Bear Sign?

Lately, there have been several sightings of a black bear around here, though none to my knowledge in our particular neck of the woods.  However, I recently noticed that several large boulders were overturned in an area I regularly walk.  One has what could be bear claw scratch marks - hardly proof positive of ursine presence, I admit.  But then there's also potential evidence at the pond just a little further through the woods.  I saw that the plant growth at the edge of the water has been raked ashore in several places, and took a photo of long scrape marks left on the pond floor at one of those sites.  Lots of crushed grass in places, too.  Could this be the result of a bear pulling in and sifting through the plants to glean the various frogs, crayfish and other small critters that hide there?  It wouldn't surprise me, since my dogs routinely do something similar.  And bears are known to forage for food up to 20 hours a day at this time of year.  It's conceivable that these are legitimate signs of the bear so many have seen.  I'm keeping my eyes open, though, for that clawed-up tree, big pile of scat, or perfect pawprint that will make a true believer out of me.

Camouflaged Toad

I almost stepped on this beautifully camouflaged toad.
-Janet

Muskrat in Northern Maine

I got these shots while silently floating in my kayak near a beaver dam
in northern Maine. I watched for about 15 minutes, until the kayak hit
a rock and startled the muskrat. I noticed it would occasionally lift
its tail up in the air, as you see in one of the photos. Was it
pooping? They certainly leave a lot of scat on the shore; maybe they
poop in the water, too.
-Janet

Deer Without Fear

During a recent trip to Austin, Texas, I had the opportunity - many opportunities, in fact - to photograph a local herd of of remarkably tame deer.  The setting was pure suburbia, and the deer seem to flourish.  That is, if you don't take their size into account.  Their populations are out of control, and they are noticeably smaller than the white-tail deer in our neck of the woods.

The first photo shows a doe and a young spike buck.  Those two were often together, along with the doe's twin fawns.  The second shot shows the same doe and fawns along with another doe, also the mother of twins.  The final picture is of the four babies all hanging out together.

Name That Tune

This recording of a bird song was taken in Southborough, MA on June 8, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLDcuhfFCFQ&feature=youtu.be
The habitat was a mosaic of forest and field (hayfield and pasture)
dotted with clumps of shrubs. The song starts at 2 seconds and repeats
every 10-15 seconds. I never saw the bird, and don't know of any bird
found in this area which sounds exactly like it. I am wondering if it
is an unusual variation of the common yellowthroat, the typical rhythm
of which is often described as witchity-witchity-witchity. Other ideas?

A Muskrat is Not a Fish

But don't tell those of the Catholic faith who live in Detroit.  A special dispensation there allows them to consume muskrat during Lent, when meat-eating is prohibited.  Because it is a water-dweller, the muskrat is considered to be in the same category as fish.  (And it's said to taste like duck.  Yum.)

These three photos were recently taken by motion-sensitive camera at the edge of a wetland.  The muskrat is seen with a mouthful of vegetation in all but one of the several pictures I got.  Hard to say if that's dinner, or something to line a birthing den.  From what I read, this is right around the time when muskrat kits are born.  Litters range from six to eight, and a healthy female has two or three litters a year.

Fungus Feast

This morning's interesting find...  At first we thought we'd disrupted a ladybug love-in, but now understand that we were witnessing fungus beetles dining on their namesake food - in this case, birch polypores.