Wildlife at Maple Gate

We have tried to use our land so as to cause the least disruption to the environment around us.  We might own the land by deed, but the creatures and plants were here first.  We are only removing the trees that we must to create our space, and make our plans around them if possible.  We hope that the creatures that live on the land will not be too displaced by our activity.

That said, with the noise made by 4 kids and a dog, most of the large roaming animals have been giving us a wide berth.  We know that there were many deer here over the winter using our water runoff to drink from.  We have seen a few deer here on the property, but not many.  We do see them almost every time we travel though.  We know that there is a Mom with twin fawns nearby that we have sighted several times.

We have the usual snakes, turtles, herons, hawks, porcupines, frogs and toads.  There's lots of chipmunks and squirrels that give the dog endless hours of fun.  Try as she may, she has yet to catch anything.

We've seen many humming birds at our feeder, in the garden and feeding on the wildflowers.  A pair of Phoebe birds have hatched out 8 babies in 2 separate clutches from the same nest above the mudroom window.  

At night, we can hear coyotes howling to each other, sometimes very near.  We've seen coyotes in farmers' fields nearby.  My parents even saw a black bear walking along the edge of our property just last week!  Likely taking advantage of the plentiful ripe raspberries!  

Zander has quite a collection of caterpillars that he has gathered.  He researches what kind they are and what they eat.  We have several monarch caterpillars, and 2 of them have already made their chrysalis.  I will post more about that later!

I'm certain there are many more creatures that we have yet to encounter.  We hear sounds we cannot identify at night.  I wish I had pictures of everything we have seen, but these will have to do for now!

Cute little tree frog came back to the kitchen window several nights in a row.  He was feasting on the moths drawn to the light coming out the window

There were 3 babies in this second clutch of Phoebes.  The first clutch had 5.  By the time the babies were ready to fly, they barely fit in the nest! 

Baby toad and huge toad.  Every toad the kids find get put in the toad house out in the veggie garden so they can provide natural insect control

This little guy is pretty cute in the garbage can outside, but if he gets in the house I won't think he's cute any longer!

Baby praying mantis

Dragonfly who made it inside the kitchen when the compost window was open.  We gently guided him back out so he can continue to eat up the plentiful mosquitoes and black flies.  They are very helpful little insectivores!

Cicada

Millipede

Imperial moth caterpillar.  We had a pair of these moths lay eggs in our screen house.  I had no idea their offspring were so huge!  This guy is currently curled up under some dried leaves making his pupa in one of Zander's bug boxes

 

Painted lady butterfly enjoying a milkweed flower

Gorgeous Monarch butterfly.  We have been lucky enough to see more than a dozen of these beauties this year.  Last year we saw only one.  It was one of the worst years in the decline of the Monarch population.  We are very hopeful having seen so many more this year.  We also have several caterpillars that we are feeding and keeping safe as they make their chrysalis.  Once they emerge, we will tag and release them so they can begin their long migration to Mexico.