The new attractant is beef fat. I put some out where it was reachable for foxes and raccoons, and raccoons ate it. I then put some out in a harder place for most animals to reach to see if eagles, ravens, or something else might come, and it sat uneaten. On an above-freezing day, it got attention. 
Pileated woodpecker
female w/suetThe female pileated woodpecker and hairy woodpeckers continued to eat the harder suet that is richer in some vitamins (A, D, E, K, and B1) and other nutrients. 
Flying squirrel
digging in morningThen, overnight, all three pounds of it disappeared. Then came a likely suspect. The first fisher (a weasel that weighs 8 pounds or so) I’ve ever seen up on the second floor deck had climbed a tree to get on the deck railing, and was headed toward where the beef fat had been. I move to aim the camera, it saw me and ran for the tree and disappeared down it not to be seen since. I put another three pounds out that was at room temperature and fairly soft. It was popular with a rarely seen gray jay and the usual blue jays. Ravens don’t dare to land that close but they flew close a few times and the daring female of the pair that is often in a tree across the yard swooped in, grabbed a small loose piece on the fly, and landed in their tree. The male quickly joined her and I saw that it is the male with the two white spots on his chest. She didn’t share. Exciting to see the fisher and other action.
Blue jay w/beef fat
The new look is substantial snow. It started out this morning at maybe 3 inches but might be 4 or 5 inches by now. Still snowing. The beef fat was covered by snow with no tracks from anything coming up the steps or on the railing. Nothing had come overnight. The first visitor this morning was a flying squirrel at 6:05 AM (just after I arrived), and he or she was not to be deterred by the snow. It went directly to its usual feeding spot just outside the window, started digging, and was soon eating like usual. An hour later, it was blue jays, chickadees, and red squirrels there. To add mystery, an adult bald eagle flew directly over the beef fat only twenty feet above it, looking down but just flying on. I don’t know if it saw me at my desk or just didn’t know about the fat.
 Chickadee |
 Blue jay swallows |
I’m worried about the friendly fox now that no one has seen him for two weeks. The only one anyone is seeing is a new shy one that comes up on the second floor deck here but disappears quickly when it realizes I’m at my desk. The friendly fox will be missed by everyone who knew him. He was a highlight wherever he was known. It is trapping season, but wolves have also been seen. They are known to have killed fox in the past. The friendly fox seemed unusually wary on his last visit here, watching long toward the forest, but it could have been deer he was hearing in that direction. Hard to know.
Red squirrel
Now with snow, we’ll know better who is visiting. It’s 7:22 PM and the flying squirrel just arrived back at its spots of this morning.
A long cold spell is coming that includes below zero F temperatures. I believe the snow we have now we’ll still have in the spring unless El Nino can be more effective in keeping the weather warmer than I anticipate.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center