Tag: New Jersey wildlife

Drama in the Sky

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

These past two days I’ve had the privilege of watching a band of crows run a hawk out of the neighborhood.

Before the crows came, the hawks had a happy hunting ground. One of them once buzzed my head. Remembering what happened to Kirk Douglas in The Vikings, I ducked just in time.

No single crow is a match for a hawk, but three or four will do the trick. Watching these events reminds me of the aerial combats in World War I. If the Allies had thought of sending up three or four planes to deal with the Red Baron, they would’ve nailed him long before he posted 80-some kills.

The hawks are after squirrels and smaller birds. These prey animals now benefit from the crows’ vigilance and zeal. God’s creation is full of local “balance of power” politics. We might’ve had no squirrels left if the crows had not moved in.

Don’t worry–He won’t let the hawks starve.

Holy Cow! ‘We’ve Got Bears!’

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

You’ve got a nice little backyard pool, and you live in New Jersey–that’s safe, right?–and the last thing you expect to see when you look out the window is a whole family of bears cavorting in your pool. A mother bear with five cubs.

They liked the swing set, too.

You will notice that none of the humans involved chose to run outside and try to chase away the bears.

What a good time they had!

Town ‘Terrorized’… by Turkeys?

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

turkeys 3

Did I read that right–the town of Tom River, NJ (where my sister lives), is being “terrorized” by… wild turkeys? (https://www.insider.com/wild-turkeys-terrorizing-toms-river-new-jersey-2019-11).

It could be a 1950s horror movie: Attack of the Wild Turkeys. “See the turkeys take revenge for all those Thanksgiving dinners! See it if you dare!” See them–according to nooze reports–pecking roofs, breaking windows on cars, and “attacking residents.” A former major league baseball player went so far as to tweet the governor, pleading for the state to rescue the beleaguered township: “They trashed my yard!” he laments.

It’s supposedly a “gang”–do turkeys have gangs?–of 40 to 60 birds. Their favorite target, we are told, is the 55-and-over community called Holiday City. Do the turkeys know it’s called that? No wonder they’re on the warpath.

Having lived in the suburbs all my life, I don’t know much about wild turkeys. I do know you can’t shoot them in New Jersey. Not that it would be a good idea for a lot of residents to cut loose with the lead. The houses are way too close together for that.

Some of you who grew up in the country, what do you say? Are turkeys dangerous to humans? Has anyone ever been killed and eaten by turkeys? Did the turkeys want succotash and cranberry sauce with that?

Well, the earth is the Lord’s (Ps. 24), not ours: we just live on it. A few years ago, one day, we had some wild turkeys in our neighborhood. They strolled across the street to St. Francis Cathedral and stood around by the Christmas creche. They looked like they belonged there.

Can we say the same?

Mom, Kids, Trapped in Bathroom by Savage Bobcat

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Image result for images of bobcat

See what happens when you leave your doors and windows open?

Earlier this week, in Washington Township, NJ, a bobcat strolled into someone’s house and totally freaked out a woman and her two children, who fled to the safety of the bathroom (http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2017/06/bobcat_traps_mom_2_kids_in_washington_township_hom.html#incart_river_home_pop  )). There they remained for an hour or so, until police arrived and shooed the cat out of the house.

But dig this bit of journalistic prose: “… and after opening the exterior doors and kitchen windows, the bobcat left…” See, we toldja cats are smart.

If people were not so disconnected from the natural world, they wouldn’t be so scared of it. A bobcat weighs, oh, 20 pounds or so. Maybe 30. Yes, it could scratch or bite you, if motivated to do so. But so could any pet domestic cat. Who ever heard of anybody being killed and eaten by a bobcat? I’ve had neighbors who were terrified of baby skunks. If they should ever see a bobcat–!

Animals who live in close contact with humans may lose their fear of them–which is a lot more dangerous for the animals than it is for the humans–and be tempted to follow a nice aroma through the open door of a house or garage. So keep your doors shut, if you live in such an area.

But it’s hardly like you’ve got a lot of velociraptors stalking Washington Township, NJ, is it?

I Sing to the Deer

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Well, whistle, actually. Nobody wants to hear me sing.

Here in my home town, where various “progressive” schemes have almost totally erased all vestiges of the natural world, there is still a little-bitty “park” in my neighborhood, up on a hilltop. Calling it a park is a bit much. It’s really some three acres of waste land with a lot of fallen trees.

I went for a walk there yesterday. My elbow is still not healed, and walking is the only form of exercise I can do. I like the steep paths in the little park, so up I went, whistling as I climbed.

Suddenly I saw a deer, watching me. Then I discovered it was four full-grown deer. I was whistling Revive Us Again, and they listened attentively for as long as I kept it up. When I stopped, they melted into the background underbrush as silently as smoke. Now you see them, now you don’t.

I realize that for a lot of you, deer are no big deal, maybe even a daily nuisance. But here in the paved-over heart of New Jersey, I’m always amazed when I see one–let alone four at once. How they eke out a living around here, I can’t imagine: but these looked healthy.

They also knew a fine old hymn when they heard one.