The big birthday news was that it marked the first sighting of a bear in this community at about 9:14 PM—but not here. The second sighting was the next day less than a half mile away from the first one, it probably was the same bear. The third sighting was on April 11 three and a half miles from the first sighting. It was 9-year-old Spanky, son of Shadow. I’m still waiting for a first sighting here at the WRI.
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My birthday was a great day with surprises, birthday greetings, and my wife Donna conspiring with Peggy and her son Jeff to make sure I knew it was my birthday wherever I looked. Peggy and Jeff found Wild Birthday signs that Donna put up on the window, the microwave, the kitchen table, etc. She came with me to see the wildlife and spend my birthday with me. The mink came up and down the steps many times even though I don’t think anyone told him it was my birthday. Donna gave him little pieces of chicken meat out of her hand, which gave me an idea. To see his spots, she held a piece of chicken where he would stand up just outside the door, and the camera caught him just as he was about to take it. He showed us the tiny white spot on the left side of his neck, the round spot on his chest and a spot he had not shown us before farther down his chest.
The next day, Donna was nice to drive me to Duluth for an appointment that took most of the day.
 Fisher |
 Raccoon yearling |
Yesterday, I knew I had to accomplish a lot work-wise, so I arrived about 2:30 AM. There was no wildlife to distract me until 4:35 AM when a mother raccoon showed up with her two young ones from last year following her and weighing about half or two-thirds what she does. One of the young ones came up to my window and said a quiet “hi” as he or she settled into eating sunflower seed hearts for maybe a half hour until a fourth raccoon approached, making the first three run and disappear. Then, instead of taking a share of the sunflower seed hearts, he left, too, and the others returned. Could he have been their father and he didn’t want to interrupt their feeding?
Woodchuck w/broccoli
Next was the woodchuck coming to try the baby carrots and broccoli florets we’d bought for him. He liked both.
 Herring gull |
 Grackle |
Red-winged blackbird
Eagles flew over but had their own agendas. Birds at the feeder switched from over 300 redpolls to only 13 redpolls in the last couple days. Their usual perching tree and feeding spots are now occupied by iridescent grackles and male red-winged blackbirds that are seldom showing their red yet. The females arrive later. Gulls are looking in the window asking for bologna.
Thank you for all the birthday greetings!!! And thank you for all you do.
I wanted to send this out last night but my computer developed a problem.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center