Things that go bump in
the night as of late have been attributed to a shy nocturnal creature
with a nose for garbage. We don't think it's Slick, our social bear
from last year. I can't even offer a picture he is so stealth. Mike
did catch a glimpse of him padding along the beach but took to the
cover of low foliage when he sensed he had been spied.
Most of his night
manoeuvres are only evident in the light of day.
This garbage can sits
at the back door and only contained an old empty plastic bag but must
obviously retain an enticing aroma of meals past. A game of hide and
seek has been played out this week – he the hider, I the seeker.
The first round was easy as I could spot it from the back door
although the lid was rather well hidden. The next 2 nights he put a
bit more effort into it. Why don't I just put the can in the
basement? I could but what fun would that be?
Moving on to bigger and
better things his travels have taken him to sorting through the scape
pile ( all the large items that get put on the barge in the spring)
and striking out on finding any edible morsels of food his endeavours
focused on what I call the burning barrel. Our incinerator bit the
dust on the day the summer crew left so I have improvised with an old
tank of some sort that Mike and I dug out of the scrap heap. It does
the trick since our amount of burnables is pretty small and only
requires me to fire it up once a month. I occasionally will toss a
can of grease into the barrel, might as well use it as a accelerant
and this must have attracted him like the smell of honey in a hive.
Lucky for Mr. bear most of the bottom has rotted out so his prize
was easily had.
Last week I commented on
how I always feel so fortunate to be at the right place at the right
time to witness the beauty of nature or a battle for survival. I was
riding my bike, going nowhere fast as it is stationary, listening to
the radio and gazing out our big picture windows when an eagle caught
my attention. We don't see eagles as often as one might think living
where we do so I tend to follow them with interest as they soar
overhead.
These
bikes were brought in this summer for those who had any extra energy
that they might need to work off after a 14 hour day. Mike and I
totally enjoy them, pedalling several times a day. I really should
start keeping track of my kms to see how far across Canada I get or
even better... head south!
Sorry
for the rear view but
I wanted you to see what I see.
I watched for several
minutes as this eagle continually swooped down on a bird, who would
dive beneath the surface only seconds before lethal talons skimmed
the water.
Poised for attack.
The final approach.
Did the target get away?
Mike and I, passing the
binoculars between us, kept watch as the scene played out.
As the eagle floundered
around for several minutes we speculated that he must have hurt
himself and could not take to the air. It saddened us to watch as he
appeared to struggle trying to stay afloat and than to our amazement
he began propelling himself towards one of the islands. A distant of
at least 200 yards didn't take him all that long and we rejoiced when
solid ground was beneath his deadly claws. I wouldn't like to have
seen an eagle die right out front in our bay.
Mike headed back to his
computer but I kept vigil to witness the outcome. “There's
feathers flying through the air” I stated with a tone of
disbelieve. This was confirmed by Mike, cause really he didn't take
my word for it. What we had thought was a struggle of live and death
was actually a predator dragging his victim ashore to savour the
spoils.
We felt bad about the
smaller feathered fellow but after all...he was a sitting duck.
Till next week,
Heather & Mike
