Skunk Showdown
This…this is no good. In between all of the time the pictured Striped Skunk spent foraging, digging zealously for grubs in the wet soil, it had an encounter with a local cat. I did not think this showdown was going to end well for the neighborhood feline to say the very least. I personally know this cat to be a bold, inquisitive and mostly fearless individual – in other words, a cat. I focused on the skunk in the above photo and the cat in a subsequent shot having to keep the aperture wide open in the low evening light. You can see the skunk is entirely engrossed in its snacks....
Read MoreStriped Skunk
Happy Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Saturday! I met this friendly individual – from afar and thanks to a helpful window – last evening while it was foraging in this yard. The skunk was using its powerful claws and paws to dig through the ground for grubs. All of the heavy rain that has been saturating the earth across the local area and much of the Northeast as a whole has been creating ideal conditions for grubs to come to the surface. This also makes it easier for the skunk to dig into the ground for a tasty treat…many, many tasty treats. Skunks are beneficial...
Read MoreMock vs. Chuck
This Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was not taking too kindly to this young Woodchuck, Groundhog, or any other common name you’d like (Marmota monax) as it was only trying to nibble on a few delicious green snacks on a cloudy morning. You can see their relative sizes are not that far off, with this young chuck wondering why mom and dad did not explain the joy of birds before. Mockingbirds can be vicious pests if you are anywhere near they’re nest doing…well, anything, like existing in their space! I can recall being attacked and whacked by them as a small child...
Read MoreTurkey Vulture
During a late afternoon on a lovely day last week I did a double take as I found an unexpected bird on the lawn – a Turkey Vulture! It had discovered a dead Eastern Chipmunk only moments earlier and was preparing to do its job. I was with my Shetland Sheepdog, Zach, who had not seen the bird over the slight hill in the lawn. I walked back to him, bent down and told him to look at this bird as I pointed. He eagerly glanced around and spotted it, eyes widening and slowly creeping towards it out of curiously and intrigue despite my cautioning. He held at this position, head forward,...
Read MoreWhite-tailed Deer
Wherever you go you can find White-tailed Deer. Hiking through a salt marsh with a rising tide? You got it. This deer was in the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. That is Long Beach in Stratford, Connecticut in the background with the even further horizon being Long Island, New York. It looks like a rather quick swim, doesn’t it? Yes, White-tailed Deer can swim, even to some islands! But I do not think they would be able to make it to Long Island from here… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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