Yard Critters of the Week

A Yard Critter twofer! 

Although sadly one est morte (that's French for "is dead"; all that studying in high school finally paid off!).

A Northern Short-tailed Shrew and a beetle, the Roundneck Sexton Beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis.

This is the Shrew (duh!). Patty spotted it a couple of mornings ago at the end of our driveway. Other than the blood about the mouth there are no obvious injuries. 

As with most of the shrews we've seen in the yard, they are dead, And curiously, untouched by other non-insect critters. (There was a live one.) This one has been at the end of the driveway for several days now. But while larger carnivores have ignored it, the insects have not.

Why are they uneaten? Well in the case of this critter one of its defenses is to emit a foul oder when attacked. Stinky! And it seems this critter is venomous. And uses echolocation to find its prey (its small beady not much use underground, where it spends most of its time).

Pretty cool critter, huh?

Now I suppose that stinky odor attracts insects.

Including this Burying Beetle. Today was trash day, and as I was taking this weeks rubbish to the curb (full disclosure, we have no curbs on our road) I noticed the shrew was moving. 

AARRGGHH! A ZOMBIE SHREW!

But it was just this beetle pushing it around. As the name suggests, Burying Beetles tend to dead critters, and help keep the world from being piled high with dead bodies. Once a male beetle finds a dead critter, it emits its own fragrance, attractive to the lady beetles. 

My insect guides state that this is a rather common beetle, and given its distinct coloration, and the dead critters we've had in the yard, I'm surprised I've not seen it before.

But I've seen it now. And it, and the shrew, are the latest additions to the yard critters.

🪲  🐀  🪲  🐀  🪲

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Warbler Water Wonderland

The combination of water features keeps bringing them in. 

Four female American Redstart and a Northern Parula.

There were at least six Redstart, two male and four female were seen at one time. And two Parula.

Redstart and Parula have been quite active in the birdbath this year. Last year it was the Prothonotary Warblers, which have already disappeared from the yard.

We've yet to see the Chestnut-sided Warbler in the birdbath. It/They seem content with the mist.

Overall we had the six American Redstart, two Northern Parula, two Black and White, a Magnolia, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Not bad for stay at home birding.

Super Tiny Frog

Patty spotted this cutie on the fence back by Magnus's enclosure.

A very young Northern Gray Tree Frog.

Super tiny indeed.

(That fly would have gobbled this one up.)

Spray Misty For Me

The underlying reason for the warbler show is of course warbler migration. But one reason they visit our yard is the trio of water features just outside our living room.

The bird baths, the bubbler, and the mister. (It also helps we live in the woods.)

The above image isn't noisy (in the photographic sense). No, that is the mist. Mist these birds, like this female American Restart, really seem to enjoy.

It is truly amazing how many birds these water features attract. 

We first learned of misters for birds when we visited Pat Sutton's Wildlife Garden, back in the before times. We also learned about small frog ponds while there. Her site is a great resource for anyone who wants to attract wildlife to their yard, no matter the size. Go visit!

Not Just Birds ...

Other critters enjoy the water features as well.

When I was cleaning the bubble bird bath this Eastern Garter Snake came zooming out.

The snake is in the center of the image. Bigafy to see it better. Garter Snakes are not strangers to the bubbler ponds.

Who's Eyeing Who?

I came upon this scene this morning:

Two predators sizing each other up?

A young Northern Gray Tree Frog.

An adult Redfooted Cannibalfly, a critter that usually hunts other insects.

A tiny frog and a giant fly. Both about the same size.

Alas, the battle royal was not to be. The fly, perhaps spooked by my presence, flew off. It is an hour or so later as I type, the frog is still there. 

Dreaming of the feast that wasn't?

Caterpillar

I was doing some yard work today when I spotted this:

Frass. Rather large frass at that.

So I looked up. And saw this:

An Imperial Moth Caterpillar.

A rather large caterpillar. In the pine tree outside our living room.

Not the first one. Hopefully not the last. 

I'll be looking next September.