Wildlife
Obviously I wouldn't be treated to the myriad of plants and animals I enjoyed at my woodland property, but given that the park was established in the 1960s, it has a fairly generous assortment of mature trees, and thus a modest population of birds and a few small mammals. Sadly, what was once undeveloped land to the south of the park is now being overtaken by wall-to-wall three-story condominiums, about a third of which are finished and occupied.
My wee dwelling backs up to what will be future units being built mere feet from my bedroom window, and if I live long enough to see them finished, they will totally blot out my already limited views of sunrises and sunsets. Alas, even if the developer were to go bankrupt, the damage is already done: the entire property is now scorched earth and half-finished parking lots. Mankind is naught but a pestilence upon this land.
Meanwhile, I've been cataloging the scant wildlife I see here, if only out of habit.
Mammals
- Eastern Chipmunk (below left)
- Gray Squirrel (below right)
- Red Fox (bottom)
Birds
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Blue Jay
- Common Grackle
- Eastern Bluebird
- Field Sparrow
- Hairy Woodpecker
- House Finch
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Mockingbird
- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
- Sharp-Shinned Hawk
- Slate-Colored Junco
- White-Breasted Nuthatch
Above is a female red-bellied woodpecker going to town on a neighbor's faux window shutter. Quite likely the shutter is rotting out, and she's found bugs living there.
Top left is a goldfinch; top right, a field sparrow munching on dandelion seeds. Above left, a crow; above right, a swarm of grackles. Below left, a male cardinal; below right, a junco. Bottom left, a hairy woodpecker; bottom right, a mockingbird.
Below left and right, female and male house finches; bottom, a big ol' jay in his winter (grey) coat.
Below is what I believe to be a sharp-shinned hawk, seen here after having just captured a meal.
