Affordable Housing

Inspected and cleaned nest boxes today. Fifty of them. 

 

Evicted four families of mice and in a Caddy Shack moment Jill was attacked by a squirrel hiding in a box.

 

After three decades of building these this is the final nest box design. Constructed of cedar they’re very durable. The right side wall flips-up for cleaning or inspection.   Took a page from Henry Ford's book on manufacturing - interchangeable parts make for efficient repairs.  Affordable housing for cavity nesting songbirds.

 

 

Our woods was thinned during COVID and now that the canopy has been opened all sorta natural regeneration is happening.  Like these spruce seedlings. 

 

The resident pileated woodpeckers are disassembling this snag.

 

 

Recently deceased coyote. I wonder what the backstory is.

 

 

Fetched a load of firewood from the north forty. Including a Smirnoff Ice bottle from the ditch.  Not from my tribe.

 

A whitetail that didn’t survive winter.   I wonder about the backstory. 

 

 

Me and my side kick catching some rays with a Guatemalan Lager

 

 

Maus

These tracks on fresh morning snow are evidence of either a white-footed mouse or a deer mouse. 

 

The most common mouse in Wisconsin and most widespread of mouse species across North America is the deer mouse.  And you will find it in nearly every type of habitat within that range.  You will find them in your yard, forest, your shed, nibbling-upon the washer hoses of my Honda CRV and during the winter in my bird nest boxes.  Approach a nest box and get a whiff of a strong smell of urine?  Deer mice have taken-up residence.  It is the most widely distributed and abundant mammal in North America.  

The white-footed mouse is also widely distributed but prefers wooded or brushy areas.  It is sometimes found in open areas. 

 

This rodent is a common source of food for foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls and snakes.  Yes, life is short when you live near the bottom of the food chain - which would explain why they are so prolific.   Litters are 1-8 pups three times a year.   And each is sexually mature at a month and a half of age. 

 

They’re not aggressive and are actually quite tame. 
 

Deer Mouse

click on image to enlarge

I think these tracks were made by my friend the deer mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus. 

The most common rodent found in North America and Wisconsin.  I find these little critters frequently taking-up winter residence in my bird nest boxes.

Have to be careful cleaning out the boxes as this little rodent is the primary host for virulent hantavirus.