Weeks 6,7,8,9
Purchased a 40 lb bag of sunflower seed and a 50 lb bag of sweet feed. I am using sweet feed instead of corn since the hunters fill the deer up with corn, which is attractive to deer but not very nourishing.
Finished cleaning out the vegetable garden, moving all the compostable material to the compost pile. Whenever I add material to the compost pile, the animals (whoever they may be) pull it apart looking for anything good to eat.
The rufous sided towhee was back again. It appears that the name rufous sided towhee is out of date with the bird folks. Its now the eastern towhee or the spotted towhee. If the bird shows up again, we will try to make a specific species identification.
Cleaned out the purple martin house. Not sure why I keep attending to this because we have not seen a purple martin here in years.
Cold and dreary weather.
Bluebirds are investigating the nest box.
No quail sounds yet, seems as if they are late.
Rain is in short supply. The area has had rain, but spotty, so it misses us here.
Two front end loader stacks of brush to the brush pile.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
January 2018 Activity
Week 1
Cold and dreary weather, seems to be keeping wildlife quiet
Spotted the band of turkeys that are known to rove the area.
Songbirds for the winter time seem to be the usual ones. Cardinals, an occasional wren, phoebe, titmouse, chickadee, some sparrows.
Vegetable scraps are eaten everytime and completely whenever we put them out. This is a dilemma for us, as we would prefer provide supplemental food for only those conditions when natural food is scarce. On the other hand, we need to keep kitchen waste out of the landfill. If we compost the vegetable scraps, the animals raid the compost pile so the end result is the same: the animals get the scraps.
Week 2
Deer season is coming to a close. Has not had any effect on the doe population, but we don't see the two bucks anymore. With the range of deer, if these bucks were killed on the neighboring ranch or on this one, its hard to tell, without conducting a query. Cold and damp, but ground still dry. Deer seem to need the food as they are grazing on the green grass next to the house.
Week 3
Hogs, raccoons, and skunks seem to be a minimal visitor in the last six months.. In fact the hogs have not made any appearance in the past six months.
Saw a rufous sided towhee scratching around in the grass. Both a male and a female were observed.
Heard the redtailed hawk again.
Week 4
Three loads of brush to the main brushpile. Considering building a new brushpile in another location.
Keeping the main water trough filled with water as the next nearest water is about half mile distant.
The cat spotted a small gray fox creeping through the high grass. She is a good observer. Glad to see a gray fox even though they seem to be hated by some and treasured by others.
Spotted 5 turkeys crossing the roadway. Their flocks seem to be smaller in size than usual, maybe they are getting to the mating season when they are loners.
Week 5
No activity this week.
Cold and dreary weather, seems to be keeping wildlife quiet
Spotted the band of turkeys that are known to rove the area.
Songbirds for the winter time seem to be the usual ones. Cardinals, an occasional wren, phoebe, titmouse, chickadee, some sparrows.
Vegetable scraps are eaten everytime and completely whenever we put them out. This is a dilemma for us, as we would prefer provide supplemental food for only those conditions when natural food is scarce. On the other hand, we need to keep kitchen waste out of the landfill. If we compost the vegetable scraps, the animals raid the compost pile so the end result is the same: the animals get the scraps.
Week 2
Deer season is coming to a close. Has not had any effect on the doe population, but we don't see the two bucks anymore. With the range of deer, if these bucks were killed on the neighboring ranch or on this one, its hard to tell, without conducting a query. Cold and damp, but ground still dry. Deer seem to need the food as they are grazing on the green grass next to the house.
Week 3
Hogs, raccoons, and skunks seem to be a minimal visitor in the last six months.. In fact the hogs have not made any appearance in the past six months.
Saw a rufous sided towhee scratching around in the grass. Both a male and a female were observed.
Heard the redtailed hawk again.
Week 4
Three loads of brush to the main brushpile. Considering building a new brushpile in another location.
Keeping the main water trough filled with water as the next nearest water is about half mile distant.
The cat spotted a small gray fox creeping through the high grass. She is a good observer. Glad to see a gray fox even though they seem to be hated by some and treasured by others.
Spotted 5 turkeys crossing the roadway. Their flocks seem to be smaller in size than usual, maybe they are getting to the mating season when they are loners.
Week 5
No activity this week.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
December 2017 Activity
Week 49
Hauled two loads of brush to the brushpile, keeping it low and full of voids for a good habitat for small animals.
Still putting out kitchen vegetable scraps for whomever comes to the dinner table. Not sure if more than the deer show up, but good feed for rabbits as well.
Water maintained in the big tub to the west. Keeps the deer from watering at the bird feeder in front.
Week 50
Still spotting the 4 or 5 does, but the bucks we had seen earlier are not evident.
Adding sweet feed to the kitchen scraps as animal feed.
Keeping the bird feeder full of sunflower seeds.
Spotty rain but the soil is dry.
We have chosen to hold off mowing until spring gets closer as the wildlife, all kinds, seem to make use of the deep old grass.
Week 51
Observed a small group of turkeys this week. No owls, no mice. We always seem to have one rabbit, but never two, wonder what keeps them going when there must be a number of predators for small animals like rabbits.
It has been more than a year since we have had hog damage. I know the neighboring ranch conducts night hunts for hogs, so maybe this has had an effect on our experience.
Bought 50 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Week 52
There is some evidence that there is a redtailed hawk in the area, from the sound of its call.
Kinda quiet week so far.
Hauled two loads of brush to the brushpile, keeping it low and full of voids for a good habitat for small animals.
Still putting out kitchen vegetable scraps for whomever comes to the dinner table. Not sure if more than the deer show up, but good feed for rabbits as well.
Water maintained in the big tub to the west. Keeps the deer from watering at the bird feeder in front.
Week 50
Still spotting the 4 or 5 does, but the bucks we had seen earlier are not evident.
Adding sweet feed to the kitchen scraps as animal feed.
Keeping the bird feeder full of sunflower seeds.
Spotty rain but the soil is dry.
We have chosen to hold off mowing until spring gets closer as the wildlife, all kinds, seem to make use of the deep old grass.
Week 51
Observed a small group of turkeys this week. No owls, no mice. We always seem to have one rabbit, but never two, wonder what keeps them going when there must be a number of predators for small animals like rabbits.
It has been more than a year since we have had hog damage. I know the neighboring ranch conducts night hunts for hogs, so maybe this has had an effect on our experience.
Bought 50 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Week 52
There is some evidence that there is a redtailed hawk in the area, from the sound of its call.
Kinda quiet week so far.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
November 2017 Activity
Week 45, 46,47,48
It appears I lost the November 2017 log made earlier, so this will have to be a gap in the log.
But, I do recall this. This is now getting on to hunting season and it appears that there is less hunting activity planned in these 1600 acres than in the past years. Several of the more avid hunters have left and non hunters seems to have replaced them. None the less, there are two big bucks that show up on occasions.
It appears I lost the November 2017 log made earlier, so this will have to be a gap in the log.
But, I do recall this. This is now getting on to hunting season and it appears that there is less hunting activity planned in these 1600 acres than in the past years. Several of the more avid hunters have left and non hunters seems to have replaced them. None the less, there are two big bucks that show up on occasions.
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