Monthly Archives: February 2012

Local Wildlife Update

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in az, birds, Dogs, Prescott_AZ, wildlife

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I’ve seen hummingbirds around the house in the last few days. They are migratory and are away during the winter. Since we had almost no winter this year, it’s not surprising that they have returned early. I cleaned and filled the hummingbird feeders for the hummingbirds that share our property with us. The idea that we, the humans, own this bit of the earth that we call our property is clearly limited to the human dimension. Do the birds care whose names are on a deed registered with the county recorder? Or that there is a county recorder, or a county, or there’s such a thing as a deed? More important that there’s a food source and some nice trees.

I read some place (sorry, no links) that the same individual birds return to the same places year after year. Welcome back hummingbirds! I will try to get some photos.

Also we had a pack of coyotes (the four-legged kind, not the human smuggler kind) pass though this morning just before dawn.  We heard them howling and yipping – a very distinctive sound – as they moved through. We did not get to see them, Gary went outside but did not get a glimpse. There’s a creek about 100 yards from the house that serves as a freeway for wildlife to move through town, so I guess that’s where they were.

Our dogs heard them too. Annie, the black lab, is afraid of them and she was obviously nervous. Rat terriers Lacy and Suzie went out the doggie door to the back yard and barked at the coyotes. These two are fearless about everything except loud noises. Our yard is fenced. I don’t think a coyote would jump the fence to get a little dog. At least I hope not. I wonder if any house cats are missing. Coyotes have a reputation for eating them.