Lin

As always, excellent pics!

Ann: Oh, I love that pic of the hawk ... even through the window it's a great shot! How cool to have them nesting nearby and getting to see the babies!!

We're out of here for a day of boating so I will pop in sometime this evening/tonight. I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday full of beautiful birds and blooms!

Enjoy the water!

Here is another of my birdhouses. The Wren has not moved in any of them as yet.

I like that one Rita. The blue is nice & the shape --- I like that shape.

It is more decorative than most of my other houses.

Yesterday morning when I went out to put the bird feeders out, we have to take then in at night now because of the bears, I got a huge surprise, there was a yellow-bellied marmot sitting on the wood pile, this is big trouble, they dig burrows and tunnels, they eat everything in site. I chased it away several times during the day.

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can keep it away.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Margaret! Trap it!

I haven't seen the beast today, I hope my chasing it away will work. He is cute though!

As long as he moves away!

We live atop a hill, big slope at the back, just the kind of terrain they like, stays nice and dry, I haven't checked yet to see if thy dug a burrow, guess I better check real soon.

Oh Oh. If they dig a borrow they are there to stay. Better get the traps ready.

I wonder if moth balls in the tunnel or burrow would work? That is reputed to work for Armadillos & i think everyone whose ever had an armadillo in their yard has tried that but in truth it doesn't work. But a marmot is different than an armadillo.

Rita: I really like that decorative blue birdhouse too! Hopefully the Wrens will take a liking to it but even if the birds don't move in ... it's a beautiful garden decoration!

Margaret: Wow, that Marmot is a beautiful critter, what a shame they have to be so destructive! I'd never heard of that cutie so I just had to google to read more about it. Apparently the Marmot's diet consists of grass, leaves flowers, fruit, grasshoppers and bird eggs! I have a feeling you might find a burrow in that slope; I read that a male wakes from hibernation and digs burrows, and by summer he will have up to four female mates living with him (each female giving birth to three to five offspring!!) You may end up with a very large family of Marmot's on your property!!

We had a great day out on the water; the weather was gorgeous and sunny; temp's right around 80ºF and very low humidity. We took lunch in the cooler and motored down the intracoastal waterway to a place we always anchor called "Disappearing Island" (it's a huge island but at high tide there's very little land visible). By the time we got home and got the boat cleaned up it was 6:00. We didn't see any Dolphin's today which is very unusual but we did see a large Manatee swim right up next to the boat (I ran to grab my camera but by the time I got it out of the case all I got in the photo was a huge blob as it submerged!) We were getting ready to climb off the boat to go for a walk in the shallow water and my husband said "There's a fish"... well, that fish was a shark! It wasn't real big but still, it was a SHARK! Needless to say we waited awhile before walking the island. I got a few pic's of water birds today and as hubby was putting the cover back on the boat after cleaning it I took a couple of pictures of the backyard birds too. Here's a couple of pic's of our water views today ... and the shark!

While my husband was launching the boat at the docks I walked around with my camera. This Anhinga would dive out of sight for a few minutes and then surface with a fish in his mouth which he'd quickly swallow and then head back beneath the water for another!


Pelicans:


Stilt Sandpiper and some sort of Gulls and a Great Egret:

And, the regular backyard birds:

Brown Thrasher:


Northern Mockingbird:

Recognized those fins right off Lin. Not my favorite creature. The lighthouse could have been Jupiter lighthouse. I'm just a tad homesick looking at your photos. I can smell the smells that accompany the sights.
Excellent photos all!

[quote="plantladylin"]
Margaret: Wow, that Marmot is a beautiful critter, what a shame they have to be so destructive! I'd never heard of that cutie so I just had to google to read more about it. Apparently the Marmot's diet consists of grass, leaves flowers, fruit, grasshoppers and bird eggs! I have a feeling you might find a burrow in that slope; I read that a male wakes from hibernation and digs burrows, and by summer he will have up to four female mates living with him (each female giving birth to three to five offspring!!) You may end up with a very large family of Marmot's on your property!!]

Lin, I think before that many could critters could move in I would hire someone to take care of the problem. Tomorrow I will try and check out the hillside if the weather cooperates.

Great photos, looks like it was a beautiful day on the water.

flaflwrgrl said:I like that one Rita. The blue is nice & the shape --- I like that shape.

"Great photos, looks like it was a beautiful day on the water."



Shark.