Raccoon in the Yard

 Raccoon in Mere Point Yard 6-3015

June 30, 2015, Mere Point Cottage: Living in Maine you never know what will show up in your yard. While the squirrels and chipmunks are pretty much expected during the summer, the rest of the wildlife can be unpredictable. I had both red and gray foxes come through the yard while I lived at Mere Point, and porcupines were sighted more than once, I never had a deer in the yard and until this summer, I never saw a raccoon. This summer one found my bird feeders before I moved away, but it never climbed the feeders. It just came and nibbled on spilled seed! It was fun to see the ‘coon, but I am sure glad it did not become a nuisance! No ‘coons here at the new house so far, and I only just saw my first chipmunk this week! With dogs and cats running free down here, I think the wildlife is very wary and very scarce.

These are all the same raccoon taken the same night. This was at 6:30 PM and the color difference is due to different setting on my camera.

• Spring Critters in the Yard

My New Yard

 The Harpswell Yard

We moved into the new house on August 14th in the evening. Three days later I took a trip to Connecticut and was gone for nine days. So, I have done most of my birding in this yard since my return on August 28th. It has taken us awhile to get me connected to the internet and it has become apparent that it is time for a new computer. I have been procrastinating about this forever, but the time has come to deal with it. Still, with the help of my husband, my daughter-in-law and the cable company, we were able to jury rig a work around until I can purchase one. This is a test post.

I’m ready to bird while I eat my breakfast!

 

A serene backyard scene.

 

The birds love this birch tree!

This is where I have seen several of the migrating warblers, the vireos and the
Blue-gray gnatcatcher! I have many more woodpeckers here, but so far have not seen a single house finch or purple finch. There are several neighborhood cats that hang around the yard, so I do not get many ground feeding birds and the ones I do have are very wary. There are a few song sparrows, but so far, no chipping sparrows or any other kinds of sparrows have been spotted. I am wondering if I will get White-throated sparrows or juncos as the season changes.

 

My cats are enjoying the deck. Other than this, they stay indoors!

 

This is my new feeder set-up. I am finding that I do not need as many bird feeders here, and the birds do not like the same kid of seed that the birds at Mere Point did. Plus, with all this damp and moisture, the seed molds very rapidly. Mold is deadly to birds and I have already had to clean the feeders several times. The hummingbird feeder gets moldy rapidly as well and I had to clean it with bleach after my return from Connecticut. I wash it thoroughly every time I refill it now, being sure to clean the feeding ports as they can get a black mold in there. soon the hummingbirds will be gone for the winter, but I am still seeing a few lingering females around.

My indoor bird watching spot.

Soon I will spend more time here than outside on the deck, but for now I am taking advantage of the good weather. Here is a list of all the birds I have seen in this yard so far, with the newest being a Northern Harrier I saw just this morning!

Harpswell Yard Life List (edited 9-9-15)

1.	Herring Gull	7-7-15
2.	Common Tern
3.	Northern Flicker
4.	Red-eyed Vireo
5.	American Crow
6.	Gray Catbird
7.	Ovenbird
8.	Common Yellowthroat
9.	Song Sparrow
10.	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	8-14-15
11.	American Goldfinch
12.	Double-crested Cormorant	8-15-15
13.	Red-shouldered Hawk
14.	Downy Woodpecker
15.	Blue-headed Vireo
16.	Blue Jay
17.	Common Raven
18.	Black-capped Chickadee
19.	White-breasted Nuthatch
20.	Tufted Titmouse	8-16-15
21.	Canada Goose	8-17-15
22.	Red-bellied Woodpecker
23.	American Robin
24.	Cedar Waxwing
25.	Black-and-white Warbler
26.	Osprey
27.	Wilson’s Warbler*	8-18-15
28.	Mourning Dove	8-19-15
29.	Belted King Fisher (heard)
30.	Eastern Wood Pewee
31.	Pileated Woodpecker	8-28-15
32.	Red-breasted Nuthatch
33.	American Redstart	8-30-15
34.	Black-throated Green Warbler
35.	Great Blue Heron	9-1-15
36.	Magnolia Warbler
37.	Hairy Woodpecker
38.	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*
39.	Chestnut-sided Warbler
40.	Cooper’s Hawk	9-2-15
41.	Carolina Wren
42.	Brown Creeper	9-3-15
43.	Northern Parula
44.	Northern Cardinal	9-4-15
45.	Philadelphia Vireo*
46.	Northern Harrier	9-7-15

*First of The Year Birds for me as well!

My blogging room.

 

Note: I have been taking photos of birds in the yard and will post them as soon as I can get them off-loaded and processed! There has been a lot going on and more to look forward to as well!

P.S. this post was edited on 9-9-15 to include an earlier checklist I found from July when we first looked at this house. That brings the yard list up to a total of 46 species of birds!