovers and swoops down to feed on bugs I kick up. When Mrs. T and I pulled into the drive the other day, we were greeted by 2 small dog sized spotted fawns, our first sighting of the season. Mom had apparently just stepped into the brush line. The stumbling twins darted and weaved they're way in to join her as we slowly pulled down the drive.

[SciFiFisher]

Went to the redwood national forest with a couple of the grandkids and oldest daughter last week.
The sheer size of these trees is phenomenal

[Thumper]

I'd like to see the redwoods again. We wowed The Kid with the Sequoias a couple years ago.

In other news, the Fireflies are getting prolific. Who needs gunpowder fireworks?

[Thumper]

Lots of small toads about. Some can sit comfortably on my thumbnail. Actually, they don't sit comfortably. They pee on me, jump off and hop away. They're so small they're hard to see. I worry about mowing over them or stomping on them when I'm in the yard.

[Thumper]

Been hearing what is most likely an owl in the evenings and morning. Narrowed it down to a Barn owl squawk. Obviously hard to observe it in the dark. So we're just going on call. Mommy deer has been bringing out the babies lately. They're tiny but getting noticeably taller and their spots are starting to fade.

[Thumper]

Rescued a bat out of my neighbor's house last night. They live in an apartmentized area of steel building. We figured it was hibernating up somewhere in the shop/storage area, got disturbed when my buddy's son was working in the ceilings and followed the heat into one of the bedrooms.
Then this morning walking to the garage heard the spooky call of a Great Horned Owl. That was awesome.

[Thumper]

I heard at least one spring peeper yesterday. So did a buddy so I guess that's confirmed. A barred owl greeted us when we came home Saturday night. That was awesome. I guess not quite everything totally sucks this week.

[Swift]

I've had reports of both spring peepers and woodcocks, but I haven't heard either myself. The great blue herons are nesting (my wife saw them) and I've seen skunk cabbage up.

[Thumper]

Speaking of skunks, The warm weather had apparently awakened some of them and they have stumbled onto the roadways. There are three distinct areas on my commute where there is aural evidence of a skunk.

[grapes]

While in Portland, I heard a couple species of frogs out behind my aunt and uncle's. They weren't froggers so didn't know what species they might be.

One of my neighbors posted a catalog to the listserv a couple days ago:

Nice warm “winter” night and there are four species of frogs calling:
American toads - very long trill
Leopard frogs - weird chuckle
Upland chorus frogs - fingers down comb
Spring peepers - peeps

[SciFiFisher]

Speaking of skunks, The warm weather had apparently awakened some of them and they have stumbled onto the roadways. There are three distinct areas on my commute where there is aural evidence of a skunk.

Apparently skunks are migratory. And many of our roads seems to cross or parrallel their routes. Ah, the aroma of Eu Deau De Pepe Le Pew.

[Thumper]

Yep.

[Swift]

Speaking of skunks, The warm weather had apparently awakened some of them and they have stumbled onto the roadways. There are three distinct areas on my commute where there is aural evidence of a skunk.

It is also skunk mating season.
https://sciencing.com/skunk-mating-season-8734946.html

I saw my first turkey vulture of the season!

[Thumper]

Mrs. T was excited when I was able to show her a Bluebird hanging out in the backyard. I know they're always closeby but usually down the road a bit where it's more open pasture. Ordered my first Bluebird feeder and some fresh mealworms to see if I can entice them to hang around our place a little more.

Lots of owl uhh, "hearings" and the hawks have been quite active. Haven't seen a buzzard in while so you got that on me.

[Thumper]

Hung the Bluebird feeder Sunday. Yesterday afternoon, it appeared that maybe something had gotten in and eaten some of the mealworms. I'll look at it again tonight, clean it out, and restock. Of course the point was to actually see the Bluebirds. Kind of hard when you leave and return home in the dark.

Oh, saw a half dozen turkey buzzards Saturday morning in the rain. They were in a small clearing near some scrub trees trying to dry off holding their wings out (somewhat in vain).

[Thumper]

Totally forgot: I found a Salamander yesterday. Well, sort of. I found him smooshed on our gravel drive on the way up to the road to put the trash out. If I had my guess, he was trying to escape from drowning hunkered down in the wheel path when unfortunately the UPS guy came flying down the drive. Poor little guy.

[Swift]

We checked out the Great Blue Heron rookery this past Sunday. There were some herons around, but they weren't up in the trees with the nests, but hunkered down on the ground. We think it might have been too windy for them.

Our snow drops are up in the yard and there are some green shoots in our wildflower garden that might be the cone flowers; that is way early.

With all the rain and snow melt, the rivers have been crazy around here. Had lunch in Kent on Friday and the Cuyahoga was roaring. Saw it again on Sunday by the rookery (this isn't in Kent) and it was still very high and slightly overflowing its banks.

[Thumper]

Turkey Vultures are now everywhere. They were flying around me yesterday as I worked in the yard, occasionally blocking out the sun as they passed overhead.

Heard the Barred Owl several more times. Got it's call recorded one night last week and sent it to Mrs. T who was in San Antonio for a conference. Heard it this morning as I was headed out to the garage. I think that's pretty cool even though I'm betting it feeds on some of the small birdies I'm trying to attract into my feeders.

Something has been eating all my meal worms in the Bluebird feeder. I've replenished them several times.

Got the wood and branches cleaned up around the house enough so that the bulbs can sprout. Stuff has been laying all over everything, I've got so many downed trees and limbs. Actually saw a flower yesterday. I think it was a stunted daffodil.

[Swift]

Turkey Vultures are now everywhere. They were flying around me yesterday as I worked in the yard, occasionally blocking out the sun as they passed overhead.

Heard the Barred Owl several more times. Got it's call recorded one night last week and sent it to Mrs. T who was in San Antonio for a conference. Heard it this morning as I was headed out to the garage. I think that's pretty cool even though I'm betting it feeds on some of the small birdies I'm trying to attract into my feeders.

I've seen a couple of TVs, but they are still few and far between at this end of the state.

By the way, if you want to read a great book about vultures, I would highly recommend this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Vulture-Private-Life-Unloved-Bird/dp/1611689716

I don't think Barred Owls hunt much in daylight; maybe at dusk and dawn, but mostly at night. I think the main part of their diet is small mammals (mice, voles) and some reptiles and amphibians (I remember a nest box video of a Barred feeding a snake to a chick). But I don't think they would refuse a bird opportunity.