Backyard Beasts

Since I recently posted a blog about the birds I see in my yard, I thought it was only fair to also post a blog about the beasts I see in my yard! Again, I'm in New England, so if you live elsewhere, you may have a different lineup. These are all animals that I've actually seen in my yard over the past three months since I've lived here. Most of these photos are of the actual animals in my yard. 

Chipmunk

Chipmunks are adorable, but troublesome. They are legion in the spring, making their homes in the stone walls all over our property, and they love to climb into the bird feeders and take more than their share. Fortunately, they are easily discouraged with low-tech solutions, such as a disposable plastic plate taped over and under each feeder:

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Squirrels are cute but can be very destructive. We haven't had much problem with them chewing on anything, but they have clearly dedicated their lives to hoovering out the bird feeders as soon as our backs are turned. They are completely unfazed by my chipmunk baffles. I have waged war by using squirrel spray to deter them (I can't stand the smell but clearly it doesn't bother them one bit), tossing cups of water at them, spraying them with the garden hose, shooting at them with a Nerf gun (we never actually hit them, but the loud POP startles them into running off), and simply yelling and running towards them. They still go at it whenever they think we're not watching, but at least now all I have to do is yell, "HEY!" from inside the house, or open the screen door, and they hightail it back into the woods. 

Fowler's Toad

These beautifully-patterned toads like to loiter near our pool and in our garden. There's even one who likes to hang out on our basement stairs. They're nocturnal, so we generally see them in the early morning or at night. They have a weird-sounding call, but fortunately, we rarely hear them. 

New England Cottontail

If we had more of a vegetable garden, we might find the bunnies less adorable. But they're happy nibbling on the grass and have thus far avoided eating any of the plants that we like (even the hostas!). They come out to graze at dusk and dawn, and as long as we stay still, they'll come quite close to us. But one fast move and they disappear with a flash of their white tail (called a "scut"). Occasionally two males will get territorial and chase each other around, hopping and "pronking" quite athletically.  But most of the time, they eat peacefully, making us feel relaxed and peaceful as well. 

Striped Skunk

As cute as they are, having a skunk in the yard is a mixed blessing. Although their smell is very mild unless they actually spray, they have a bad habit of getting into trash cans and spreading trash all over the yard, and if you have grubs, they will happily dig up your entire yard. But as long as their only appearance is a security camera video of a fat skunk trundling across the driveway or lurking at the edge of the woods, they're not bad to have around. Their fur looks thick and soft, and despite always being black with two white stripes down their back and a narrow white stripe on their face, they have a remarkable variety of patterns, with some having thicker stripes, some stripes more widely spaced, and tails can be anything from nearly all black to nearly all white. 

Virginia Opossum

My husband and I disagree about how cute opossums are (I say very much, he says not at all), but we do agree that they're good to have around the yard. They eat ticks and are not diggers or burrowers or trash predators. (Although if you have a cat, I understand they're inordinately fond of cat food and will eat cat food left outdoors and even climb through cat flaps to get at inside food.)  

Groundhog

As cute as groundhogs (AKA woodchucks and whistle pigs) may be, they're not good neighbors. Like bunnies, they'll eat everything in your vegetable, herb, and flower gardens if you don't stop them, and they dig burrows that ruin your lawn or (in our case) destabilize your stone walls. We work hard to discourage our local groundhogs using techniques including the garden hose and a Nerf gun. Both are probably more amusing than they are effective.

Wood Frog

We hear these guys more often than we see them, but we do find them swimming happily in our pool on a regular basis. 

Gray Tree Frog

We hear these guys even more often than the wood frogs although we see them less often. Their call sounds like some kind of bird, but it's a soothing call to fall asleep to throughout the summer. 

Raccoon

Knock wood, we've only had a single sighting of a "trash panda" around our yard. Our trash cans are heavy-gauge and close tightly, so there's little to attract them. I don't mind raccoons, but they lost a lot of their attraction for me a few years back when one killed a rabbit and dragged it onto my porch to eat it. 

Red Fox

We've only had one sighting of this magnificent animal, as it trotted boldly through the backyard one afternoon. The only unpleasant aspect of having foxes nearby is the occasional midnight screaming of a vixen in heat, which I was unfortunate to experience once in our old house (which was one time too many). But if he keeps the mouse and mole population in check, I won't complain too much.