Even squirrels need a drink of water from time to time. Caught this one at our pond as one of the bullfrogs looked on.
![American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus [formerly Rana catesbeiana])](https://i0.wp.com/phototerrascientia.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/img_1380.jpg?w=159&h=119&ssl=1 "American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus [formerly Rana catesbeiana])")
No video yet, was distracted by applying for jobs and schools 🙂 Today’s set of pictures include a house sparrow’s (Passer domesticus) nest which I removed from one of our bird houses. While this seems like a horrible thing to do, the reality is that house sparrows are invasive birds brought over from Europe that will steal native songbird’s nests. Additionally, this was a problem we as humans created and it is in part our responsibility to manage it. In this case, this was the birdhouse from which I have pictures of a male and female bluebird building a nest (Year in Nature Photography – Day 38). House sparrows are highly territorial and will actually kill other songbirds and take their nests, fortunately I haven’t found a dead bluebird, but they haven’t been back either. Check out “The trouble with house sparrows” article to learn more.
Additionally it appears that the red maple (Acer rubrum) I’ve identified in past posts may actually be a silver maple (Acer saccharinum) or a hybrid of red and silver maples. As the leaves fully mature I’ll attempt to solve this puzzle and re-label my pictures as well as make a post about identifying maples 🙂
Beyond that I have another cardinal, squirrel, dogwood flower and a new bird a white-throated sparrow for your viewing pleasure.
Today’s subject is a 50 cent word (adjusted for inflation) and that word is Anthropomorphism. From the dictionary “Anthropomorphism: noun- the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.” This is something we have to watch out for as it can cause us to forget that animals, are animals. This is not a reflection of their intelligence or lack there of, more over it is about instilling a respect for things different than us. As I’ll say to anyone who asks me “will it bite”, anything with a mouth can bite. We just have to be respectful and aware of their behavior so that we can live together on this world.
A great example of anthropomorphism is the show “Meerkat Manor” where a narrator ascribes all manor of human emotions to the meerkats. It is entertaining and allows us to connect but it also cause people to forget that we don’t truly know how other animal’s minds work. To that end I have pictures of squirrels as well as a video to follow. They’ve been enjoying (anthropomorphizing right there) our feeders far too much. The photos and video illustrate the physical agility of squirrels as well as their ability to get into any feeder, regardless of its being “squirrel proof”.
Decided to work on some macros. This has led me to discover that I may be miss-identifying our maples on our property. I’m going to have to wait till they leaf out more.
Caught a Grackle on camera, they tend to be pretty skittish but on sunny days like today you can see the iridescence in their feathers. Squirrels are such characters and it seems there is no way to keep them away from the feeders.
A couple more gray squirrels today, they’re quite crafty critters when it comes to getting into our bird feeders. Still working on deterring them. Also the unknown yellow flower turned out to be a daffodil that bloomed later than the others, likely due to it more shaded location next to the house. I’ll be traveling again this weekend, down to Charlotte, NC, so should be able to get some excellent pictures for my next few posts.
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