Ruth,
I used to belong to the Nature Conservancy (national). I don't recall a local group but will check. Along those lines, however, I know that we do have an Audubon group, a local group associated with the NWF, and Sierra Club. I'll have to see if any of these groups can help as well. Good idea.
I have a bad habit of raising all of my issues at once - which tends to cloud the issue and conceal the point. I may have done that with this situation. Although the traffic problem bothers me considerably - and may even prompt me to move, I even more crestfallen to think that Heidi and the group may loose their home. I probably have more options for relocating that they do. I also hate to think that I may 'loose' them. I don't know where or how I'd find another Heidi.
The drawing I saw (of the proposed development site) wasn't sufficiently detailed or hi-res to allow me to determine how close that development will come to my house and, thus, how much it may impact Heidi. The absolute worst case would be for the development area to include the forest on the other side of the fence. That would separate me from the raccoons for good and push them deeper into the forest.
Today (while I was supposed to be working) I checked Google maps, satellite view to see just how much forest is back there. I don't know why I didn't think to do that before. The good news is that the forest appears to go on for miles beyond the fence. Hopefully, even if the worst happens, and the housing development takes the area behind my house, the raccoons will be able to find a home somewhere 'deeper' in the forest.
Yes, it does seem like the experienced raccoons, Heidi and HRH, are still on top of their game.
Heidi Chronicles: Winter Slow Down
I had one of those suet feeders for woodpeckers, BTW, along with a special woodpecker seed feeder (with the tail post) and a peanut butter feeder for woodpeckers. I say 'had' because those items are among the many, many items Heidi and company confiscated over the years for their collection.
That would be awful if your raccoon friends tried to cross a busy street to get to your backyard!
Debbie,
That's awful about the lady being jailed for feeding deer. I'm pretty sure those kinds of rules differ from state to state (and may even from city to city). I don't believe we do that around here. (Although we might punish the animals but not the people.) Around here it's quite legal to put out food (corn and such) for deer to bait them for hunting. If you can feed them as a trick to kill them, then surely you can feed them to be nice. Some people in the city (here) buy corn and such to put out for the deer. That usually gets neighbors really steamed because they think it draws the deer to their yards - but they don't seem to be able to get the 'offenders' tossed in jail!
What about the 'critter' food mix they sell at Lowe's and Home Depot? Is it illegal to put that out for whoever wants it in your area? Can you feed the squirrels there?
But, I'm going to keep it quiet about the raccoons anyhow, because even though I don't think they would toss me in jail, I also don't think they would halt development to save the raccoons. Raccoons are not very popular here.
KyWoods,
I think I'm not explaining the location well. This is one of those moments when a picture would help a lot. The forest where I feed the raccoons is on the North side of my house. Today on google I found that the forest over there goes on for miles (and miles) running parallel the highway. The proposed development site would be coming at us from the West and SouthWest. I already have houses on that side. I'm not sure how close the new development will come to my community. Best case it will stop before it reaches my community or at least stop at the edge of my community. Worst case, it could wrap around us and 'consume' the forest behind (North) of me. In that case, Heidi and the bunch would be driven deeper into the forest behind me (and farther down the road but not across the road). If that happened, to get back here they would have to cross through the yards of the new houses.
Below is a quick and dirty attempt to depict this. The arrows show Heidi's forest. The one going 'up' and perpendicular to my house represents the direction in which Heidi's forest goes on for miles per the map. I drew the 'reddish' area representing the new development as if it stops at the edge of my community. The worst case would be if it wraps around to include the area in the top of the drawing - where Heidi lives.
Ahhh, I see. Thanks for the illustration! I hope you can rally enough support to stop this needless development.
KyWoods, the woodpecker suet feeders are from www.duncraft.com. They have two suet feeders for woodpeckers, both pictured with a pileated. The one specifically designed for the pileated has the longest wood tail prop, and a BIG metal basket that holds four suet cakes. I'm hoping it comes soon; can't wait to try it! Cheryl, I don't think the raccoons would have to worry about the pileated; they're huge, but not aggressive in my experience. I've seen our resident squirrels chase a pileated off the suet feeder, and the squirrel is quite a runt compared to the pileated. But of course squirrels are notoriously feisty... It really is hard to believe how big the pileated is until you see them; you just don't expect a woodpecker the size of a hawk! We also have regular visits from red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, and they're also fun to watch and feed - just not traffic-stopping like the pileated.
Cheryl, it's very good news that the forest bordering you is much larger than you thought; and excellent news also that the development is planned for the opposite side of your property. If it does wrap around, though, it will definitely wreak havoc with the territories of your raccoon family, and force them to move their territory further back into the forest. Since raccoons can adapt and survive just fine in tiny tiny urban parks and patches of woodland, I'm not really worried about their survival per se; but am very worried about their ability to visit you. If they couldn't visit Scutler's Diner, there would be a LONG list of broken-hearted people, headed by you of course; and your feedings make a visible and very real difference in their appearance and condition. Oh well, one can only wait and see. BTW, you're absolutely right in your thinking about dealing with the bureaucracy: focus, facts, logic, and votes (where applicable- or number of co-signers/supporters) are most likely to persuade them.
heres a link directly to the feeder
http://www.duncraft.com/Duncraft-Pileated-Tail-Prop-Feeder-P2025C35.aspx
i have actually seen one of these birds at our wisconsin place... they are awesome creatures.
i've only seen him twice last year ... once i was taking Bud for a walk and saw him on a tree [we are up in an oak and pine forest] and another time i was sitting on the back patio and i heard this "whooshing" sound ... it was going... whoooosh, whoooosh.... and i looked up and he was flying over head. jimminy cricket he was huge. i came into the Bird Watching forum and asked about it, and was told that is what he was.
Cheryl --- if you do plan on moving, ever --- i'd be nice if you could crate them all up and move them to your new place. I wouldnt think any new habitant of your home would enjoy all those critters coming looking for treats.... well, you know what i mean.
LOL, I was thinking that, too--just pile 'em all into crates and take them with you! They sure would miss you, as much as you'd miss them! But then, who knows, there may be another clan of coons somewhere waiting to be adopted...
KyWoods,
Thanks for your support!
I do plan to take action, and I'm also hoping that, worst case, this development will happen as fast as most things around here. That way, lol, I should have a good 10yrs before it becomes a problem. (The despair has lifted a bit now, as you can see.)
One hopes so Scutler and if y'all fight it, it may take even longer or maybe not happen.
Ruth,
Although I've never (yet) had the opportunity to see one of those grand birds in the flesh...er, feather...recently I saw a photo that (due to other objects near the bird) really showed how huge the woodpecker was. It must be incredible to behold such a grand creature, not to mention having them share your yard or nearby property. I'm so envious. There is something so breath taking about woodpeckers in general, let alone one so statuesque.
A few years ago a 'revolt' by the people in the area did put a stop to a huge development just down the street a ways, so it is possible...
Good point, doccat!
Terese, Keywords,
Actually, back when I 1st started thinking about moving (and don't worry, the only thing that moves more slowly than city hall is 'me', lol), I pondered whether I could pack (at the time) Heidi up and take her with me. While I found the idea comforting - because I wouldn't have to give her up - I guess I decided it probably wouldn't be the best thing for her. This is her home. She has lived here all of her life. She knows her way around, knows the neighbors, and rules her territory here. Where ever I go there will undoubtedly already be raccoons who won't take kindly to having Heidi (and her group) suddenly thrust upon them. I would be making Heidi and her group homeless, at least for a time and until/unless they could fight their way into some sort of agreement with the existing raccoons in the new area. And even though they enjoy my company (or the good food), they may not want to move.
...and can you just see me boarding a plane with Heidi in a carry on? Insisting that I'll just put 'Kitty' here under the seat...and, no, she's not angry that's just how she expresses affection...now, now, Kitty, we love you, too. (No, I probably won't be moving far enough to go by plane - although you never know - but I just think it's an adorable image.)
Hooray for revolts!!
We have a huge 'possum that comes by every night now to indulge in leftovers and cracked corn. He/she is at the back door while the coons are at the front raiding the feeders. I wonder if there is any left for the coons. LOL I tried to get it's picture last night, but the glass door I was behind reflected the flash. I tried going outside, but scared the poor baby away. Maybe if I sit outside near feeding time, it will come around if I sit still?
These days, because it gets dark or near dark before I get home most days, feeding the raccoons is the 1st thing I do as soon as I get home- right after I greet Widget, of course. Tonight it was pretty nice out, so after I put the food out, I sat down for a few minutes. It was dark-ish, twilight I guess. Dark, but not yet 'black' dark. Not so dark as to obscure my vision into the forest.
Almost immediately I became aware of movement overhead, a raccoon, Rupert actually, who had staked out a good position in the branches of the Heidi tree some 20 feet up, the ones that hang out over the edge of the feeding area. It was a great place to rest while waiting for his dinner, a place that provided a great view of his bowl and insured that he would be the 1st one served. Now, having seen me fill his dish, he was making his way ever so slowly along the branch, back to the trunk, and down to dinner.
Rupert ate from one of Heidi's dishes only about 8ft from me. I spoke to him a bit as he ate. After a bit, as he started getting full, he made his way past me and over to Juliet's area to sample the food over there. On his way back by I was looking off in the opposite direction so he sneaked up close to check me out, then went back over to his 1st dish where he ate another bit or 2. Next he wandered about 1/2 way over to me (again) and stopped to sniff around on the ground as though looking for treats he no doubt knew weren't there. (I've seen this maneuver before. Heidi does this sometimes.) When that didn't work and no treats were forthcoming, he made his way over to my knee to sniff around - to see what I might have brought for him. Unfortunately, as I hadn't expected to see any of the raccoons, I didn't have any treats with me. I apologized and promised to bring some soon, and with that Rupert ambled on back to the fence and disappeared back into the tree from which he had come.
It wasn't a particularly eventful evening. Nothing whimsical. Nothing especially new. But somehow it touched me as a very nice evening. In particular I couldn't help thinking how wonderful it is that I can just walk out back and sit down and have the wild animals come up to eat beside me without fear and even have them walk over to check me out a bit before leaving. How wonderful that we can 'live' in such harmony as to make the wildlife seem tame. How wonderful that this would be considered an ordinary evening in the garden!
It's your little corner of heaven (theirs, too, surely)!
Oh, by the way, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I just did a few minutes ago--today is Trish's birthday (Dave's wife), so I wished her a happy one. If anyone else wants to, here is the link:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/798600/
KyWoods,
From my experience, I think the opossum and maybe the raccoons as well, will eventually get used to you if you sit outside with the food frequently. You might start by putting the food closer to the forest, fence, or edge of the yard while you sit across the yard or on the porch in an area where they can see you but where you are far enough away for them to feel somewhat safe in approaching the food. Maybe do this for a half hour at a time. The 1st time or 2 you may not get any takers, but in time I suspect you will. Then as they get accustomed to eating with you sitting some distance away (and don't try to get a photo yet as you don't want to risk scaring them), you can slowly start to move closer to the food (or the food closer to you). Maybe just move a foot closer. Then when they seem comfortable, move another foot, etc. That's essentially how I got to my present situation where I can sit so close to the raccoons and even the opossums. Each time they eat with you nearby they will learn to trust you a little more. Eventually, you'll be one of the gang.
As to the glass, you might try putting the lens against the glass. That will reduce or eliminate the glare. That's the method recommended for taking photos at aquariums and such. I've used that method to get good pictures of the birds on the other side of my windows. (Not sure how it will work in the dark but worth a try.)
Thanks, KyWoods,
I just got my b-day wish in before the end of her special day (thanks to you).
You're welcome--it occurred to me who she was, long after I first saw the name on the birthday list on the home page. I'm sure that, being Dave's wife, she does more than we realize on this site. And thanks for the instructions on how to get the critters to trust me! I don't know how many evenings the temperatures will cooperate, so I may have to wait until spring to try this, but it would be fun!
One day I was sitting on the back porch and a coon came walking out of the woods, stopping twice on his way to look at me, and slowly, gradually, came right up to me and sniffed my pants leg! He turned around and walked back into the woods--guess he just wanted to see what I was. LOL It was neat!
When we first moved out here, we had the chipmunks taking peanuts from our hands, until I snickered when one stuffed a peanut into his cheeks, and it scared them off. Grrr...
Oh yeah, I can just see Heidi in an under-seat airplane carrier: NOT! You're absolutely right, Cheryl; even if it were possible to move the raccoons, it would put them at a huge disadvantage. At Heidi's age, it could be devastating.
I read somewhere that the pileated was the inspiration for the cartoon character, Woody the Woodpecker. I remember, as a child, complaining to my mother that Woody was much too big in relation to the other animals: now I know why (lol). The first time I saw one, he was hammering away at the big dead tree/snag in the neighbor's yard. This was quite some distance from our kitchen window, but you could clearly see that it was a woodpecker with a gorgeous red head, and was absolutely huge; had no idea what it was at first, but it surely stopped me in my tracks. Now that we know how much they love suet, we can watch them (they're actually a pair) from only ten feet away from the window: never tire of it. We draw a wide variety of birds here, no doubt thanks to the absence of starlings and house sparrows, but the pileated and the bluebird are the definite favorites.
I follow this thread on a daily basis, with delight, (except when I hearing about pending building development!) but will only join in occasionally.
It's wonderful to hear from Cheryl & KYWoods that your racoon (& other wildlife) friends are still with you this late in the year. I'm feeding our raccoons (& who knows what else) every other day - a bowl of cat food & assorted leftovers & water, of course (wouldn't have thought of that, until I read this thread) - it's so much fun to give them leftovers that have gone a bit too long, instead of tossing them... I put them out by a small bridge, near the gully where they travel through our property, and I do find the food disappearing earlier & earlier in the evening, so I think they're coming to look for it. I wonder if they'll connect the sudden appearance of food, on a regular basis, to human intervention.
Liz
KyWoods,
Wow! If a raccoon already came right up to you while you were sitting outside, it sounds as though you are much farther along than I realized. If that's the case you may be able to shorten the process (mentioned above) or move through the steps much faster. From my experience the opossums were a bit slower to trust me, but they learned from watching the raccoons. If the coons come and eat near you w/o harm, soon the opossums will be joining them.
Good luck with that. Did you try putting the camera lens against the glass to see if that helped with taking pictures through it?
Not yet--haven't seen him the past couple nights, but will try that next time I do. Thanks for the tip!
Congratulations, lizzipa; sounds like your diner is already building a clientele of "regulars."
KyWoods, you're making remarkable headway with your visitors: congrats!
Ruth,
...but I do get a kick out of the image of Heidi flying with me in a pet carry on. Mostly I enjoy the image of the other passenger's reaction.
The 2nd year of my cottage garden, I came home one day for my afternoon walk through the garden. At the end of a garden path between a couple of cherry trees and surrounded by all manner of blooms a flash of blue so beautiful I felt it could not be real caught my eye and I looked up to see what was perhaps the most beautiful bird that I have ever seen. I studied every marking of this awesome creature so that later that evening I might check online to determine his identity. He was, of course, a male bluebird. He lived in my garden that summer and even brought his family along. Every day they (the couple and later their kids) could be seen perched atop the shepherd's hook looking for dinner. What they added to the garden was immeasurable.
Sadly, I have not seen the bluebirds since that summer several years ago. I'm not sure what changed except that the year the bluebirds stayed with me the back slope was covered in sand cherries which have since died out. I still have ornamental cherry trees but not those scraggly bushes covered in little black cherries. Perhaps I should try replanting those cherry bushes?
In spring and early summer the garden is so literally stuffed with birds as to resemble an aviary. (BTW, what I refer to as the garden is the hundreds of perennials, shrubs, roses, and flowering trees that surround the area where I feed the raccoon but NOT that messy, weed infested space that shows up in all of the photos.lol) Most are the usual chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and such but a male Indigo Bunting shows up from time to time; on occasion I've walked outside to find a Summer Tanager; and one day an entire flock of cedar waxwings filled the weeping willow...but I'm still waiting to see my Pileated Woodpecker! (I think the Pileated Woodpecker does best fit Woody Woodpecker's appearance now that you mention it.)
Liz,
Sounds wonderful! I, too, find it comforting to be able to put those leftovers to good use instead of sending them to the landfill. For what it's worth, I imagine that they not only realize the food is a result of human intervention but may well hang out somewhere in a safe secluded area from which to wait for and watch you deposit that food. : )
Edited to add that I don't think I gave much consideration to the need for water until the 2nd year. The 1st year I refilled the birdbaths from time to time including a couple of copper basins at ground level but otherwise didn't realize the importance of water. This summer when I added the wading pool and later the litter pan (mini pool) I began to see how coveted the water resources were and the extent to which turf wars were fought over them. Glad you are providing much needed water.
This message was edited Dec 22, 2007 12:20 AM
Last night 'someone' destroyed the bird feeder. Arggg! Another editorial comment? An expression of angst at being asked to wait so long for me to come home and feed them?
Tonight when I came home, Widget and I found a raccoon - not Snowball - raiding the bird feeder, now on the ground. As I opened the door to go out, Widget chased him across the patio and toward the door such that for a moment I thought they might continue the chase in the kitchen.
When I got out to the feeding area, it was almost like old times. Raccoons started flowing over the fence even as I was still filling dishes. It had been a very blustery, rainy day, and everyone seemed starved. Rupert was there along with Juliet's kids and Heidi's bunch. After a few minutes that opossum showed up, but then ran back over across the garden upon seeing us there. I couldn't tell for sure if he was running from me or from the raccoons.
So many times I've mentioned the garden. You've seen countless pictures of the overgrown mess in the feeding area - something I hope to get under control by spring 08. I thought during this down time I'd show you a few quick pics of the garden, just so you'll have a point of reference when I mention it in discussions. It's a very informal -if not messy- cottage garden effect, a place that brings me great solace much of the year.
The photos that follow are pretty old, from the 1st year I think. Most are very low res having been taken with my old 2M Kodak. Some were taken at dusk. They are not the best photos of the garden, just the ones I found online.
This is one of the night photos, of course. The red line at bottom is an extension cord as I was doing some yard work at the time.
Another shot from that same evening.
arbor at the entrance to one of the paths
looking back at the garden gate from within the garden.
lastly, the crepe myrtle by the back door (not pictured). This BTW is the tree that Trouble and last years kids used to climb to drink the hummingbird nectar I hung there. Sometimes they would just stand on the back of the bench to drink the stuff. Somewhere in last year's threads I think there is a picture of Trouble 'caught' in that tree when I came out the door.
Oh, what a beautiful garden! I do hope you don't have to move and leave all that behind!
Thank you, KyWoods!
Now (as if to atone for the shameless display of garden photos on a raccoon thread) I've located and prepped the pics of Heidi and Blondie in The Egg Caper.
Here Heidi on the right has just 'caught' the egg i tossed her. Blondie on the left is thinking she would like to have that egg - and after all mom used to give her food so mom won't mind giving up the egg. Right?.
Close up of Heidi with the egg.
Here in the next shot, taken only moments later, Blondie appears to have the egg and Heidi looks as though she is licking the dregs of her lost egg off the ground.
Next scene. Blondie (far left) has gone back to eating cat food while Heidi (far right) is still licking something up off the ground.
Close up of what Heidi is eating shows the partial shell and yolk
