Fox hunting, part three

I don't know what happened to the gray squirrel being chased in the video.  It may have escaped on that occasion.  However, I doubt that it survived for long unless it left the neighborhood altogether.  It seemed like every couple of days there was fresh evidence that a squirrel had been caught by the foxes -- and that was just in our yard.  Most of the times, all that was left of the squirrel was its tail.

On two occasions though, we found the entire squirrel.  The first one was buried for later consumption.

A gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) that wasn't vigilant enough to evade the fox.  The rest of it is buried under the soil.

Although I checked on it periodically, I missed the fox coming to retrieve it.  With the second squirrel, I was luckier.  I had startled the fox into dropping the squirrel and running for cover.  Once I was out of sight again, the fox returned to carry off its meal.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to: 

(1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website

(2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen

Fox hunting, part two

The crows were not the only ones to raise an alarm that a fox was about.  At least one American red squirrel occasionally joined in with its high-pitched voice.

A young American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).

Together, the crows and squirrel would make such a clamor that it would have been difficult to ignore even if I hadn't already become attuned to the crows.  Hearing the alarm, I would grab my cameras and rush to the nearest vantage point -- in this case, the balcony:

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to: 

(1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website

(2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen

I watched the video several times before I noticed that it features not one, but two squirrels.  There is the American red squirrel calling noisily in the background, as well as a much less vigilant gray squirrel behind the ferns.  If you watch the top of the video very closely, you can see can see it moving towards the fox. Once the fox gets to the edge of the ferns, the gray squirrel turns to escape and the fox takes up chase.  To be continued...

Gotta find them all!

The park across the street has a sign advertising some of the organisms that are likely to be found by visitors to the park. (Note that the sign does not include the organisms most likely to find visitors to the park, namely the mosquitoes and chiggers).

Which one of these doesn't quite belong?

I have already made considerable progress in documenting each of the organisms on the sign (and have either seen or heard all but one of them).  Here is a quick guide to each organism, starting from the top left of the sign:

Ladybug: I have found at least three species of ladybugs (a.k.a. lady beetles) in the park.  However, since the drawing was specifically of a seven-spotted lady beetle, I will show that species too.  This species was an interesting choice for the sign, given that it is not native to North America.

Two seven-spotted lady beetles (Coccinella septempunctata).

Dragonfly: I was absorbed in watching a bee (notably omitted from the sign) when I was startled by the sound of the dragonflies pictured below.  They were making a violent clattering as they beat their wings against the vegetation in their struggle.

A male (left) attempting to mate with a female (right) variegated meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum).

Turtle: I didn't even have to cross the street to find a turtle.  The one pictured below was on the grass along the sidewalk outside my apartment.

Probably a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), but it was hiding its "ears" along with much of the rest of its head.

Squirrel: You may have noticed that I skipped over the acorn.  I don't remember seeing any in the park, but they may have been there (I was not looking specifically for them) or they may have all been hidden by the many squirrels, most of which appear quite well fed.

A fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), but still no acorn.

To be continued...