Breakfast at the WRI - UPDATE December 19, 2023
Deer family
The breakfast gathering at the WRI in winter is very different from the bear of summer during the field courses. Today, a calm deer family, a mother and three fawns, seemed unconcerned as I took pictures through the window just 10 feet away. The mother checked her buck fawn as another fawn tried to nurse, and the third fawn ate the scattering of peanuts that is the main draw for them.
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Red squirrel
Red squirrel
Breakfast can start pre-dawn with visiting flying squirrels looking for sunflower seeds. As dawn approaches, the flying squirrels leave and are replaced by red squirrels.
The other day, two visitors came unusually close when I was not sitting at my desk but became a blur of wings when I appeared. It was a mature bald eagle and raven leaving empty handed, although the eagle may have eaten some suet and the raven some fox food (pork). The eagle just flew to the other side of the yard and gave me a consolation photo of it watching me at my desk. The visit reminded me of an eagle that swooped in and grabbed a big piece of suet with its talons as it passed by .
Raven w/white
Raven w/white
Bald eagle
Bald eagle
I might have seen the raven a couple days later when one dared to land close and eye the spot where the pork had been. It had two patches of white on its chest—something I’ve never seen before, and it showed me something else I’d not seen. When it turned its head the chest feathers shifted enough to cover up the spot on that side. I’ll be looking for this identifiable raven.
Pileated woodpecker female
Pileated woodpecker female
A couple days later, a female pileated woodpecker came by and ate pecked off pieces of suet seemingly without worry.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Cente