Intruders

This was supposed to auto post days ago, but it didn't, so I'm posting it manually, despite it being late.   We've no snow left due to a couple of gorgeous days but this was only last week!

My normal routine in the afternoons, is to fill the bird feeder when I go out to feed and check the chickens.   We have a lot of birds who like an early breakfast.   Normally by mid-April, I don't have to fill it, unless I want 47 nesting pairs of grackles in my yard.  Believe me, that is really noisy!    However, this year, when the red-winged blackbirds came to the feeder in April, I knew I need to extend the bird feeder season just a bit longer.    The past few days though, I've noticed that the bird seed that filled the feeder the evening before, is scattered about in a pile underneath the next morning.
Wondering what was doing this, I was both happy and sad to see animal tracks in our yard, heading mainly to the compost heap, but also to the feeder and across the back deck.

There were lots of these possum tracks, presumably from the beastie that we found in our yard last fall, and in the chicken coop earlier this spring.    I'd read up about them when we saw the first one and learned they were supposed to be wanderers, not staying in anyone place for long.  I guess this possum didn't read that information.   He's hunkered down behind the wood pile right now.  Since it's mainly covered with a tarp, it's probably giving him the protection from the horrible elements.

The second set of tracks worries me more.  I'm pretty sure they are raccoon tracks.  We've tried to discourage the raccoon from nesting around here not only because of the rabies issue, but because they are predators and eat chickens.   I've lost a few girls over the years to raccoons and am not happy that we have one this close.  I've had to keep the chooks locked up and even worry about just opening the door to let in sunshine, as we've had a predator attack the girls at night.  It's an easy way into the barn, if the door is open.

We laid out live traps, but these guys are sneaky and after days of trying to catch whatever it was in the barn, we pulled them so there would be no risk to other animals.     At least with the snow cover now, you can't see where the creature has been digging up grubs in the yard.  That tends to be a wandering skunk who I'm pretty sure doesn't live here, but who prefers to use our yard as his gourmet supper spot.