GOT EGGS

I checked all my wood duck boxes over the weekend. The box out in the wetlands was empty but showed signs that a duck my have been in it. There was as a impression in the shavings and a feather or two. The box pictured here is in the hedge row by the small pond. This Box has 17 eggs in it.The duck covers them with down when not there. I moved it away to count the eggs.I'm going to set up a trail cam on the nest box today. Last year this box got raided.
I put the guard around the post since then. I put another box for ducks by the cabin to replace the one that now has squirrels. That box had a good hatch last year.
My bother Mark checked his boxes over the weekend and found this early hatch. By the size I'm thinking she hatched in January..Mark has these boxes at the east end of his pond.
This box is at the ditch .This duck is on the job. She's setting on these eggs.

SQUIRREL CHECK

Since the grandchildren were down this weekend I got one of the baby squirrels out of the box to show the kids. The mother squirrel wasn't home or maybe just refused to leave the box.
I got Mike to move the leaves around to see if she could still be in there. Mike thought he heard something moving in the leaves so we got Dan to check it out.
The nest is about 8 inches deep and there's plenty of room for the squirrel family to hide.


The tail on the the little critter looks like a rats.

Molly said it was a boy because it has a penis.
I put him back in the box till the next check.
The kids wanted to make a hamster out of it.

NICE PAIR

TJ found this antler set this week across the state line.
He bought me some more trout. I had just made my dinner deer steak and vegs.I got a nice group of does using my mineral spot behind the duck blind.I'm hoping some bucks will start using it and I can get some good pictures of antler growth.

6 BIRDS AND 2 SHEDS

Started shed hunting Saturday around the clover field. When I got to the corner, Janey was on point. Six quail got up and flew to the corner.I went through the corn plot-the deer are using it real good. I hunted down the edge to that field by the Mason Dixon Marker. Along the edge inside the woods I found this one. Then Dakota found this one on an old logging road. On the way back I checked my box trap at the wetlands and had a skunk.
That makes 3 skunks and 2 possums this year. I have a litter of baby squirrels
in the wood duck box by the cabin. I chased mom out and took this picture.I started strip discing in the CPR -I had help from Xander and Molly.

TWO MORE SHEDS

Spent two hours across the road Saturday morning, found a dead doe that the bad winter did in. No antler sheds found. Dakota found this beaver house. I had been seeing a lot of trees that had been cut off by them. Sunday I hunted back on my side and found this old one. Janey found this one. Both were on the edge of that little field you come out to when you take that path through the woods. I found another dead doe along the right-away path, its' bones were nice and clean. I took the skull . Here's this years finds so far. This quail was out in the open cut bean field this morning, she better be careful or Mr. Hawk will get her. She got down real low and did not move, I was cruising along the edge and was lucky to see her.

SHED HUNTING

Went across the road Saturday with the dogs and the 17. Didn't find any antler sheds. Got a squirrel and a snow goose. Janey treed the squirrel, it played hide and seek in the top of this oak. I made a nice head shot. There were about six snow geese feeding along the ditch on the way back to the woods. I shot one of them and Janey made the retrieve.Dakota just watched.I did find an old decoy along the stream .There must have been 100 mallards on the stream.
Sunday morning I looked for antler sheds in my woods and found this old one.
In the afternoon I got Judy to help me. Spent a few hours, must have walked 4 miles back in my woods. I found both of these within 10 yards of each other. The ducks and geese have started using my flood pond now. There has been 50 Canada Geese and about 30 ducks on it most mornings.