It is raining pretty hard tonight, not an all out downpour but not a sprinkle either. Just before the bottom fell out, I let Widget go out. He took off into the darkness in pursuit of something so I was pretty sure there was a raccoon or opossum out there, but I wasn't so sure that it would still be around by the time I finally got him back inside.
I held the door open while I 'fussed' at Widget to get back in here. I had to get pretty demonstrative to let him know I was serious. Clearly he wanted to stay out there and guard the place. When Widget finally came inside, I could already hear the large, heavy raindrops starting to come down. I hated the idea of trekking out in that but couldn't leave the raccoons to go hungry on Christmas. I closed the door just long enough to gather my things then opened it again and stepped out to find Dennis and Cissy standing in front of me on the patio with Blondie off to one side behind a small camellia.
Food in hand, I walked forward, talking to them, "Hi, Sweetie! ..." But they wouldn't move out of the way and let me walk by. Dennis and Cissy were both standing in the narrow path leading off the patio and neither would move. In fact, Dennis walked toward me even though he was only about 2.5ft from me. At one point I ended up standing so close to Dennis that he could almost have been a cat brushing against my leg as I stood blocked by his presence on the path and he stood at my feet apparently wondering why I didn't just sit down and feed him right here on the patio; after all, the important 'ingredients', he, his siblings, and the food, were all here.
For a few perplexing minutes I stood with both hands full and the kids at my feet and water pouring down on my head. I was unable to move another step, even a tiny one, without either stepping over Dennis or pushing him with my foot. I stood there talking to them, "Move, Sweetie, move back, please" understanding, of course, that they had no idea what I was saying.
Dennis finally moved - but only enough for me to take 2 steps towards him - his face looking at me eagerly as though he were a pet - before repeating the above pattern all over again. I don't know if Dennis was especially hungry or what, but he was determined not to get too far from me and the food. Until we rounded the corner and entered the open 'lawn' area, we were to repeat this new, raccoon version of The 2 Step, over and over again, with me ending up stuck again every few steps with Dennis at my feet blocking the narrow path.
When I finally made it to the feeding area, I put the food in the dishes in the Heidi area and the 3 kids starting eating as though oblivious to the pelting rain. It was not cold out, probably in the upper 50s or low 60s. I took the dishes from Juliet's area, filled them, and placed them under the chair to keep the food dry until the others came for it.
As I started opening the pumpkin yogurt and peach cottage cheese, Dennis came over to see what I had for him. In the pelting rain he was all up under my legs like a pet. I placed the 2 open containers under the chair, sat for a few (very few) minutes with them, and thanked them for the lovely 'gift' before heading back to the house.
Edited to fix auto-spellcheck errors: Changing 'Sweaty' back to 'Sweetie' because, lol, the kids didn't look as though they had just finished a workout or anything.
This message was edited Dec 26, 2007 2:49 AM
Heidi Chronicles: The Kids are Still Here For the Holidays
How awesome Cheryl.... i've said it before... you are truly blessed!!
those lil critters just love their Food Goddess.
I can just imagine their precious faces. looking up at you for goodies ... especially the yogurt cups.
LOL, love it! The "Raccoon Two-Step"! I wanna see a video of that one! Without the rain, though. I'll bet you were soaked, you with no waterproof coat!
Our bunch is having ham scraps, leftover oyster dressing, and leftover dog food. Meager pickings tonight, but we will make up for it soon, I'm sure.
Hi Terese,
Even after knowing them all this time I was still somewhat amazed at how comfortable they were around me, especially with me standing upright and towering above them. Their trust in me is amazing. And as annoying as it was all summer to have them run away every time the neighbors came outside and/or spoke, tonight I particularly thankful that Heidi taught them to be afraid of other humans as I would hate to see them display such trust for strangers.
As the scene on the patio and along the path played out I was also reminded that while tonight I, too, felt very comfortable with them, just 2 years earlier I would have 'read' the same behavior much, much differently. Before I got to know them I would surely have thought their behavior a menacing attempt to attack me and steal the food. I probably would have flailed my arms and shouted at them to get back - just in self defense. And they would have left wondering what the heck is wrong with our species!
Hi KyWoods!
Where is that Coon Cam when you need it? LOL
Ham, oysters, dressing (made I assume with turkey drippings), dog food. Sounds like a wonderful holiday dinner for wildlife. I'll be you aren't getting any complaints from your gang.
Oh, that's precious, Cheryl; the kits wanted you to share their Christmas shower (lol); that would've made a great video. "Small bluebirds in tattered suits:" that's a perfect description of the fledglings. Even tattered, they're beautiful, aren't they; and the whole family together is just a wonderful sight, especially when the parents raise a second clutch and the kids from the first (now nattily attired) help to raise the new brood.
KyWoods, I'd read lots of articles about the house sparrow's aggressive territoriality, but didn't really believe it; then one day I saw a female house sparrow flying out of the nesting box where bluebirds were raising a clutch. Went out to investigate, and found the female bluebird and babies all with beak-sized holes pecked in their skulls. I was devastated, to say the least. [And of course as soon as I cleaned out the nesting box, the house sparrows moved right in. I began a strict habit of monitoring the nesting boxes and discarding house sparrow eggs as soon as they were laid, a habit I continue to this day. Since bluebird eggs are, what else, an exquisite blue, it's easy to tell the difference.] Keep in mind that it's only the non-native English house sparrow who is a problem; the male house sparrow has a distinctive black cap. We have many many native sparrow species, all of whom are quite benign, and we love when they visit.
Cheryl, glad to hear that the raccoons chose to share Christmas dinner with you!
I hope all of you had something to celebrate today...
Merry Christmas!
Liz
Cheryl, that brought tears to my eyes. What a very wonderful experience. Indeed truly blessed!
Susan
=^..^=
Oh, what a horrible discovery for you, spartacusaby! Thanks for the info, I had no idea there was a non-native sparrow out there. What a horrid little creature!
I too have read these non native sparrows have become a major problem and are killing of a lot of the native species including blue birds. They are persona non grata here.
Yeaks -- I have tons of these lil sparrows currently.
I wonder -- if i stop putting seed out, will they leave for good ... or just until there is food again?
I do have a pair of cardinals that come to my feeder too, and some mourning doves ... but mostly sparrows.
checking out the images of Bluebirds ... i have to say, i've never seen one before.
Terese,
Are you SURE your little sparrows are the European variety? There are many wonderful, peaceful, and desirable varieties of native sparrows. I have lots of chipping sparrows, white throated sparrows, etc at my feeders. Although I've never seen the European ones, I think they are larger than most of our sparrows, not particularly small birds. Before you go to extremes to eliminate them, check to be sure they really are the bad guys.
If you see a bluebird, especially the male, you will definitely know it as they are so awesome as to stop you in your tracks. The 1st time you see one you will think that you have entered some kind of fantasy world right out of a disney animation.
>>Are you SURE your little sparrows are the European variety?
Oh -- i didn't see there was a variety. I just googled House Sparrow and looked at those images.
I'll look up the European ones ... i'd bet mine are just native ones.
Do they chirp with an accent? LOL Here's a good article on wikipedia about them, with excellent pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Sparrow
This message was edited Dec 26, 2007 6:09 PM
yes -- those look like the buggers i have ... and LOTS of them.
Ruth, LOL ('share their Christmas shower'), and that they did, too!
So true. I've never seen a homely looking bluebird, and that includes the little fluff balls with occasional wonky feathers and 'holes' in their blue coats. I've read about how the kids help to raise and feed subsequent generations sometimes even the next year, but my bluebirds left before I had the chance to see that.
Hi, Liz,
Yes, wasn't that cute. There we were all hoping that I would get to see some of the raccoons on Christmas, and not only did I see them but they came to the house to get me.
Hope you had a wonderful day, too, with lots to be thankful for. I for one am trying to be more aware of all of the little things - the kind so often taken for granted - that I have to be thankful for.
Hi Susan,
Yes, I have been blessed in many ways, and particularly to have been chosen for this incredible experience.
Terese,
Sorry, I think I just added confusion. I read your post quickly while at work and was concerned, especially when you said 'little sparrows' that you might have thought all sparrows were bad. I should have known better. Anyhow, the confusion was mine.
From what I've read the house sparrows, having been transplanted here, have no real enemies/predators here to slow them down very much. That plus their extremely competitive behavior of killing whole families of birds to steal their nests has led to rapid proliferation. I doubt that anything short of killing them will halt their progress or keep them from your feeder. If you are interested, they discuss dispatching them over in the bird forum. Equilibrium is one of the major people discussing this. I'm very glad I haven't seen any (yet) because I'm very conflicted about this issue. Some think the bluebird's survival may depend on dispatching these birds, but I don't know if I could do it even for the bluebirds.
thanks ... I;ll see what E has to say... she and i have conversed before as we do not live that far apart... she has helped my quite a bit already.
Today was one of those days when I was reminded how much I appreciate each and every one of you and how different this experience might have been without you.
Back at work, I lost my mind momentarily and could not resist the urge to show the guys the 'gift' the raccoons hung over the fence 2 days before Christmas. I just think it's such an adorable coincidence and one that evokes memories of Disney animations like Snow White where bird and animal caricatures string ribbons and bows about. ...sharing that with them was a bit like walking head first into a wall! Painful!
Thanks so much for being there!
How could they appreciate it if they haven't been here through all these raccoon adventures, though? We like hearing about everything they do!
"Do they chirp with an accent?:" good one, KyWoods. And that's a great link on the house sparrow with excellent photos for ID purposes. As Cheryl and I both mentioned, it's essential to be sure that the bird you're seeing is the English house sparrow if you're considering taking action against them. It is of course illegal to disturb the nest of a native bird, and there's never a compelling reason to do so; the native sparrows are lovely little creatures, and do no harm to other birds.
Terese, if you have these sparrows en masse, they are most likely the invaders; the native sparrows rarely are present in large groups. I've not found it difficult to simply discard the house sparrow eggs, and if done consistently and promptly it will usually deter the parents from nesting in that site -- at least for a while. I used to blanch at the thought of the adult HOSPs; but must confess that after discovering the killing of an entire bluebird family, I've accepted the task of dispatching adult house sparrows as well. This is very controversial, and I certainly understand if someone says they can't do it; but these are non-native birds who pose a real threat to the survival of several native species. If their population continues its exponential expansion, we could lose some lovely native birds. I pull out and destroy invasive non-native plants, and see this as essentially the same issue. If they are present in large numbers in your area, simply stopping the bird feeding probably will not deter them. That said, if you aren't providing nest boxes or otherwise providing nest sites, you may not want or need to bother trying to chase off the house sparrows. They are most aggressive when breeding and coveting a site occupied by another bird.
I echo Cheryl that if you'd ever seen a bluebird, you'd have no question what you'd seen. The first time you spot one, if perched, you notice its lovely warm orange breast and think, "That must be a thrush, but it's little; what is it?" Then it flies, and that ethereal flash of the purest blue leaves no doubt in your mind what you've seen. They are one of our loveliest and most challenged native birds. As insectivores, pesticides took and still take a toll on their numbers. Because they need open spaces to nest, development is a continuing threat. The English house sparrow is the last and worst blow, because it prefers exactly the same kind of nesting site and will kill to preempt the site. [Can you tell I'm a big bluebird supporter? I'll hush now...]
Back on topic, it seems that your co-workers are a totally lost cause, Cheryl; they just don't get it, and probably never will. But that's okay; look at how many more raccoons are enjoying leftover banquets thanks to the folks following these threads!
Cheryl, one thing I have learned. And no offense to any men on here. Men run in packs. If there is more than one man present at a "cute story" like our Heidi and family....then they can't act all "oh wow man, that is so cute". They MUST remain manly and tough individuals...they are about the hunt.
My son in law is the same way. I told him about our Heidi and family....he said "oh its all gonna be fun til someone gets bit, those animals have disease....yadda yadda." Second SIL to be was there....shaking his head in agreement. BUT...alone, he asked questions and asked me to show him the pictures next time he was over. SIL #1 also grew up hunting and having "critters" raid his chickens an farm issues. SIL#2 is being raised by my other daughter...a true animal lover. He will conform!
Have a great day, and I am so happy to hear the "gang" gave you such a wonderful Christmas gift.
Debbie
KyWood,
They do hear occasional, quick stories about the raccoons even though they always hate it. Any time I make the mistake of discussing the subject with them, it makes me appreciate you guys all the more!
Ruth,
I am grateful to all of you who do the difficult thing to help save the bluebird. I'm just so happy that I've not been faced with the decision myself as to whether I could actually kill the invading birds. I like your idea about taking the eggs though. I could do that, and if we all went out and stole the eggs long enough we could probably make a real difference in their numbers.
Rationally I know the guys at work are hopeless when it come to the subject of raccoons, but they are the only colleagues I see on a regular basis. Sometimes when I'm just bubbling over with the desire to share something (from Heidi Land) that I think is just too adorable to keep to myself, I start to think that even they will be able to appreciate this. Not!
But what I really wanted to relay to you was not about the guys but about how important all of you are to my full enjoyment of the Heidi experience. The guys were just a vehicle for the delivery of that information.
Incidentally, today the topic of Wikipedia came up along with the debate over whether to get an account and actually contribute content. I told them I signed up so that I could change the raccoons from 'vermin' to 'wildlife'. Naturally, that sparked a disagreement in which the more vocal member of the group argued that I should not have made that change because raccoons really ARE vermin. Apparently, to him the distinction between wildlife and vermin is based on whether the creature interacts with humans, comes to our homes, etc. So I asked if Peacocks are vermin. "Of course not", they said. Then I told them about the peacocks that routinely escape from their home at a nearby garden and come here to terrorize my neighborhood, traipse through yards digging up the lawns and knocking plants down with their tails, stand on rooftops screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, destroy bird feeders, etc. That did seem to throw a wrench into the 'vermin' debate.
Debbie,
Hmm. That's an interesting point! I'll have to remember that when interacting with them. Now that you mention it, I do notice that they are 'nicer' individually than as a group. Sometimes after all of the others leave, whoever is left will come over and present a more sensitive side.
I have another colleague whom I rarely see, but when I do he always asks about the raccoons. He told me a while back about smelling something bad in his garage one night and then finding what he thought was a dead or nearly dead baby opossum trapped at the bottom of a deep plastic container. He took it out, washed it with cat shampoo, put it in a crate with bedding, fed and watered it, and kept it in the crate in his garage until it was revived and grew larger. Then he let it out. Now it comes to visit him all of the time. He sent me pictures of it. I was very surprised and impressed that he took care of the baby opossum. However, he is a bit older and more mature than the guys I work with on a daily basis - and when I talk to him, he's not in a group, lol.
How interesting to hear that one of your SIL's expressed interest in the raccoons.
It was very nice to see the 'kids' on Christmas day and even more so to have them come to the house to get me. (Such an interesting coincidence that they would show up on that particular day when I so rarely see them these days.)
All right, kudos to the coworker who helped the opossum: at least one has a heart! Maybe Debbie is right about the "machismo in groups" phenomenon: makes sense when I think of some experiences I've had. In the years I worked in animal shelters, I always managed to find males to hire who really "got it:" had the same instincts and compassion for animals as my female staff. Took some looking, but they're out there; and no, they're not all gay...
Hi Ruth,
Unfortunately, the one friend who asks about the raccoons (and who helped the opossum) is not so much a coworker in the sense that we don't work together, not for the same company or the same project or even the same project group or customer. We have similar professions such that our paths cross a few times a year but not frequently; consequently, he's rarely around on those days when I'm so eager to share news of events with the raccoons.
Oh, and in keeping with Debbie's group theory, many years ago when this particular guy was a coworker for a brief time, in the presence of the others he appeared quite 'gruff' perhaps even more so than the ones I work with now.
Lest it should seem odd that all of my past and current coworkers are men, I should reiterate, particularly for those who are relatively new to the threads, that I am an electrical engineer and software developer. While there must surely be women in my profession out there somewhere, they certainly are in short supply (as in nonexistent) around here. Thus it is that from college through the present I have been part of a group that is addressed as "you guys ...and Ms Scutler" (or something like that) and have no choice but to force my raccoon stories on a group of guys.
No sight of the raccoons tonight even though I purposely waited until around 8PM to go out there in hopes of seeing them. I sat for a little while, and while I was there Snowball waltzed right up beside me (about 5ft) to eat from a dish. He seemed as comfortable as a pet might be, and unlike in the past, was not threatened by eye contact or even by my stares as I watched him eat.
good to hear how comfortable Snowball has also become around you.
How sweet! I'm glad to hear he's still doing well. I haven't seen our pudgy possum lately. I hope he/she is eating some of the food I put out, and that I haven't frightened him/her away by trying to take pics. Most likely, he returned after I went back inside, don't you think?
LOL I don't think it is possible to keep a possum away from food once it knows it is there!
i was thinking the same thing.... most "wild" critters for that matter.
Coons will stand up and try to scare you away if they think it will work and will usually back away but I have seen possums attack when they thought their rights were being violated and those teeth are nothing to play around with! I have never seen a possum back down so don't get one in a corner or let it corner you.
Terese -- Yes, I enjoyed seeing Snowball walk up to the dish without hesitation - something he never used to do.
KyWoods -- I've noticed that Snowball seems to come and go. I don't see him around for a while and then he's back. I suspect that your opossum will be back. And...lol...I think Zanymuse has a point. You probably couldn't scare the opossum away even if you tried.
Zanymuse -- You've got a point there. Before I gave up and started feeding them I tried to chase the opossums and raccoons away so they would leave the feeders alone. That turned out to be a big, pointless, waste of time. I've never noticed any aggressive behavior from the opossums though - well, except the one time when Snowball bit that one kit. The opossums and raccoons always move away from my approach - except for the kids who aren't afraid of me; but I have always been careful to avoid putting any of them in a position where they feel trapped.
Tonight as I was scooping out cat food, I looked out to see Dennis and Blondie on the patio looking in at me. I opened the door a tiny bit to speak to them and Dennis came right up to the hole in the door to see me. They were so adorable out there. Widget wasn't very thrilled with them, however.
Dennis stood at the door waiting for me, but as I stepped out, Widget rushed out between my feet to give chase. I grabbed Widget and put him back inside then looked around calling Dennis. Widget hadn't gotten off the patio before I grabbed him so I really thought that Dennis was hiding somewhere nearby. I called him a few times and looked for him as I walked to the end of the patio and out into the yard. Just as I had given up on having him accompany me, figuring he must be waiting in the feeding area or at the fence, I caught a dark movement from the corner of my eye and looked around to see that Dennis was following along just behind and beside my right foot - where he had likely been the whole time I'd been calling him. lol.
We walked out to the feeding area where I filled the dishes. Blondie and Dennis tried with tremendous determination to eat from the same dish which normally would have been quite possible but tonight they engaged in that oh so familiar and hilarious shoving match the raccoons do from time to time, the one that always reminds me of two small kids determined to sit in the same chair, each trying to use his hips to push the other out. As they were having this shoving match, I was right beside them filling dishes. Finally, I was able to convince them that we had more than one dish, so the war wasn't necessary.
By the time I had filled the other dishes and sat down, Heidi had joined the kids. Cissy was no where to be seen, but I just figured she would show up in time. Then I noticed that Heidi was eating from one dish and Blondie from the other, while neither would make room for Dennis to join them. He stood in front of Heidi's dish but each time he tried to wedge a face in, she would position her head such as to prevent it. As he continued to try, Heidi growled and snapped at him, then grasped the dish and backed away with it.
Blondie didn't growl or attack but neither did she make room for him to eat with her. He didn't make much of an effort I guess because of the shoving match they had had earlier. I tried to call Dennis over to me where I had both cat food and some dog candies, but he seemed very engrossed in the problem with his family. He stood around looking for food on the ground around Heidi's dish with her staring at him and growling.
Finally, I put some food in a bowl, set it down in front of me, and called Dennis over. I offered him a dog candy which he took but didn't eat. He nosed around at the food in the dish I'd given him, nibbled a bit, but looked less than interested. Then he went back over to try to eat with Heidi. It seemed clear that he wanted to eat with the family and just as clear that Heidi wasn't about to share her food with him; so I tossed a few handfuls of food on the ground for him in the area between him mom and sister. As Dennis nibbled the food from the ground his body was oriented so that it was beside Heidi. Even though he was not trying to eat from her dish, he was still too close for Heidi. As Dennis ate, Heidi growled and growled and growled until finally she lunged at him teeth barred. Heidi knocked Dennis to the ground. When he got up he walked slowly over to drink from one of the copper basins.
I tried to call him back to eat from the dish in front of me, but Dennis walked over to sit by the composter for a few minutes. After sulking there for a few minutes, he walked away from us and into the garden. I couldn't imagine where he was headed although I had recently found toys over there to indicate that the kids did go there from time to time.
I knew that this 'disagreement' was not about food. It was about family. Heidi, it seemed, had decided it was time for her 07 children to find their own way in life. We were after all just a month or so away from the time when Heidi would look for a suitor and begin a new family. The 07 kids would need to be independent by then. Poor Dennis, on the other hand, was not so much hungry for kibble as determined not to loose his mother without a decent struggle.
I stayed until Heidi and Blondie left and HRH showed up. Dennis never returned while I was there. About that time it started to rain again, and I left.
Awww, poor Dennis. That tugs at the old heart strings....
Oh, nanny,
Don't I know it! It was so hard to watch, especially as he sat by the composter licking his wounded pride and then walked slowly away into the garden. I tried to call him back but he would not return. He seemed confused, unable to understand why his mom was acting this way and reluctant to leave the security of her side. Even though I knew his mother was right, that he was grown now and needed to go out and find his own way in life, still I could not help but feel sorry for him. I just wanted to scoop him up and hug him.
But such is the way of the wild, and I'm sure he will soon get over this and go on to have a wonderful life, hopefully with many girlfriends and kits of his own someday.
You're right, Cheryl, it is time for the kits to move on so Heidi can rest up for next spring's mating and pregnancy; but it's never pretty to watch. I wonder if Cissy has already gotten the message, and begun to move on? It sounds like Heidi is doing things as gently as possible, but she has to be very firm and consistent to get the point across. And for Dennis' sake, better the message comes from mom rather than from HRH next spring when the sap and hormone levels are high.
It is so cool that they are still showing up this late in the year; clearly they either have not moved elsewhere for the winter, or just can't pass up the chance to drop by their favorite diner.
The image of the kits waiting for you at the door is just priceless, but I'm sure Widget is not well pleased at all.
I know that is nature's way...heck even I got to the point of "I want to be done raising kids"!! lol
We had been raising grandchildren till this past May. The oldest is 9 and we had her since she was 9 months and the youncest is 8 and had her since she was 2. I was getting very tired!
I was so amazed being able to watch the birds this year and how they take care of their young and yet how short of a time it is from them hatching to being on their own.
This message was edited Dec 30, 2007 7:36 PM