Apples and Bears

We were hoping to leave our apples on the trees for a couple more weeks but this young guy came by to check out the crop.

He is a young bear that we hadn’t seen since early Spring. This is his first Summer without his mother but he is looking very healthy.

Unfortunately he has very little fear of humans and I think that will be a problem in coming years. After unsuccessfully trying to climb one apple tree that I had temporarily ringed with sheet metal, he tried to push over the fence into the garden to get the apples from our dwarf trees. It was then that I had to intervene. I went out to scare him away but that didn’t phase him much, he made a half-hearted climb up a fir tree and then headed for another old apple tree and sat down for a scratch.

After checking out the apples above, up he went.

It looked like he had settled in so I had to get out the garden hose and give him a spray. He quite like it at first but then became annoyed and ran off into the woods. Needless to say, we picked our apples – 60 pounds that didn’t end up in a bear’s stomach.

 

 

 

Bamboozled?

We came across this little scenario yesterday at our fish pond. This small bird was feeding her ‘baby’. There is obviously a size discrepancy. I haven’t identified the young bird but I know cowbirds and starlings will sometimes lay their eggs in other birds nests and let the new parents raise their chicks. I thought the mother may have been a Swainson’s Thrush but the ‘eyebrow’ didn’t look right. I’m now leaning toward some variety of Vireo.

 

The Bucks Stop Here

A couple of the boys came by today to show off their new antlers

Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)

This guy showed up yesterday. We usually have a pair nest close by each Summer and they are always a pleasure to see. They range on the west coast of North America from Mexico to Alaska.

Barred Owl

Well, the Barred Owls are out in abundance right now, unfortunately due to lots of baby Robins now on the ground. This one was being attacked by Robins, Hummingbirds, Towhees and Swainson’s Thrushes though you wouldn’t know it as it sat calmly and and scoped out the territory.

 

Argh – a New Generation!

Just when I get my deer fencing in place along comes the next wave of deer!

This fawn showed up today and was quite unsteady so must be quite new.

Lone Bear

We have had quite a bit of bear activity already this Spring. On the most part they are behaving themselves – just passing through the yard. This young bear was born a little more than a year ago and has a twin. They came by a couple of weeks ago with their mother but now this one is on it’s own – either separated or encouraged to leave as it is breeding season for momma.

Better Every Year

It’s great to see this guy develop. We’ve watched him grow from a fawn and he is the tamest and gentlest of all the deer that comes by. Unfortunately all the deer are being plagued with deer fly right now.

Growing Fast

Fawn Time

We have a doe bringing around her twins almost daily now. The fawns will sleep in the ferns or on our lawn for a hour or two while their mother browses through our garden. At times she seems to either forget or lose them but they always manage to find each other.