Spring Lake Coyote Sightings

Every winter, residents report seeing coyotes in the neighborhood. This year is no exception. A pair of them have been frequent visitors at different times of the day. Here, you see a photo captured by the Gormans through their windows overlooking the lake. Unbelievably close! 

Coyotes are drawn to urban and suburban neighborhoods for two reasons:  human encroachment into native habitat and the availability of food. For this reason, it's smart to secure garbage cans and keep them in your garage. If you compost, use enclosed bins and avoid adding dog or cat waste, meat, milk or eggs to the bin. This will only attract them. 

These coyotes are active and healthy, and we see them foraging and tracking for food--a reminder that we need to protect our pets. Coyotes are not fussy eaters, so a cat or dog can become a quick lunch. They have been known to take down deer and can scale a 6-foot fence. So please keep your companion animals indoors and accompany them when outdoors. If you happen to meet up with a coyote while walking your dog, pick up your dog if it is small...and keep it close to you if your dog is medium-sized or large. 

Here's a quick video that demonstrates how to "haze" coyotes if/when they approach you. Hazing by all members of a neighborhood will discourage them from building a den nearby and encourage them to find other territory for their activities.

Spring + Summer Nesting

It began with trying to force the arrival of spring by mounting fake flowers on our front door. A mourning dove took it as a signal to build her nest, which she did--right in the middle of the flowers on the front door. So we relinquished our entryway for her purpose and flagged off everyone except the Amazon delivery people. Essential. :) I held my iphone camera above the nest just to confirm, and though the image was blurry, there were indeed two eggs. Then we waited. And waited. She sat. And she sat. It seemed endless, and I wondered if the poor thing got any sleep because our front porch lights are controlled by a timer, so there's light 24/7. 

But her chosen spot was out of the wind and rain...and could barely be seen by any predators on the hunt. What was striking to me was that she didn't budge when we would approach the door, whether it was to sweep or prepare pots for summer flowers. She seemed to sense her safety though her eyes watched us closely. She seemed to never leave that nest and only when we saw her rise above it did we suspect that the eggs had hatched and the young doves were growing. And growing. Soon there was no room for her in the nest and she would sit in the tree near the door, keeping watch over her brood. 

They seemed to double in size in a short time so she must have fed them well, though I never witnessed it. They just continued to grow and thrive. And watch us closely as we tended to our potted flowers on the porch. And then pouf! This morning they were gone. All of them. I expected to see mom trying to coax them out of the nest, as I have with past fledglings. Especially since the first landing was not going to be a soft one. Only concrete to land on. In retrospect, I can only think that this must have been an experienced mom. She knew how to choose a secure and protected nesting site, build a sturdy nest, successfully incubate her eggs, protect her offspring, and then finally send them out into the world, motivating them to take that first big risk and fly. Well done, mom!
There are two other nests in the trees next to our house. One belongs to a cardinal. The other to a robin. We don't have the same ability to watch the progress there and can only hope that the outcomes were also good. It ensures continuing wildlife and birdsong in the neighborhood...a huge plus during this safer-at-home time during the pandemic.

Last nite we watched a huge painted turtle digging a nest for her eggs. And today, a very big American Bullfrog on the shoreline. I've read that early summer is the time when the males search out good nesting spots for the females, who deposit their eggs in floating aquatic vegetation. We have lots of that this week, so maybe our shoreline will be chosen. Frogs and turtles are said to be a sign of a healthy ecosystem. I hope that's true for Spring Lake!

January on Spring Lake

The past week, we've been seeing a pair of foxes roaming the subdivision, especially active during the day on the islands and in our wooded areas. The mating season for foxes begins in January, so this couple may be a mated pair. A litter of four to five kits is born about late March, and they remain inside the den for about six to eight weeks. This pair looks especially healthy and they're obviously foraging for food. Watch for them!
For more about foxes, visit http://www.thefoxwebsite.net/ecology/ecologylifecycle

One of the foxes became curious about what it might find on our backyard deck. Watch him pounce on what he thinks may be a tasty morsel...probably a vole or mouse tunneling under the snow cover.

Watch a Red-tailed Hawk Hatch!

Our subdivision is home to several birds of prey and we often see the hawks and owls circling overhead. The mighty Red-tail is one of them. Check out this recent video of a hawk chick hatching...from the live hawk cam of Cornell Ornithology Lab researchers. Special!

It's Spring on Spring Lake

Breeding male Red-breasted Merganser

It's spring! Weather aside, the calendar tells us it is. And in Wisconsin that means it’s time to shed winter coats and get outside. It means that many of the birds that spend their summers in Wisconsin are winging their way back here from their wintering grounds much farther south.
Annually, Spring Lake is a spot for these waterfowl to rest and refuel during their arduous journey. We've been seeing many pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers and also Grebes this month on their migration journey, diving for fish as they rest and refuel on our lake. Here's a cool fact: According to researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Red-breasted Mergansers need to eat 15-20 fish per day, which means they need to dive underwater 250-300 times per day or forage for 4-5 hours to meet their energy needs. Big job! And from the migration diagram below, it looks like they still have miles to go.

Spring Lake Owlets

The Hennings were honored to host a nest of Great Horned Owls in their backyard willow tree, giving life to two owlets, who have fledged and will soon learn to tend to our subdivision's varmint population.

Have you seen them?

For the past month, we've been seeing two pairs of Double Crested Cormorants hanging out on the island trees and sometimes perched on the shore rocks. These gangly, prehistoric-looking brownish-black fishing birds have orange facial skin and look almost like a cross between a goose and a loon. They're expert divers and thrive on small fish. We spied this one at our shoreline, watched by the geese and spreading its wings to dry.

Caught on Camera!

Our neighborhood red fox has been spotted by many residents this summer, but he moves swiftly so you have to have that phone or camera handy when you see him. The Gormans caught a glimpse of him on their driveway and managed to take several photos. Send us your sightings!

Cooling Off

When this heron landed on our deck rail this morning, I had to grab a video. Birds have a couple ways of keeping cool in warm weather, as we've been having lately on Spring Lake. They don't sweat or pant. Great Blue Herons resort to what is called "gular fluttering." They open their mouth and flutter their neck muscles, which promotes heat loss. It's an avian version of panting.

Thank you east side neighbors for the great fireworks!!  I loved them!

Mergansers!

Although every spring we witness the migration of many species of ducks on their journey north, this year we have seen many more Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake than in the past decade. And they seem to be sticking around. When I asked several bird-watchers why this might be happening, one suggested that "they like it here," and the other said the lake must be providing ample food resources--small fish and crayfish. But he thought that the ducks would probably move on in a few weeks to reach their nesting grounds farther north, perhaps Canada.  According to online information, they breed and nest later than other ducks...May and June. If you're interested in reading more about these ducks, check out this link. And enjoy watching them until May.

Beautiful day to fledge!

Mom has worked hard to coax these big babies out of the nest. Daily, she has appeared at the stoop cooing to them. Sometimes both parents work on it, then fly to the garage roof and call from there. The larger baby fledged about 3 days ago. The smaller baby spent a few more days in the nest, pictured below. But today was the day! Empty nest! :)

mom cooing from front stoop

officially fledged + empty nest