Bue jays fighting over deer mouseTed was last out on Nov. 13 (GiveMN Day) making Nov. 14th his official den date, meaning he has been in 7 consecutive days.
His last recorded weight on October 7, 2014 was 702.5 lbs. Last year, he reached 696 pounds and denned on November 24th in the Chalet. This year he is in a new den—Honey’s Haven.
Honey seems partial to the wooden window den. We’ll see if she officially dens there.
The major talk today at the Bear Center was about a 10-foot wide aquarium for the Northwoods Ecology Hall, about Holly’s den cam, and about a PTZ Cam overlooking a wildlife hotspot for viewing on bear.org.
Ted is denned!Yesterday, we finally solved a mouse mystery that grew out of mice causing a generator at WRI to quit and require a $2,000 repair. That led to mouse-trapping in the generator shed and putting the dead deer mice outside my window to see what took them. The mice disappeared, but I missed the action. Yesterday, blue jays solved the mystery. Most of them preferred sunflower seed hearts, and a half dozen would line up on the railing. A few pecked away at the frozen suet. They mostly ignored the 3 dead mice. Then, a blue jay grabbed a mouse and flew off. I aimed the camera at the next mouse. In a few minutes, a blue jay returned from the direction the first had gone (possibly the same one), and took the second mouse to a nearby branch, held it with its feet, and began pecking away. After the dead mice being ignored by most of the 9-10 blue jays, a second jay challenged (unsuccessfully) for the prize as I clicked the picture. Yes, the omnivorous blue jay will eat a mouse.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.