@TRC4941 that is cool! I’m familiar with star-nosed moles from books, but never saw one IRL so even a dead one is an interesting sighting!
I sort of pictured them as roughly the size of a pygmy hedgehog (the kind that are popular as pets in the U.S.) so would fit in my hand. No? Bigger?
You hafta wonder who was the first bloke to nail an orange half to their deck, and what the story was behind that move. I know it’s now a common way to attract certain birds but … c’mon, someone had to be the first.
In the spring, I watch our feeders for the return of migratory birds. It seems Orioles arrive at the same time rose-breasted grosbeaks show up. So, when I see a grosbeak I begin putting out orange halves.
The mole was about 4" long - about the size of a gerbil or hamster maybe. It had beautiful, shiny black fur. Wikipedia says they’re 4.6" long.
Here are some more cool facts:
-They eat faster than any other mammal on earth. They can identify and eat a bug in less than 2/10 of a second.
-Their star is the most sensitive known touch organ in any mammal. It contains more than 100,000 nerve fibers. That is 5 times the amount in a human hand in an area smaller than a human fingertip.
-The first mammal known to smell underwater.
I’d like to get me one of those star-nose critters to live in my house!
The other day, NOT in nature where he belonged, there was a wolf spider running round and round my bathtub. He obviously couldn’t climb the sides to get out, so how the hell did he get there? Either he entered through the drain, or fell from the ceiling.
Sorry for the hijack, but that spider question has preyed upon my mind!
I went round a nature reserve I’d not visited before today- despite the rain, I saw loads of butterflies and a kingfisher- the first I’ve seen since moving here 3 years ago.
I also saw a few horseflies and a couple of ticks on my leg (which hadn’t attached, fortunately) which were somewhat less welcome…
My front yard includes a large Mimosa tree, now in full bloom. Yesterday, I tried to count the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on & near it; I had to give up at 20. Some may have been counted twice (they rarely stay still longer than a few seconds) - but others were no doubt missed.
This is not quite the hummingbird nirvana it might appear to be: Yes, there’s food in abundance. But also lots of other hummingbirds enjoying it - far too many to chase away. No hummingbird can be truly happy when another is operating unmolested nearby.
In Pismo Beach this morning: from my balcony looking out over the Pacific, I saw what appeared to be a morning migration of sea birds of all types. For a good 30 minutes there was a constant stream of all different types of birds flying north to south about 1/4 mile off shore. There had to be at least a couple of thousand all told. I assume they were heading from their night time sheltering area to a common feeding spot.
Today I saw two Spotted Towhees, a male and a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird, a female Black-chinned Hummingbird, a female Calliope Hummingbird, a Mourning Dove, three Pine Siskens, a Juniper Titmouse, a Prairie Lizard, a Black-capped Chickadee, two female Turkeys, a White-breasted Nuthatch, three Evening Grosbeaks, a Bushtit, one male and two female House Finches, two Colorado Chipmunks, a Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, a male and two female Lesser Goldfinches, a juvenile Mountain Cottontail, a Rock Squirrel, and an American Crow.
While walking the dogs this morning, I heard a loon calling. We were nowhere near a lake - the nearest one is probably 10 miles away. So I looked up and sure enough there was a loon flying by. I have never seen a loon flying. I see them all the time floating around in the lakes but never flying.
I was up late last night and heard a loud commotion outside - screeching and growling. I went out to see what was going on and the noise was coming from up in a tree across the street. When I shone my flashlight up, the noise stopped and two sets of glowing eyes looked down at me, then whatever they were began to growl quite loudly until I left several minutes later. The battle royale started up again after I left and I finally shut the inside door to keep the noise out. I checked this morning but no bodies, blood, or even loose fur visible. I suspect raccoons having a mild territorial dispute.
Something I saw frequently last year, but haven’t noticed this year yet was huge flocks of crows. There were large numbers in the city for the past couple of years, and many were roosting in a nearby wooded area and would fly over my house around dusk. I watched an almost solid stream of them fly over for 20 minutes and estimated I saw about 6,000 birds, and they had started before I came out and were still going when I went in.
Today in nature I saw…my dog Romeo chasing a skunk. He chased the skunk until, I’m guessing, the skunk ran out of skunk juice. Then the skunk waddled away and Romeo thought he could get rid of the stench by rubbing his face in the dirt and long grass and dunking his head in puddles. It didn’t work.
I used a potion consisting of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. It helps get rid of some of it, but it’s a gift that keeps on giving - especially when he gets wet. He’ll have a slight aroma for months. He got the brunt of it, as usual, right in his face. It’s hard to clean around his eyes and he has it up in his nostrils so he’ll have a stinky face for a while. This is nothing new for him.
Our dogs seem to have learned to avoid skunks. Meanwhile, I know a guy who lives about 35 miles north of me, where porcupines are more common. His dog has had three encounters this year.
Romeo is 7 yo and has had at least 20 skunk (I’ve lost count) AND 3 porcupine encounters. My other dog, Luca, smartened up after his first “taste” of skunk. This morning he stood like a statue on the trail and watched the antics before him.
Today I saw a house centipede for the first time in my life. I have seen pictures online, and so I knew what it was.
Thank goodness this was outdoors and not in my home. They are creeeeepy looking, though the rational part of my brain understands that they are both harmless and beneficial.
Dogs learn from skunks & porkies - they either learn to leave 'em alone after the first time, or they’ll spend the rest of their lives chasing down every one they can. The Dawn/baking soda/peroxide is the best going for skunk.
We’ve been watching 3 pair of valley (California) quail around our property. First broods for all 3 pair were 10-12 chicks. Noticed yesterday there’s 2 different age groups of babies now, so they were successful with a second hatch, and enough time left in the summer for a possible 3rd hatch. Mourning doves have been thicker here this year than in the almost 30 years I’ve lived here…we’re regularly scaring up flocks of 20 or better from where I scatter seed along the driveway back to the kennel. Hummingbird numbers have been up, too, with probably 10 to 12 regularly visiting our feeder.
