"Serving North Lincoln County"
The geese have returned to the pond before they begin their journey south. The turkeys, hens and toms, are roaming the road. There are still plenty of grasshoppers for the turkeys to eat. We have had a cow elk and skunk walking the road. A surprise was the bobcat. The coyotes are hunting as a pair. The black bear and 2 cubs wandered are covering ground but doing a great job at evading the camera. Deer are common but bucks are not. The crow are on the move. -Patches
It has been a good year for raven hatchlings, as well as for Goose and Gander. The Montana field guide explains that egg dates for ravens are probably early in April, and that the young have been identified flying around Fortine as early as June 8. The typical clutch is 3 to 7 birds – and this year the adults and the young have been specializing in turkeys – eggs and chicks.
This year, Goose and Gander had their goslings hatch out over two rainy days – but they take parenting seriously, so Gander took over the hatchlings as Goose spent one more day on the nest until the hatching process was complete. This patriarchal assistance doesn’t exist among turkeys, where the males are content to strut and gobble. The two species may offer a lesson for humans.
We’ve watched ravens land in the salt lick with turkey eggs or fledglings. It is a reminder that nature is not gentle, and that reaching adulthood is a great accomplishment for prey species. I realized how rough it has been when I watched two turkey hens, each protecting the single chick they have left. One was just beginning to fly, and the hen flew to join it on a branch – three ravens were stalking through the grass, but when the small turkey goes airborne, it’s totally vulnerable. The other chick, not yet flying, had its mother stand her ground – she is actually capable of intimidating the young ravens. We’re accustomed to a pair or three turkeys consolidating their hatches into large flocks – this pair has only been able to protect 2 chicks from predation.
The geese and ducks don’t seem to be bothered by the ravens – they keep swimming and the ravens aren’t equipped for water landings.
The ravens – old and young – are spending a lot of time in the tall trees along the edges of the field. Close to the house, they’re looking for robins, bluebirds and swallows. I haven’t seen any after the hummingbirds. As Spring brings fawns, it looks like the little dog and I will have to walk in the field to discourage the ravens from the fawns who are parked in the grass.
New on the game cam this week is a badger. The badger tends to be transitory with few Columbia grounds squirrels residing in the field to become dinner. The geese are being geese. The goslings are growing and hiking along the pond’s edge. The turkeys are being camera shy. The deer look like they need a good combing.-Patches
After missing what should have been great photos of bears, I decided to see if the video mode would be any better. I don’t use video very much because I haven’t invested in the companies that make batteries; Video uses batteries quickly.
Video also takes lots of space on your SD cards. And I only need so many videos of deer walking up to sniff the camera.
According to my cameras this week, no bears walked on the driveway. A follow up confirmed no new bear droppings. If my cameras are to be believed, only a few deer, a feral cat, and a couple of turkeys were on the driveway. I will leave the camera in video mode probably until Thanksgiving in hopes of getting a video of a stray bear wandering by or maybe a coyote or two. In the meantime, here are the turkeys.
-Patches
Trego's Mountain Ear 