My garden and local wildlife

[sazemisery]

My garden has been invaded by abundant wildlife and their offspring (or soon to be). All of my vegetable gardens are behind fencing to keep out the deer and rabbit. My flower gardens are home to 5 new baby bunnies and a momma who was insistent on having her brood there regardless of how many times a day I walk by. I have had to set up 2 sawhorses on our circular gravel road to keep people from running over the killdeer nest. She should be hatching in about 3 weeks. My old satellite dish is home to red shouldered blackbirds each year and our martin house has had 2 families of bluebirds for the last 5 years. Canadian geese (2 pairs) should be parading their young to the pond in the next 2 to 3 weeks. This is my Eden.

[barb162]

1. I saw baby bunnies running around this morning in my garden

I say let them be. As to birds, I try to plant as many bird and butterfly loving plants as I can. I was feeding mallards a few weeks ago. They come and stay for a while each April

[sazemisery]

5. All critters are safe on my 5 acres....

except for the poisonous snakes that get in my way. If they leave me alone I leave them alone. Yesterday a cottonmouth (water moccasin) tried to eat the eggs in the killdeers nest. He is now fish food!

[Gato Moteado]

6. are you sure it was a cottonmouth?

i have never heard of a cottonmouth eating eggs. cottonmouths are aquatic pit vipers and their diet usually consists of frogs, fish and sometimes other snakes. they will also eat birds and mammals. i've never heard of one eating eggs.

ratsnakes will eat eggs and they are generally common throughout the US.

you didn't by chance get a photo of the snake that was eating the kildeer eggs did you?

[sazemisery]

7. It was not eating the eggs

It was threatening the killdeer sitting on the nest. And yes it was a cottonmouth. We have 2 ponds on our property, one where the bass, perch and turtles live and the sewage pond that is connected to our dog runs. The snake was on his way from one pond to the other and I guess thought he would have a little killdeer snack on the way. After 26 years of living in the woods here in Oklahoma, I have become very intimate with the many types of snakes we have here. A blue racer lives under the wisteria, a bull snake lives in the back yard and the rattlesnakes live in the rocks and crevices of the hills behind our property. The cottonmouths and copperheads stay around the pond areas. Life is never dull here at Wits End.

[Gato Moteado]

8. ah, ok....yes i could imagine a cottonmouth trying to eat the bird...

..but your original post said it was trying to eat the eggs. that would have been strange behaviour for any pit viper i know. i was going to suggest it was probably a rat snake or some other constrictor if it was trying to eat the eggs.

do you ever see any of the tri-colored kingsnakes, or milksnakes as they are known? they are the snakes that look like they are trying to mimic coral snakes. if i'm not mistaken there are several different varieties or subspecies of this snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) in Oklahoma.

[sazemisery]

10. Yes, I've seen the tri-colored kingsnake and

they certainly fool ya. The trick is the head of the coral snake is always black, while the kingsnake's head is always any color but black.

[lukasahero]

11. "All critters are safe on my 5 acres"`

Thank you. What a pleasure that is to hear these days.

I only have 1.3 acres, but all are welcome there (even if they do nibble on my black Hollyhocks. ;) )

[Kolesar]

13. Deer ate the coneflower in the front yard Thursday morning

Does anybody have any plans for how to make a coyote nesting box?

[lukasahero]

14. Have you tried using bobcat urine?

I use coyote or fox urine around the parts of the garden I don't want my rabbits to pilfer and it works pretty well. As for deer, I'm the only one in the neighborhood who they seem to leave alone but I'm not sure if it's the urine or the 100 lb Lab that's responsible for that.

For the record, coyotes mostly eat things like moles and voles and the occassional rabbit. Wolves eat deer. Cats eat deer. That's what deer will be afraid of. Coyote urine probably won't work as well.

[Kolesar]

15. I like your angle on it...eom

[dcfirefighter]

2. The rabbit and I have an uneasy truce

The robins and mourning doves are welcome, the norway rat is not.

[LiberalEsto]

3. Deer are a royal pain, at least to me

We have a huge deer overpopulation in Derwood, MD. They eat many ornamentals and would destroy my vegetables without the 7-foot-high fence. I've tried to stick with things they don't like - mostly members of the mint family. But I miss having tulips and pansies and petunias.

The males scratch their antler buds against the bark of tree saplings, which can kill young trees. I've had to cage every new tree we plant, and hang bars of Irish Spring soap in them.

I like the birds, the squirrels, and the bunnies except when they nip off blueberry branches during the winter). But deer...no way.

[ThingsGottaChange]

4. That would be my idea of Eden, too!

You are very fortunate to be able to experience the wonders of nature right in your own yard!

[NJCher]

9. cool new gardening book

Here's an excerpt from an article about a new book about living with nature and gardening:

If trying to rid your garden of pesky bugs, snakes and rabbits is wearing you out, you might want to consider another approach.



In her new book, "Nature-Friendly Garden," East Longmeadow native Marlene A. Condon proposes turning backyard planting areas into peaceful havens that make the most of local wildlife.
In fact, she believes it's possible - and even desirable - to surround a house with diverse plantings that bring in many interesting species of mammals, reptiles and insects that actually enhance the landscape.
Sound intriguing?

http://www.masslive.com/metroeastplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1148370339274500.xml&coll=1




Cher

p.s. fellow gardeners, I have started a DU journal about cooking and gardening. Here's the link and I just put up a new recipe for using fresh kale today:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/NJCher

[lukasahero]

12. Thanks for the tip!

(And I can't wait till I have time to peruse your journal. :) )