A relief today was seeing Miss Marten following her usual routines of eating date mash and ignoring my sounds to make her look. 
Pine marten femaleShe’s heard it all and pays little attention. Today, she stopped by a feeding spot just outside my window, six feet from me for this close-up picture when she was good enough to glance my way.
Chickadee puffed upAlso out the window, gray jays and black-capped chickadees puffed their feathers whenever they perched on this sunny, cold day (7° F). A red squirrel was resting until I aimed the camera just as another squirrel came by and stirred it to action.
Deer restingDeer rested in the yard, chewing their cuds. From walking with deer back in the 1970’s, I saw that they often picked resting areas that have some cover but also have good visibility as where these deer are resting at the edge of the yard. After chewing their cuds, they often sleep for a very few minutes. I heard concerns about feeding the deer corn. I know that can be a problem in some areas because it can take deer some time to adjust to that diet. Around Ely corn is the main food most people feed. It’s the food they get at every other house in the neighborhood. The deer are used to it. I’ve never heard of a problem.
Red squirrelJust as we were wondering if any animal selected the Quill House to get in out of the wind to sleep on the nice leaves we put there, we saw a comment asking about it. Great minds think alike. Peggy checked a couple days ago. She said there were no fresh tracks. Old deer and squirrel tracks went past it, but we saw no tracks going into it. However, we remember a trail cam picture of a pine marten checking out the entrance. Now, Peggy said there was a depression in the leaves. We wonder if the pine marten spent a night there.
Gray jayIt was nice to see Miss Marten today after not seeing her since January 17. We hope she stays close.
For people coming to the Black Bear Field Courses, bring a camera. Many of the birds and animals are used to people and give good shots. The gulls will be back. The bears will be back. A long lens can be nice for tight shots of birds or of bear faces or cubs up trees, but usually a shorter lens or a point and shoot camera is all that’s needed to capture the memories.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center