wildlife

Another Surprise

Posted by Ellie
A small, brown and cream mouse is sitting in some brown undergrowth next to a small dark hole beside it. One eye is facing us warily. Around is green grasses and dried reeds and grasses.
Little Brown Mouse in the Undergrowth

Generally I quite like surprises. Having a mouse scurry under my feet in the house, first thing in the morning would not be ranked one of my favourites. We have, as you probably know, three cats. So, with a house full of cats, how did it happen that I came downstairs this morning to be faced with a (live) mouse in the house? The cats knew it was there. The poor little thing was terrified, running around and hiding frantically. So what did the cats do? They squabbled with each other over whose mouse it was. They chased it a bit, of course, then they sat and looked at it. Face to face, at one point. So it was up to me to catch it (by putting an upturned plastic pot over it) and take it outside to get on with its life. It was a cute little thing, catching its breath in the grass. This photo was actually taken years ago, as this morning was not the time for a photo session.

May all your unusual surprises end as well as this one did.

My gallery of photographs featuring animals including this little guy is here: https://www.elliekennard.ca/ekgallery/animals/

Snapping Turtle Crossing

Posted by Ellie
A very large rough looking turtle with large folds hanging around its legs under its shell. It has a dusty looking black shell with some rusty marks around the edges. The gody is very scaly like some prehistoric monster and its claws are long and very nasty looking. It has a fairly long pointed tail. It is on the verge of a road, about to cross the rough tarmac and behind it is a patch of fresh young grass and water.
Snapping turtle, Nova Scotia

Happy World Turtle Day to all who celebrate! As today is World Turtle Day (who knew?) I thought I would share this photo of a snapping turtle by way of celebration. This was a huge monster, crossing the road in front of the car, so Steven and another driver guided it (carefully) across the road to safety and the water on the other side. It looks like some prehistoric creature and it really felt like a priviledge to see it in the wild. You can see it on my animals photo gallery by clicking on the photo or this link: https://www.elliekennard.ca/ekgallery/animals/

Under the Feeder

Posted by Ellie
A red squirrel is sitting sideways on, with sunflower seed hulls scattered about on the ground. She is facing the camera with her front paws holding a seed to her mouth . There is fresh green grass behind her and a few dried old brown autumn leaves.
Under the feeder

We don’t hang bird feeders any longer due to the risk of spreading disease, but in the days when I did, we were visited by opportunistic red squirrels. They joined the mourning doves on the ground, scavanging for dropped seeds, but had the advantage of being able to climb the pole to get direct access. This was taken in April one year. It’s another few months until we see the Spring, but it will come. Have a lovely day, friends! She features on my Wildlife Gallery.

Snowed In

Posted by Ellie
A bird with very fluffed up feathers is sitting on a snow covered branch looking directly at the camera. It has yellow eyes.
Snowed In

Winter’s coming and it’s getting colder for us and for all the wildlife around, including birds like this one. Here’s a challenge for all birders: what do we think this is? At first I thought ‘owl’ but on looking at it more closely I don’t think it is. I asked a local birder by email, with no response, but there were a few suggestions as to possibilities. This was taken through my living room window a few winters ago. The answer as to the identity is given below the next section if you want to see if you guessed correctly.

You can visit my animal photos, including birds, at my Animals gallery here.

It is a Red Tailed Hawk, fluffed up from the cold. It was difficult to be sure, as mostly these birds migrate south for the winter. In Nova Scotia, however, they stay year round. If you guessed that, then well done!!