So, a bit like racoons (aka trash pandas) and possums here. Possums eat cockroaches. Long live possums!
A wasp came into my house the other day. I was working, looked to my right, and it was sitting next to my arm, looking at me like, “Well, are you going to help me or am I on my own?”
I went to get a cup and card to help him on his way. I got the wrong cup, but he had crawled onto a box, so I took him outside on that. (He was very mellow, although that might have something to do with how cold I keep my house at night)
Today I DID see Montezuma Oropendolas (in Mexico) — they’re related to orioles, but bigger, noisier, and with more colorful faces.
They were flying in and out of their amazing nests: bags hanging from a huge tree, each one around six feet long (it seemed).
Cool. How do they have time to do that? If I traveled the entire planet twice a year, with no mechanical help, I’d be looking at my watch constantly — “uh, time to get moving…” 
Great photo. Orioles?
Yep! They were really late this year, so I was happy to finally see them show up. Went from zero one day to at least three pairs the next. And while I was cutting the lawn today I saw a hummingbird. Nothing scares them. Things are looking more like a normal spring now.
Sweet.
I didn’t see it, I smelled it! We had a big thunderstorm yesterday evening and this morning everything was shiny and clean and really green. As I was walking the dogs, I could smell one of my all-time favorite scents, the Balm of Gilead from the balsam poplar. I usually cut a few branches and put them in the bathroom. The steam from the shower brings out the scent although they only last a few days.
Now here’s a thing. Yesterday we stopped off at Etel, twenty or thirty Kms up the coast from Trinite Sur Mer, and we saw terns diving again. But when we first saw them my immediate reaction was, hang on, these guys are MUCH bigger than the last lot (but otherwise looked very similar). Plus they didn’t hover; plus when they dove they stuck their beak out, pinned their shoulders back and went well under the water, unlike the previous day.
Today, back at Trinite for lunch, we saw the little ones doing their thing again. Hovering and then diving down to the water but kinda landing on it.
At Etel there was an info board which highlighted sandwich terns. My tentative conclusion is yes, that’s what we saw at Etel; and arctic at Trinite. Aside from size their appearance seems very similar.
Do we have a ternologist in the house? @Tamerlane , I would appreciate your wisdom here.
j
No ternologist, I . Though I was watching some big Caspian terns the other day. I’m afraid without a clear picture it is all speculation. Even then it might be a little difficult, unless it was a pretty clear shot. Arctic terns and Sandwich terns are certainly possibilities. But so, it appears, are common terns, little terns and the locally endangered roseate terns that in France breed exclusively in Brittany (northern Brittany mostly). I would guess arctic to be one of the less common as I don’t think they are regular breeders in Brittany, unlike the other four.
Terns can be a little tricky at range, see here on distinguishing the common vs arctic vs roseate. Little terns and Sandwich terns should be easier to pick out.
There was a raccoon in our yard yesterday afternoon. Fortunately all the dogs were inside when I spotted him. My husband went outside to try and scare it off, but it only climbed into a hollow tree. Hopefully it took itself to more welcoming regions in the night.
Today I saw Orchard Orioles, which I haven’t seen in about 10+ years. Not quite as bright as the Baltimore Oriole but just as much fun to see.
I’ve only seen our male mallards in the last few weeks (including yesterday sunning themselves at the pool), but my sister said she saw the female bathing in one of our ponds around 4:00 am this morning. I was so afraid she’d been hurt when whomever destroyed her nest. Really glad she’s o.k.
Thanks. I need to do more follow up on this than is straightforward on a phone.
j
Can someone explain to me the lack of love for raccoons? They look as cute as hell.
j
As someone who periodically traps and relocates raccoons from our barn and yard, maybe I can explain. Although admittedly cute, they:
- are destructive in their nest building.
- have a high prevalence of rabies virus, which is scary.
- will engage and hurt dogs.
- are very good at manipulating locks and getting into feed
- successfully reproduce, expanding their population quickly
- carry intestinal parasites that can harm other species (Baylisascaris in particular).
- lack positive attributes aside from “cute”.
I fell in love with that little coon immediately, but he had to go before he was killed by my dogs, and/or hurt one of them. Plus, all that other stuff @kayaker said. 
It’s interesting (to me) that the current rabies situation in Pennsylvania can be blamed to a large extent on Florida raccoons. Circa 1980, people training coon dogs transported raccoons from Florida to Virginia and Pennsylvania. Some of those raccoons were rabid, and some of the rabid raccoons escaped and spread the virus.
Today in Pennsylvania most wildlife rabies cases involve the raccoon variant which further can be traced to Florida.
Let’s not forget their little spats during breeding season in the tree next to your bedroom window at 2 a.m. - nothing like being woken up by 100 decibels of screaming/snarling in your ear 
. A couple years ago one took a roosting hen turkey that was probably bigger (though lighter) than it was off a tree at night near my place and dragged the squawking, struggling thing around and around for what seemed like ages, snarling loudly all the while, before finally subduing it. Talk about an awful noise.
I do kinda like the trash pandas and admire their adaptability, but yeah cute only covers up for so many sins. You could even substitute their cutest relative as a ringer and, yeah, the first half dozen time that guy strews your trashcan all over your yard you might go ‘daww - it’s okay little guy, I’ll clean it up.’ But about time seven or eight you might be ready to strangle even that cute sonofabitch 
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My raccoon story, which I’ve probably recited a version of before on this board before but now can’t find: Decades ago in my twenties I lived across the street from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in a tiny below-grade in-law apartment that opened to a tiny enclosed patio. I always slept on a futon with my head next to a cracked ground-level sliding window to the patio and at the time I had two cats (one mine, one a friendly stray) that would wander in and out during the night near my face. One night something woke me by treading on my face and pausing. Sleepily I noticed that it smelled like mud and I wondered what the hell my cat had gotten into. Then after a couple seconds as I became more conscious I noticed the paws felt wrong. So I rolled over a foot, dislodging my face sitter and flicked on a lamp to find myself staring eye-to-eye 6 inches away from a baby raccoon. Several inches behind it was a line of three more baby raccoons filling the opening to my window. Several inches behind them was a HUGE mother raccoon siting on her haunches. Everybody froze and then she gave out an absolutely blood-curdling low growl from a foot or two away that made my hair stand on end. Thankfully we were all wise and everybody involved slowly and carefully backed away and made a tactful retreat. I closed the window, went and got a beer to settle my nerves and did not really sleep for the rest of the night .
My red shoulder hawk continues to hang out at my house. I see him at least once a week. Here he is yesterday out my kitchen window:
