Watching wildlife in my back yard

I have always enjoyed watching wild animals, whether it be from a hunting blind, a hike into the backcountry, or sitting on the deck of my house. I’m now two-weeks post-surgery on my left ankle replacement operation, so the hunting blind or hiking trip options are not available. But my house deck is!

We live on a dead-end gravel road in Big Lake. The dead end happens because of a swampy-edged pond. Over the years, we’ve had a pair of sandhill cranes returning to nest every spring on that pond. They are often accompanied by one or two pair of mallard ducks, however, I haven’t seen any ducks for the last couple of years.

If I’m out on the deck in the morning or evening, there’s a chance the cranes will be flying around and calling to each other. The other day, pre-surgery, I had walked out the driveway to get the newspaper when I happened to look down our road. There, big as life, were the two cranes out for their morning stroll, walking down the middle of the gravel road. I never realized how tall these birds are!

Like every other neighborhood in Big Lake, we usually have moose visiting the yard over time. One spring, I had the pleasure of watching a brand-new baby moose learning to walk. I was coming out of the garage and the baby was no more than ten feet off to the side of the house. That was fun, until Momma spotted me from her location off in the trees behind Baby. With her ears laid back and her hackles up, she began her charge. I immediately stepped back into the garage and out of sight. Things settled down after that.

Very rarely have we had a bear go through the neighborhood. I can only remember one time and then the young bear was just passing through and didn’t stay around long. We also get an occasional visit from a spruce grouse to the large spruce tree growing on the side of our driveway. If the bird has been milling around on the ground before flying up into the tree, the dogs get excited when they find the scent.

Over the years, I’ve built and hung nesting boxes for the several pair of swallows who regularly patrol our yard’s airspace for mosquitoes and other insects. Because of the pond at the end of the road, we have no shortage of mosquitoes, and the swallows take full advantage. The other day, I was sitting on the deck and watching a half-dozen swallows circling, diving, and flying in irregular patterns above the treetops catching and eating mosquitoes. They are an amazingly agile bird!

We also have a good supply of woodpeckers helping keep insects in check. There is still some standing dead timber from the Miller’s Reach fire thirty years ago which the woodpeckers continually work over in their search for food. The woodpeckers have also bored many holes in the dead tree trucks which the swallows and other birds use as nesting cavities. I’ve sat for hours watching one swallow fly to a cavity and deliver food to the mate peering out. Sometimes, the birds will trade places, with the homebody off to hunt while the hunter stays to watch the “children.”

The one small critter we see most often in our yard is a snowshoe hare. We are apt to see the “bunnies” any time of year. Recently, I’ve watched as the not fully changed color of the hares has them standing out with their white feet against the green grass. They’ll sit quietly, out in the open, nibbling on a fresh shoot of grass until one of the dogs spots them and starts barking. The dogs are inside a fenced area and can’t get at the hares, but the hares don’t know that. The hare is gone to the safety of the tree line very quickly after the dog begins to bark.

I’ve also gone out on the deck right at twilight and caught glimpses of little brown bats flying around catching their evening dinner of mosquitoes. The bats are one of the users of the cavities the woodpeckers have cut into the standing dead trees around the sides of the yard. These bats are another very agile flyer in their pursuit of bugs.

One thing forced inactivity will cause you to appreciate is what you can do. Sitting on my deck can provide better wildlife viewing than a trip to the zoo!