Sleepless in Midland

Fox Friday 2-28-14 -- black cat photobomb

The nightly fox bait has consisted of a single raw frozen chicken drumstick. But there is the dilemma of how to lure the fox but not the cats, because so far the feral cats usually out fox the fox and get to the food first. The Fox Cam has been capturing lots and lots of cat photos and occasionally a fox photo. Fortunately for us, the fox comes back once or twice a week to check the area.

There were so many cat photos I may as well show some.  (Clidk on the thumbnail for the big picture.) This set looks like the cat was positioning for the camera.

The cat finds the drumstick in an awkward location in relation to the camera. So he moves it such that the camera gets a frontal. What a camera hog.

A couple of nights later the star attraction finally showed up.

He arrives on the scene, scans the area, then sniffs the ground. No food tonight. Damn cats. What we need is a "No cats allowed" sign.

Fox Friday came on Saturday this week -- where did the foxes go?

It was a week ago today in the early morning hours. That was the last fox photo captured on the critter cam. As you can see on the photo, he scampered through the scene and didn't stop. Black cat got the bait, and the fox went elsewhere. Hopefully, he's getting enough to eat.

Two feral cats have been eating all the food and photobombing my critter cam every night. Anyone who watched Mythbusters last week saw how a bunch of cats gave a border collie the hiss and high back when he tried to herd them proving that a small canine all alone isn't much of a threat to felines. And the feral cats here won't let the fox near the free lunch.

Anyway, Fox Friday at this blog may have to go on hiatus unless the environment changes in this urban wildlife arena. I suppose I could try to trap the cats and relocate them, but that runs the risk of changing the eco-balance. They may actually be serving some beneficial purpose -- keeping the rodent population in check, for example -- so who knows what might happen?

Welcome back Jaguarundi

The Jaguarundi is a wild, beautiful feline found in Mexico but not in the U.S. However, a dead one was found in Texas in 1986, and that was enough to get it classified as "endangered" here.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is similar enough to the animal's habitat that the The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has implemented a plan to lure them here (or bring them back). See Gulf Coast Jaguarundi Recovery Plan.

It really is a beautiful animal. The photo you see on the right was recovered from an item at Businessinsider.com titled The Endangered Jaguarundi Is Coming Back To Texas. They're supposed to be very reclusive, so heaven only know how anyone will know when they're here.  Look for road kill, I guess.

And how does one lure a Jaguarundi? The Plan calls for restoring sufficient habitat to support viable populations, and among other things, "reducing the effects of human population growth and development on potential gulf coast jaguarundi habitat." In other words, restricting what land owners can do with their properties.  And I shudder to think what they would do if the animals did turn up as road kill.

It's a beautiful animal, I would welcome one to my own little wildlife viewing station. But if it means humans are the ones who have to adapt then maybe it would be better if they stayed home.

A game of cat and mouse and fox -- Fox Friday 1/3/13

The new year brings us a few more fox photos from the undisclosed urban location. Unfortunately for the fox, a wily old cat keeps scavenging the food before he gets there. Then there's the mouse. A domestic cat is so well fed, it seems, that a mouse isn't worth hunting. Anyway, here are some urban wildlife photos from the past week.

See the mouse?   Here's a close up.

13 minutes too late. Missed him by that much.

I'm gonna get that mouse if it's the last thing I... hey, is that chicken?

Dang cat got it first.

There's a rodent in there somewhere. I'll show that cat how to catch a mouse.

Book ends.

Fox on the prowl.

It's late for this guy -- almost 7am. Camera is pointed East. Note the early morning light coming over the fence.

Editor's note: Um, you realize that today is Saturday, not Friday, don't you? Robo-ed. -- Already? This year is rushing by! Sleepless.

Fox Friday 12-27-13 -- They're baaaack!

They've been boycotting my back yard because of the dog. So the critter cam was moved to an undisclosed location with no dogs. But unfortunately, there's still competition -- a mean old cat.

Read my lips. "Hissssssss!"

A Texas stand off. Look at those eyes in the photo on the right.

It ain't easy being at the bottom of the carnivore food chain. The feline bully gobbled all the food that night, and the fox had to forage for leftovers.

A few nights later the cat arrived too early and left with an empty stomach. The fox got the food. Yes! Go foxes!

Fox Friday 11-29-13 (Black Friday)

Apologies to urban wildlife lovers, but Fox Friday may be coming to an end. They've stopped coming to visit. The chief reason is the new dog who not only eats the food left for the foxes but also scents up the place with the smell of domestic canine.

So these photos you see below are the only decent ones of a fox the camera caught all week.

Hey, the food is on the third rung up!

There's your problem.

I'm still experimenting with ways to lure the foxes, so there's a glimmer of hope.

Fox Friday 11-22-13

Not many fox photos this week. They haven't been coming around as frequently as they did recently.

There's one lonely hunter.

Here's the reason why the foxes have been avoiding the place. Although she is mostly an indoor dog, her scent is probably all over the place by now. And she steals the fox food every chance she gets. Maybe some sort of elevated feeding station for the foxes might work.

Backyard butterfly -- amazing camo color

This butterfly blends in perfectly with his surrounding. He seemed to go directly to the trees with leaves that he mimics.

Do you see him?

How about now?

Aha, there he is!

What to do if your dog gets skunked

Ever so often a whiff of skunk aroma will drift through town in the early morning still air. That stuff really carries.

So here's an interesting article. We've all heard that tomato juice is the antidote for a skunk-sprayed dog, but Sally B. Mitchell says the juice just covers up the smell. Her recipe calls for hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and soap. Check it out in this Youtube video.

Via Twentytwowords.com.

Fox Friday 11-15-13

 
Alert and cautious.

Not many fox visits this week. Most likely due to the competition for the food and the canine presence. The dog stays indoors mostly, but her scent could serve as a fox deterrent. And she eats the fox food when she gets there first.

 
Notice how dim the image is. There must have been some fog in the air.

Oh for heaven's sake, tell me you're not peeing on the food tray!

Where's Waldo?  (Hint, it's a squirrel.)

Fox Friday 11-8-13

Look carefully in the bushes on the right. Once you see the eye you can make out part of the face.

Eyes front. -- Eyes rear.

Old Crooked Tail.

"Where da food at?"

This gorgeous blond is named "Honey." Her octogenarian owner decided it was time to place her in another home, so here she. Uprooted from a comfortable house for no understandable reason and placed in an unknown setting -- it has to be hard on her.

Uh oh. Looks like honey got the fox bait. This is going to upset the back yard food chain.

But foxes are nothing if not resourceful. There was a raw egg in there, so the fox penetrated the shell and licked all the egg out.

i-20 Wildlife Preserve

Today the friends of the I-20 Wildlife Preserve at Midland, Texas, invited area residents to visit the premises, look for wildlife, and see work of some artists. And also sign a petition, but more on that later.

With all the people there the wildlife was in deep hiding, however regulars spoke of spotting possum, foxes, coyotes and a bobcat. And it's a favorite spot for bird watchers, too. The reason wildlife is attracted is because it is a low area that holds water long after a rain. Rains have been quite rare around these parts for the past few years.

Here are a couple of photos of the same spot taken from opposite sides of the playa. The dark photo was taken with a polarized filter, but in both you can see the green island out there in the middle of a sea of tall, dead grass.

Let's get political for a sec. Twice while there I was asked to sign a petition pertaining to the owner of a neighboring property. It seems that the neighbor has some junk and equipment on his property that appeared to be about 50 yards away from the nature trail but could be seen from a short section of the trail if the observer looked in that direction. See photo below.

The signature collectors planned to take the petition to the City Counsel and demand that the government require the neighbor to remove it. I declined to sign it and explained that it would be different if they were collecting money to purchase the property or pay to have it cleaned up. But I did not want to use government to force someone to do something. After all, he was there first.

One of the young ladies shook my hand and thanked me for my honesty. The other glared at me with a go-to-hell look that served as a reminder that government is people working together when they want to bully someone, and dammit, why didn't I take a photo of that look?!

Fox Friday 11-1-13

It was an atypical week with the high daytime winds. On Halloween day the wind shifted the camera so that it faced the wall, and with the camera sensitive to heat and motion, the day gave us over a thousand photos of the blowing bushes and the cinder block wall. Burned up a lot of battery juice, too. Anyway, here are a few photos from the week.

On 10/26 two foxes came to dinner. That's Old Crooked Tail in the background, and the youngster is in the foreground. Note their tails. The old guy's tail points down, and the youngster's tail points up. Not sure if there's any significance there, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Get a load of this stalking feline. He's after something, that's for sure. Probably a bird. I've never actually seen this cat live, only in the photos.

Here's the rear end of different feline.

There's Old Crooked Tail again.

Why aren't you in some fox's belly?!

Here's a fox tidying up after some Halloween trick or treating.

Fox Friday 10-25-13

Here are some pics of the urban foxes for the week.

They look very much alike, but I believe this is the youngster. Look at that tail. Straight as an arrow.

You should be fox food.

I put up some markers to get a sense of size. The lowest black lines on the poles are 12 inches from the ground. Then next ones up are 24 inches.

There's Old Crooked Tail. Looks like his back is about an inch above the lowest mark making him about 13 inches tall.

Can't tell which one this is, but he/she is alert and looking toward the pathway they use to enter the area.

Whoa! What was that!

The gang's all here. I believe that's Old Crooked Tail on the right, the Missus in the background, and Junior on the left.

Fox Friday 10/18/13

We missed Fox Friday last week, so let's get started.

First up, obligatory cat blogging. The one on the left gets points for the Halloween pose. And here he is in the daylight.

Here's "Old Crooked Tail" on the left. I believe he's the old male. They showed up as a pair the next morning.

Peek-a-boo. Why aren't you fox food?

It was a very foggy morning on the left, but the eyes caught the light. I believe the photo on the right is of the youngster due to the blur. He/she won't sit still for the camera. Notice the tail -- almost straight but with a hint of the old man's bump.

Fox Friday

Forget cat blogging. Let's see some foxes. Here's a sampling of some nocturnal visitors who got captured on the critter cam this week.

Momma is looking out while the young'un eats.

Notice that one eyeball peaking under that tail.

OK, one cat, but only because he is giving us a Halloween pose.

The neighborhood foxes -- baby makes three

Regular visitors to Sleepless in Midland may have seen some photos of the wild foxes that prowl around the neighborhood while the city sleeps. (Links added below.)

Two is the most that have been captured on camera at this location up til today. But early this AM there were three. Presumably they are a mom, pop, and their young'un.

The one in the background is the youngster.

As you can see, junior can't keep still, and a moving target isn't very photogenic. Must drive the parents crazy, but you can bet they are glad the little one is old enough to go out and forage with the adults.

Previously:
Nocturnal neighborhood scavengers
More pics from the critter cam
Fox scat and
Foxes visit the urban back yard.

Bear videos - diving dumpsters, driving SUVs

Here's a cute video. Wild animals are notorious for raiding garbage dumpsters. And that's the case in this bear video. Looks like it was from a surveillance camera. Anyway, the bear was unsatisfied with the location of the dumpsters, so he/she simply rolled them away. Hey, why else would they have wheels? Link.

But that's nothing. In this next one a bear raids a campsite while the campers cower in a tree. The bear lumbers over to the tree, gets on his hind legs and looks up at the campers. Then the bear wanders over to the SUV and crawls into the open hatchback. At that point there's a lot of movement of the camera then a mysterious blur. When it focuses again we see the campers' things fly out the back of the SUV, the hatchback closes, the engine starts, and the vehicle drives away. Link.

Yeah, it's probably legit.

Fox scat

The other day I posted some photos of one of the foxes that was prowling around out back. See Foxes visit the urban back yard. While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, one of those visitor left something special for urban animal trackers -- fox scat. Maybe someone visiting this blog might be able to use the following photos to help identify a deposit found in a yard somewhere.

As you can see, he/she is getting lots of roughage. While these wild animals live in an urban environment, the consistency is very much different from that of a dog on a commercial pet food diet.

Newsflash! It's NO ONE'S "cup of tea!" It's CRAP, for crying out loud! -- Robo-ed.

Well, sometimes you just have to stop and smell the daisies. -- Sleepless.

Foxes visit the urban back yard

Last winter a fox scavenged my back yard for food, and he/she got caught on camera. See pics at Nocturnal neighborhood scavengers.

Occasionally during the dark morning hours in the spring I caught a glimpse of a furtive fox hiding in the bushes in the area. One morning it scampered across a street carrying something in its mouth. Could it have been a momma taking food to some little ones?

Well, this morning around 7:30 there were two in my back yard. If I had known they were coming I would have put out some food and drink.

They looked like adults, but they weren't nearly as skittish as the winter fox. I suppose they could have been brazen youngsters out on their own. In any event, it's nice to see the urban wildlife thriving in spite of the drought.

They are pretty good climbers. The first one I saw this morning was in a tree, so fences won't separate them from something they want. One has to wonder if they might mate with domestic fertile canines. If so, that might make for some unusual pups.

Bonus! Click fox scat to see pics of something one of them left behind.

West Texas Wildlife

Last Saturday (11-10-12) the Sibley Nature Center had a display of some animals and reptiles, maintained by Peeps and Creeps, that found a home in West Texas home.

The touchy feely critter you see here is a Tiger Salamander which is allegedly found in West Texas. Problem is, the little guy needs lots of moisture. Good luck with that.

You won't find much cat blogging here, but I'll make an exception with this one. It looks as if she is trying to say, "I would smile, but the taxidermist stuck me with this snarl."

Don't see many bears in the desert. This one is a stock market bear.

More pics from the critter cam

These photos were taken by the critter cam Sunday mid afternoon and after sunset.

There were a bunch of sparrows around, but they weren't nearly as photogenic as the bluejay.

That squirrel should be fox food.  A wild canine should at least help keep the rodent population down.

Speaking of fox food, I had not yet put food out when the fox showed up shortly after nightfall. He spent quite some time scrounging around, and he didn't come back after I put out the bait. A neighborhood cat got it. Maybe Fox Trot will have better luck tonight.

Nocturnal neighborhood scavengers

There are wild animals living amongst us, especially foxes. But they are so wily it's difficult to get a photo of one.

So I set out a wildlife camera in the back yard to try to capture one with scraps from a store bought roasted chicken for bait.

The overfed cat that showed up at 1:43am is a neighborhood regular, but he wasn't interested in the chicken.

Here's the sleepless proprietor at 4:54am disappointed that the bait was still there.

Then about 20 minutes later, payday!

Foxy took the bait!

That was Friday morning, 10/5/12, although the date stamp on the pic was a day off due to user error. The cat showed up again early this morning, but the fox didn't. Maybe he'll come back tonight.

And who knows what other wildlife lurks in our midst? Maybe even a bear might swing by for a bite.

Updated 40 minutes later: Tricked! The fox eat the bait while I was writing this blog post. And the camera was turned off! Dammit. Now I know how Wile E. Coyote must have felt.

How not to attempt suicide

Jump into a tiger cage.

A feel-good animal rescue story -- Leopard stuck in reservoir

It happened in India. A spotted leopard fell into a stagnant water reservoir and couldn't climb the vertical walls to get out. After an unsuccessful attempt with a net, rescuers put a ladder in the water. The leopard scampered up the ladder and disappeared into the wild.

Read the story and see some still shots at Dailymail.co.uk, and watch the video at Youtube.  (Notice how quickly the guy who put the ladder in place scampered out of the way.)

Via Arbroath.blogspot.com.

Save the polar bears from overpopulation

Now this is a switch. Al Gore, et al, told us the polar bears were in danger because all that man made heat was burning up their habitat. However, Healthy polar bear count confounds doomsayers:

But many Inuit communities said the researchers were wrong. They said the bear population was increasing and they cited reports from hunters who kept seeing more bears. Mr. Gissing said that encouraged the government to conduct the recent study, which involved 8,000 kilometres of aerial surveying last August along the coast and offshore islands.

Mr. Gissing said he hopes the results lead to more research and a better understanding of polar bears. He said the media in southern Canada has led people to believe polar bears are endangered. “They are not.” He added that there are about 15,000 polar bears across Canada’s Arctic. “That’s likely the highest [population level] there has ever been.”

Al Gore wrong? Say it ain’t so.

We needn't worry about over population, though:

There’s much at stake in the debate. Population figures are used to calculate quotas for hunting, a lucrative industry for many northern communities. Hunting polar bears is highly regulated but Inuit communities can sell their quota to sport hunters, who must hunt with Inuit guides. A polar-bear hunting trip can cost up to $50,000. Demand for polar-bear fur is also soaring in places like China and Russia and prices for some pelts have doubled in the past couple of years, reaching as high as $15,000.

They can't repeal the law of supply and demand.

A bird in the hand is worth shooting -- government wants to save one brand of owl by killing another

[Notice to readers: Some of the posts at this blog are satirical. And this one sounds so much like a joke that it could easily be mistaken for one. It's not, it's real. Follow the links to see for yourself.]

When the government takes aim at something, duck. In this case, it's the spotted owl which has been a protected bird for quite some time. And efforts to save it have been attributed to the demise of the timber industry in certain parts of the country. But it hasn't worked. The spotted owl keeps heading down that path mother nature designed to insure survival of the fittest.

Now that the timber industry has been eliminated as a danger to the spotted owl, the next target is a natural competitor, the barred owl. The barred owl got his name from the lines on his chest - see photo on the right. But he competes with the spotted owl for food, and the spotted owl is losing.

What's the solution? Kill off the barred owls. Yeah, I know it sounds like a joke. But click the link and see for yourself: BLM news release of 2/28/2012:

Barred Owl Control

A draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) also announced today outlines options for experimental removal of barred owls from certain areas throughout the spotted owl’s range to test the effect of such removal on spotted owl population trends. The Service is considering combinations of both lethal and non-lethal (capturing and relocating or placing in permanent captivity) methods for removing barred owls.

“We can’t ignore the mounting evidence that competition from barred owls is a major factor in the spotted owl’s decline, and we have a clear obligation to do all we can to prevent the spotted owl’s extinction and help it rebound,” said Ashe.

If the barred owl removal experiment proceeds and the effects of removal are positive, the Service may consider the feasibility and efficacy of barred owl removal on a broader scale. This action would involve a separate National Environmental Policy Act process. For more information about the barred owl draft EIS, click here.

From Fish and Wildlife:

Removal methods: In the Draft EIS, we will evaluate lethal removal (killing), non‐lethal removal (capture and placement in captivity or release in historic range), and a combination of these methods. Our goal is to accomplish removal, lethal or non‐lethal, in the most humane way possible for the barred owls.

They explain "lethal" with the parenthetical definer so the reader will know it means "termination with prejudice, extreme prejudice."

But it's not yet a done deal. They will be taking public comments before they start annihilating the little hooters. Defenders of the barred owl have taken notice. And a petition drive is under way at SaveTheBarredOwl.com. Actually, they are not so much defenders of the barred owl as they are critics of government overreach. But with a slogan like"Give a hoot, don't shoot," you know they are on the side of the angels.

Related links: Obama's spotted owl plan targets rival bird via Greenie Watch.

Great Lakes area - a good place to be an animal

So I'm cruising this great country of ours by way of the internet superhighway and run across a couple of animal stories from the Great Lakes region. In both instances humans and animals collided, with unhappy endings for the animals.

First up, Wisconsin. There is a proper way to kill a deer and an improper way. Run over one with a snowmobile and you risk being charged with felony animal mistreatment. See Wisconsin man gets 11 years for killing deer with snowmobile.

Secondly, Minnesota, where it's illegal to shoot a cougar that does not pose any immediate threat. See Cougar shot on southwestern Minnesota farm; legal action possible.

I once heard of a job interview in which the job applicant was asked that if he/she could be any animal, what would it be. Were they looking for carnivores? Naming one that is a protected species might not be the best answer, except maybe for a civil service job.

Adopt a croc

It's hard enough to place an unwanted pet. But this?

Getting it home won't be easy either -- it's in Sweden. See Swedish zoo bankruptcy leaves crocs 'homeless'.

Don't go swimming with the fishes after a hurricane

Check it out. This photo was supposed to have been taken in Puerto Rico after hurricane Irene swept through.

Hopefully, it ate before it came to town. But the typical shark may consume 2% if its body weight per day, so it's hunting.

Via Ego TV via Bits & Pieces.