Animal Encounters

[oldie moldy]

Brad, I hear you where I think you're coming from. I've pretty much given up listening to the news; it gets me so down and there's nothing I can do about it.
Some time ago I was exposed to some ideas about the ice ages we've had and the changes they made in their wake. Then more recently I found a DVD, from National Geographic, "Aftermath, population zero" or something like that. The central theme was Poof!, people are gone and what happens from that point on. Initially, there's some bad problems with nuclear reactor wastes blowing up and all, but within not too long, the earth starts healing itself. I really find it comforting to watch how nature is able to right itself once we're gone. I rather expect the film is basically correct; seem to remember that in the DMZ between North and South Korea (it's a sort of no man's land) all the wildlife are just thriving.

I remember that scientist in Jurassic Park; "Life will find a way". What comes next may not be quite what we have now, but something will come along and I suspect it will be beautiful too.

What a curious paradox: we know what we're doing wrong, we have the tools to do it right and still, we will never take the steps required.
Out in my little shop, I've had projects that started out with a lot of promise. Tried and tried to get it to work right, no go. Wound up in a cardboard box to use for parts on something else. I wonder if God at some point will start looking for a cardboard box for us.

Poor little Rowan; shortly after mid-night she fell off the bed and landed on one of the big dogs and got bit for her troubles. I woke up with puppy shrieks rending the air. Got up and comforted her, restored order amongst the rest of the dogs, gentled a cranky wife and got her back to bed. (why is it that what ever happens; it's my fault?) and when all the dust settled I couldn't go back to sleep.
That's the reason behind all this blab.

Best Wishes,

Rob

 

[yellowcanoe]

 

[Guest]

Hummingbird feeder trick

Hummingbird feeder trick

Living in LA, we get a huge influx of hummers twice a year on migration... one of the tragedies of hurricanes Rita and Katrina was that they occurred right in the middle of that migration (mostly Rita). Anyway, we feed them during their migration... about a quart a day out of 2 feeders, sometimes more. During the year, we keep a smaller feeder out, and one or two birds use it. They fight like crazy over it though. However, during the migration, when you have dozens of birds trying to feed, they become a bit more cooperative. I have been able to sit in a lawn chair, holding feeders in each hand, and have them sit on my fingers while they feed. Really cool. They are very intelligent little birds too. They will come to the front window and chirp at us when the back feeder is empty.

Up in the sky-island of the Sonoran desert the abundance of hummingbirds can be astounding. IIRC there are at least 5 specie, (Anna’s, Costa’s, Black Chinned, Broad Billed, Rufous) as well as some rarities that slip over from Mexico.

The hummers are everywhere, to the point that there is a pervasive hummmmm in the air.

Here’s a feeder trick: find the smallest/lightest hummingbird feeder you can - Wal-mart sells tiny single “flower” plastic ones that hold just a few ounces. Suspend said feeder from the front of a hardhat or pith helmet or whatever. Sit very still.

Watching a hummingbird hover inches from your nose is perhaps the most fun you can have feeding wild birds.

 

[Seeker]

Never thought of that!

When I lived out in Sierra Vista, my wife and I would visit a place called Ramsey Canyon, which was home to several hummingbird species.

 

[Guest]

Bird seed in 30L barrels

Bird seed in 30L barrels

I’m wander far off topic here, but if someone could find the source this could be great for trippers.

A few years ago I had a UPS delivery and noticed a 30L blue barrel in the back of the truck. I asked the driver if I could take a look and it turned out to be a 30L barrel filled with bird seed. I wrote down the name of the company but stupidly never pursued it further, and even more stupidly lost the scrap of paper.

We keep hummingbird feeders going all summer, and go through a LOT of bird seed and suet through the rest of the year. A 30L barrel of seed wouldn’t last a year.

But danged if I can find the supplier. I have Googled every variation of “bird seed 30L barrel” I can think of to no avail.

If anyone ever comes across bird seed shipped in 30L barrels please post a link. I’d buy my seed that way, even if it was a bit more expensive.

 

[Guest]

Manatee are not the cute and cuddly animals they would like you to think. They are the only wild animal that has actually attacked my canoe. If you are in there way or or they are wanting to play they will tip you over.

About paddling with manatees – this may be my imagination, or a limited sample size, but on two different occasions I swear the manatee were friskier with white hulled boats.

Noticing that I couldn’t help but anthropomorphically imagine that the manatee were looking up at the hull thinking “Oh baby, you sexy thang”.

I’ve had them rise under my canoe and push the hull aside, but I’ve never been twerked by a sea cow.

Something else for the bucket list.

 

[Guest]

Speaking of Humming birds; I was once setting up camp on the Osswagochie in the ADKs,pounding in tarp stakes,when suddenly I began to hear a loud humming noise. All I could think of was A GROUND BEE NEST!! yikes! Afrer staying motionless for a while and not being stung, I realized that the sound came fron a flock of hummingbirds visiting red flowers at the waters edge. I always associated Humming birds with civilization,not wilderness. I also didn't know they flocked.
Turtle

 

[Guest]

I’m sorry for my potty mouth earlier, ladies and gentlemen.
It was totally uncalled for.
I wonder what that moose is thinking, inspecting that chair? We’ve paddled by them, at a respectful distance. The only encounter closer than that was when we awoke in the middle of the night to a whole lot of crashing. Something very large rushed right through our tent site, without so much as a “pardon me”. Barely awake, I stumbled out of the tent thinking our kids were getting out of control. The stunned look on our eldest son’s face as he stood in front of his little tent was pretty comical. The big visitor splashed into the lake below our site, and swam across the narrows. We could hear it dashing through the undergrowth on the other side. Only having heard it, and not seen it, I can only guess it was a moose. Or maybe a Greyhound bus.
Frisky manatees! LOL

 

[memaquay]

Brad, I believe that is a caribou, and knowing Kim, probably from the Slate Islands, where they are reported to be extremely tame. I gotta get out there soon!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Yep its a woodland caribou. They aren't very big out there and because wildfires are not allowed to burn on the Slate Islands, they like to snack on campfire ashes. Their cousins, barren ground caribou are more spectacular.. as are Woodland Caribou Provincial Park caribou and those in Wabakimi. I worry this herd because its isloated is doomed due to inbreeding though it has been there for decades.

 

[Guest]

It's fun to read these stories and to tell my own.

The accounts are ranging wide. I'll go a little wider.

Almost all of my wild animal encounters have been good fun. Only once did I come close to stepping on a timber rattler during a Greenbrier River float with friends.

When I reached my early 20s I got drafted and sent to Vietnam. To the coast, on the South China Sea.

Most of the time the place was quiet and safe. It was also way, way out past rural. It was in fact almost all mountains that often plunged right down into the sea. Miles of sandy beach punctuated. The slopes were covered with dense coastal scrub forest.

It was beautiful and it was something of a biological science frontier: Decades of conflict had kept biologists out.

In time I started jumping the fence to take a look around.

A home boy of mine was a Seal based 5 miles down the coast. I decided one day to visit. The trick was to impress him and that crowd by coming in on the scenic route along the water. That would be all small rocky coves, rocky points, sandy points and 100' cliffs with scrub forest on top.

On the way to the water I found a dead wild pig, hundreds of pounds. The tip was to keep out of the scrub and avoid meeting a pig on the tunnel like trails. I got the message.

I swam, I walked, I scrambled and I climbed.

Late in the afternoon but with only little more than a mile to go I came to a big cove dotted with table sized rocks standing a foot above the surface.

I waded waist deep to one of these 25 yds off the beach.

The prospect was not good. There was no beach ahead, the cove was very wide and unfriendly looking and the short tropical day was ending.

I forgot about all that. From behind a nearby rock appeared a huge dorsal fin. It had a wake and it cut behind my rock. It circled, cut me off again. And again.

When you get in a real pinch you will do the responsible thing. I did a good approximation of running on water.

From the top of the cliff I counted more or less a dozen sharks in the 5 acre cove. They were big heavy bodied brutes that looked 20' long.

The real average probably was closer to 10.

 

[Guest]

My own naïve-pained experience of wild sacrilege was when my wife and I happened upon a pickup truck of bounty wolves in Quebec. They’d been shot so near to our own rental farm; it felt like they’d been gunned down in our kitchen. I had to temper my reaction as I petted the stiff elegant corpses laid out in the back of the truck bed. The local farmers regarded them as vermin, while I kept my mouth shut. Looking down on those beautiful bodies was the most painful thing I’ve ever done. It was all I could do, to summon my strength to say, “Bien, c’est un bon job.” (Good job)

Not as heartbreaking as a truck bed of dead wolves, but 30 years ago I was coming out a long dirt road that lead back to the Green near Dinosaur Nat’l Monument. I had been collecting feathers from roadkill on that trip to make a feather bouquet display.

Along the way in and out there were roadkill birds seemingly every 100 yards and I was taking primaries for the display. There was also a LOT more traffic on the road than is typical for that time and place.

When we got back out near pavement there was a roadblock. A DNR roadblock. It was opening day of quail season. The DNR guys were checking bag limits, and seemed to know each and every hunter (“Hey Bill Joe, looks like you done well today”).

When they stopped us to ask we replied that we’d been hiking, not hunting, and I was ready to drive away when I had a brilliant idea. I pulled the zip-lock of feathers from under the seat and naively asked “Say, do you have any idea what bird these are from”

The DNR officer replied “Them’s Poorwill feathers”. Ya cain’t have um. Cain’t have no part of no migratory bird. But thanks fer bring ‘em down”.

Sonofa….

At least he didn’t fine me a gazillion dollars per feather. I know better now.

 

[red langford]

Well, staying at hotel in Kenora here and middle of the day a deer followed me right in the front lobby of the hotel. Well he didn't come inside but right up to the door.

Didn't have much luck hunting the deer this year but there is one that I bet I could have given a drive in the passenger seat directly to the abattoir. Wish I had a camera. I've never seen chipmunks that (human) friendly.

 

[Guest]

Red, it sounds like that deer is following a Grey Cup tradition.
Jeeze Acer, swimming with sharks has got to be one of my worst nightmares. They’re on my bucket list of animal encounters I most NOT want to have. I came close though, but not as close as you! I was deep sea fishing with some buddies, and while waiting for my turn in the chair of shame (it’s a shame they’re not biting, shame you lost that one, shame you don’t know what you’re doing), I was standing mesmerized by the deep greeny blueness of the ocean. It was dead calm and inviting. I thought, “Well, we’re in the Gulf Stream, so I bet the water’s nice; what can happen? Lots of people swim in the ocean, right?” Just as I convinced myself I was a genius for thinking of this brilliant aquatic adventure, my buddies called “HEY! Come check this out!” It was a Hammerhead, swimming lazily about 30 yds off our stern, minding his own business. I’m sure it still would’ve been okay to jump in for a dip, but I’d lost my nerve. I grabbed a beer from the cooler, a chicken leg from the bucket, and sat back to wait my turn in the chair of shame.

 

[red langford]

Geez, I won't swim in the lakes up this way for fear of 50" aggressive pike, couldn't imagine swimming in any body of water where sharks live. Mind you I don't think sharks are as aggressive as pike.

And the deer around here in Kenora are crazy. They are strolling around, in town, middle of the day, amongst traffic and cars and people. You could hunt them with a ball peen hammer if you so desired. And that is not an exaggeration at all.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I accidentally whacked a shark with my canoe paddle. It was one of those nurse sharks that are dumber and slower than a stump and seemed unconcerned. However I was a bit surprised. This in the Everglades.

When my husband and I were portaging in Algonquin, I was ahead of him. He had the canoe. Mama B came up out of the creek and under the front of the canoe..turned looked at him and bolted toward where I was..she then veered into the woods.

Cub came out of the creek under the front of the canoe (now stopped) turned , looked and stood there, curious. Husband banged on canoe and cub took off.

I ahead saw none of this.

I have had a couple of other bear sightings in Algonquin. It was really neat to be solo and watch Mom lead three cubs to the end of a log over the water and jump in. Each cub followed in turn. All swam back to the same shore and repeated the process. I guess bears do play. Then after the second jump along came the Girl Scouts in aluminum canoes. Bang bang ..bears were outta there.

Tomorrow is the story of waking and peeking out of the tent and seeing eight legs.

 

[Sturgeon]

My animal encounter

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[Guest]

Hey Red, it sounds like the deer are in town to do some shopping. Now that all the black bears are heading into hibernation, maybe the deer can find some parking downtown.
One morning in Kenora, my wife and I were sitting in a little coffee shop having our eggs and bacon, when a couple guys from the MNR dropped in. We finished and headed for the parking lot. An MNR pickup truck complete with beartrap trailer was parked there. Wondering if the trap was empty, I tried to peer in from a safe and cowardly distance. It was dark in there, so I’ll never know if anything was peering back at me.
I like Kenora, and can’t wait to venture back someday.

 

[Guest]

I was once leading a Church Canoe camp when one of the campers came down and said, "Hey there is a pretty big snake right in the middle of camp." When I went up I discovered it was a 4 and 1/2 foot Timber Rattler that was about about as round as a swimming pool foamy at its widest point.

 

[Guest]

Bringing It To The Sharks

Bringing It To The Sharks

I worked on the docks, 12 hours on, 12 hours off, days, nights. Container ships, reefer ships, cargo ships, fuel ships. Ships, ships, ships.

There wasn't much to do during the off hours. Some guys tended to get into things. Some stayed in warren-like hootches, playing music constantly. Some kept to the enlisted club. Some did I don't know what: you never saw them. One fellow challenged everybody in the company to a chess match or a boxing match, your choice. "Ah, Fernando, I ah, I never liked chess, hardly know the game. And I pulled my shoulder climbing up to the fuelie at #6. Hey, man."

We did have a beautiful beach. It ran 150 yds and ended at a sign that said "OFF LIMITS" in bold. Beyond it the sand, like the ocean, stretched away and disappeared behind the curvature of the earth.

Football and cards, cards and football. If you saw the movie SOUTH PACIFIC you have a good idea of what the life was like. Oogling the spectacular Filipino girls was popular on their rare beach days. They were singers and dancers with touring bands, and they were jealously chaperoned.

Somehow I met one of those "I can get anything for the right money" GIs. Two weeks later I had laid out on the beach a pair of fins, a snorkle, mask, weight belt, knife, vest, a good US Divers 2-hose 2-stage regulator, a frame, harness and a scary looking tank. The guys at the Seal base refused to test the tank and destroyed it.

But I still had a pile of unexpected and useful gear. A bonus had been a shorty, 2 strand spear gun. Stout but hard to shoot accurately. Fish fries and beer.

The well fed looking parrot fish, however, didn't care about any of that and remained almost politely unperturbed and just out of range.

I collected shells.

To my surprise, while treading over 30' of water in a tiny cove one afternoon, a shark glided directly below me at 20' down. So slim did it look from above that I guessed it to be a Blue come inshore. Probably it would have measured 7'-10', which is about what they go.

Around it came again, and under it went. And again.

OK. I get it. Down toward the bottom sank the shell. I unhooked the gun, cut the spear tether, cocked, and then despite my excitement, made a good, hard surface dive that got me sliding straight down on my head, gun first.

Around came the fish on cue and on the same track. Our paths met serenely. The long nose slipped by the spear point at 4'. Closer. The eyes went by. I let go.

Nothing happened. At least it seemed that way for a moment. I was alone.

My mind caught up. Dimly I remembered a ghost image of the shark flashing away so fast that my eyes could not quite follow.

Instinctively I spun to the right in time to see it zoom thru a gap in the rocks. Then another. After a few more seconds it appeared out beyond the mouth of the cove, over the drop off. Writhing, jinking, darting and bucking, it faded into the blue haze.

I hung there for a little, staring vacantly. I kicked up.

The drop off had the shark, the shark had my only spear. And that was that.