Tea Bird

Wolves would rather eat salmon

From BMC Ecology:

Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. The study, published today in the open access journal BMC Ecology, shows that when salmon is available, wolves will reduce deer hunting activity and instead focus on seafood.

From [...]

Communing With Crows

From a letter to the Editor at the NY Times comes this gem that’s right up my alley:

I’m glad that researchers are documenting the interspecies social skills of crows. Our family lore tells of Klaus, the crow who befriended my great-uncle Jens. Uncle Jens boasted of Klaus’s intelligence, and tolerated his pilferage of small shiny [...]

American Toad Tadpole Photo and Identification

The American toad (Bufo americanus) is one of the most common toads in western Pennsylvania.  They’re common across their entire range.  They’re small, around 3 inches long, with short legs and are usually a shade of brown to green.  Like most toads, they do have warts with a mildly poisonous (to us) milky fluid that [...]

What a Vole in Your Backyard Looks Like

Caution: Photos of a dead animal are on this page.
Often mistaken for mice, moles or even sometimes rats, voles are little gray rodents that thrive in suburban backyards. While there are many species, 40 I think, of voles, in western Pennsylvania the predominant species are meadow and woodland voles. Meadow voles are the [...]

Red Fox Cries

Last night, following the Pens’ Game 3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, I walked with my dogs out into my backyard where I heard what sounded variously like a child screaming and a wailing bird. It was loud and clearly came from the woods across the street. I had never heard such [...]