Out the window, it’s the usual culprits. A gray jay and 9 blue jays take turns at the suet, 
Fisher from 2013with the gray jay eating exclusively the suet, while the blue jays eat mostly sunflower seed hearts. The photo shows a blue jay closing its nictitating membrane over the eye at the moment of impact as it pecks, which is common for many birds, including woodpeckers. We’re surprised to see just one gray jay because they remain paired year-round. I hope it finds a mate and we start seeing two here before long.
Deer forkhornA nice forkhorn buck was one of the faces seen out the window.
I got a sad call from a distraught resident from the edge of Ely a couple days ago. A lone cub showed up at her house that she assumes was orphaned during the September hunting season. Cubs that I radio collared in the old days in fall made dens and survived over winter, but if this cub has lost weight this fall, it might have a hard time making it through the winter without a mother to share her warmth. The caller managed to contact Stone Boulanger who then got the treed cub into rehab for the winter. I’m told the cub weighed only 20 pounds, which would make overwinter survival highly questionable without help.
Fisher at the NABC 12-3-18
At the Bear Center, the trail cam caught a fisher yesterday, which is an animal I haven’t seen since October of 2013. I looked for information on fishers here and found an excellent article in Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Magazine https://webapps8.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer_index/past_issues/article_pdf?id=7914, which is the DNR’s excellent magazine that we have catalogued here at the WRI. Fisher numbers have declined in the last couple decades while bobcat numbers have about doubled. The DNR made a good case that this is more than coincidence as you can see in the article. We were glad to see the fisher in the trail cam picture. Fishers have had an up and down history in Minnesota due mainly to human-caused problems. Except for the recent decline, they have rebounded well from near extirpation in the last half century in northeastern Minnesota.
 Red squirrel |
 Blue jay |
 Gray jay |
We got notice today that GiveMN has transferred your $42,258.60 to our bank account for the pond. Thank you again!
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Centerv