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.