Garden Visitors. 12.2.18

 These two rascals were watching me yesterday.  They were cautious.  I don't know if they are feral or domestic.  They look so clean and healthy, I suspect they are someone's cats.

We have moles, voles, mice, rats, and rabbits, in high numbers.  I won't argue about wild cats' role in bird population declines.  Other things that affect bird populations are urbanization / suburbinization, habitat loss, and maybe climate change.   Some of the lost species are raptors and other predators, too.  So maybe cats fill in a space where other predators have been lost, and some day there will be a new ecological balance.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping these two will concentrate on rodents.  There is a neighbor who traps cats and takes them to the humane society, to protect birds.  Another neighbor feeds the cats.  Apparently, the local raccoons kill and eat the cat litters, as well.  I will stay out of that battle.

I'm not crazy about these cats leaving spoor on the top of the ground in the garden beds.   Some cats carry parasites.  I bury that when I see it.

I wonder if they visit because of the catnip I plant around the yard?  There are several bunches.  In past years, some of the catnip was destroyed, I assume by loose cats.

But I will also thank them if there is no vole damage this year.

Owl box. 4.11.16

 Barn owls are known to eat significant numbers of rodents.  A single pair of barn owls can eat 2,000 rodents a year.

I hear owls in the distance, and occasionally seen them overhead.  However, my area is  developing rapidly.  I don't know what that means for owl habitat, but probably not good.

Last year I bought this owl nesting box.  It would not be complicated to make one, but I wasn't up to it.  Then it sat in the garage for a year.

I set it up on an old basketball hoop stand that came with the place and has been sitting around for years.  I removed the backboard, and lashed the nesting box onto the hoop.  Without the backboard, I was able to move the box back on the hoop for better center of gravity.

This turned out to be a very easy job.  Plus it's portable.  This is in an easement, which if I'm lucky will never get used - long story - but I can't place anything permanent in the area. 

Now to see if a pair of owls finds and uses the nest box.  That might be a while, if ever.