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December 10th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Lately during remote learning, I have been taking breaks frequently to look out the window and see what is at the bird feeder. Lately the answer to that question is mostly squirrels, cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, blue jays, titmice and doves. I also get things like juncos, woodpeckers, nuthatches, and starlings but they are relatively rare compared to the previous list. I am currently using "Companion Cardinal and Songbird Blend Wild Bird Food" I am trying to keep track of what birds are attracted to what seed mixtures.
Female Northern Cardinal eating a safflower seed at my feeder (Cardinalis cardinalis)
There is a very cute mated pair of resident cardinals that comes to out feeder a lot. They are extremely wary and alert and will fly away from the feeder at the slightest breeze. They also appear to nervously inch towards the feeder, as if one wrong step could cause it to explode. One thing that I love about cardinals is how easy it is to identify the female vs male: males have a red body and females have a brown body.)
There is also a dove that has been living on our property for at least a year we call diamond. Last year, she found a mate...
The pair cleaning themselves together on a dogwood limb
all of the eggs in her nest fell and were either eaten by predators or stepped on by accident. It was very sad. Lately, though, I have been seeing an entire flock of mourning doves that stops by frequently. They never eat from the feeder and instead eat seed off of the ground below the feeder, pecking away like chickens.
As picky birds flick away seeds from the feeder that they do not want, and the klutz squirrels shake and bite at the feeder, a spot of bird feed accumulates directly underneath the feeder, creating an even more crowded feeding spot than the feeder itself.
It is also where I put some unusual food feeding experiments like eggs, hazelnuts, walnuts, and my dead pet frog.
RIP Gorf
-Aidan Garrity
December 9th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Today I am going to write about my millipede. I started off with two millipedes, but one died of a parasitic infection about a month ago. The millipede i have left also seems like it is slowed by something, or suffering from something.
Top: my millipede that is not alive anymore Bottom: My millipede that's still alive.
They are American Giant Millipedes (Narceus americanus), Commonly called iron worms. They make great, easy pets that only require rotting wood and leaves as food. They also do not bite and are great and easy to handle. I found the millipedes at nobscot scout reservation. I do not understand why they are not sold in pet stores. I literally have not had a thought about my millipede from months and it's doing fine.
-Aidan Garrity
December 8th, 2020 Framingham, MA
I caught the thief. I thought my feeder was squirrel-proof because the feeding ledge was so small and the feeder was out on a very flimsy limb.
But I was wrong. The squirrel inch wormed himself delicately up the branch, then he gripped the walls and roof of the feeder with his hind legs and lowered his head and arms into the feeding ledge. by the time he left, about 1/3 of the original seed was gone.
But I actually decided today that I am going to be fine with squirrels feeding. They are native and very good climbers and i think i am going to take this opportunity to document eastern grey squirrel life. Even now, as I write this, I notice a repeating pattern between pausing to check for predators and munching away.
It would be cool, too to try and invite other mammals to the feeder like possums, chipmunks, red squirrels and raccoons.
In the wild, food sources feed all that can get to it, therefore I should feed anything that comes to the feeder if I want the healthiest ecosystem.
-Aidan Garrity
December 7th, 2020 Framingham, MA
Yesterday afternoon, My frog, "Gorf" died. That was really a bummer because I was becoming very interested in his development into a frog. When I first got him, he was a young, small tadpole rescued from a drying puddle. Now, he is a fully developed frog, dissolving in a Blue Jay's digestive system.
I had an idea to make a slideshow type thing below to show the part of the American Green Frog Life Cycle I was able to document.
- Gorf was caught and rescued from a drying vernal pool as a small tadpole
2. Gorf doubled in size and developed tiny, useless back legs
3. Gorf develops more interesting frog like colors and begins using back legs
4. Gorf has frog like eyes and black stripes stream down his side. Two front arms appear.
5. Gorf is basically a frog with a tail
6. Gorf photographed just a few days
before he died of starvation
On the bright side, there is another tadpole still alive that is developing very slowly and has lots of body fat. It could be the second opportunity to keep a frog alive. It is currently closest matching to the image for stage 2. I know what your thinking and releasing them right now is basically off the table because the sudbury river is about 30 degrees lately and i doubt the tadpole would be able to find food.
RIP Gorf.
-Aidan Garrity
December 6th, 2020 Marlborough, MA
Today my family went to Houde's Christmas Tree farm in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Great place. Check it out.
The Norway spruce (picea pungens) That is now our Christmas tree.
A picture of the farm running along the hill
We were looking for a relatively small, healthy Christmas tree, and that is what we found. When we got home, I checked in on Gorf to try and feed him, only to see a dead, white frog sprawled out over the ground, his entire body and face were under water.
I immediately knew that this was the result of starvation from when he refused to eat. He has not eaten in probably a month. To continue the circle of life, I put him on the feeding shelf of the bird feeder. He was gone in the morning. At least this way, the circle of life continues.
-Aidan Garrity
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