Nature Note #178: The Burglar

Exhibit A: The Apple.
Sometime on Saturday morning, we were the victims of a break in. Now normally when someone is subject to theft, an item of value is usually taken. Televisions, computers, jewelry, DVDs, and money are all examples of what most burglars will consider to be valuable. Our burglar however didn't want any of these material possessions. All he wanted was an apple.
Before leaving to explore Pratt's Falls in Manlius, I noticed a half eaten apple on the sill of the kitchen window. After consulting with my girlfriend, we determined that neither of us was sloppy enough to leave a partially eaten apple on the windowsill and in such plain sight. Upon closer inspection, the teeth marks on the apple were too narrow to be from either of us.

It was only after that closer inspection that we noticed the hole. In our apartment's kitchen window, there are the window sashes (that we've been keeping open due to the warm summer weather) and the screen that we thought would keep the wildlife out. We've been visited by robins and pigeons before, but we never expected a break in!

The scene of the crime!
Later that afternoon, the thief returned to the scene of the crime and revealed how they had made their way inside. We had returned from an afternoon's birding at Pratt's Falls and Labrador Unique Area about 35 minutes from home and I was looking forward to sharing our adventure on the blog. Instead, Alison and I came face to face with our apple thief!

A grey squirrel with a smudge grey top, brownish sides, and ragged tail clambered up the inside of the mesh and tried in vain to grasp the apple he had pinched from our fruit bowl. I instantly recognized this squirrel as "I.S.", the grey squirrel I had rescued from the dumpster earlier in the summer. I detailed this rescue in Nature Note #173 and have tried to be vigilant from that point on to save I.S. (an abbreviation for Idiot Squirrel) and his red squirrel accomplice (nicknamed I.R.S. for Idiot Red Squirrel) from the dumpster whenever possible.

However, now that I knew that I.S. was trying to steal an apple from me, I have gifted him with a new name; Trash Squirrel. While it would be silly of me to assume that the squirrel recognized me as his savior with regard to the dumpster, I will have to be more vigilant as to where we leave the windows open and putting food in a safe place.

Whether Trash Squirrel strikes again, only time will tell. But if he does, we'll be ready with our secret weapon.

Trash Squirrel...meet Sergeant (Chili) Pepper!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nature Note #122: Adventures in Pennsylvania: (Non-Native) Space Invaders

Image
As the first week at the Outdoor School* ended and the weekend arrived, I thought about what to write about this week. I had made it a goal to learn some common night-singing insect calls by visiting the Songs of Insects website and while I haven't done that yet, Sunday isn't over either. After returning from Giant to get some milk, I went for a walk to find some subjects for this weeks post. I decided to settle on three invasive plants that have appeared on the property over the summer. We were introduced to the first during orientation while walking from the group challenge field over the Pennypack Creek that runs through the property. The plant's huge leaves were what surprised me the most, as well as seeming so tropically out of place with the mid-Atlantic environment they were now living in. Initially we were stumped as to their identity, but after one of my bosses did some research, he determined that they were Empress or Princess Trees. Their scientific name is Pa
Read more

Nature Note #187: Devil Down Head

Image
I love old nicknames for birds. Whether they are folk names, sportsmans colloquialisms, or even names from other languages, learning how other groups of people identify certain animals and plants is always an interesting journey through the history of human culture and wildlife identification. The title of this post refers to an old folk name for a common yard and feeder bird, the nuthatch. Here in the northeast, we have two species of nuthatches; the white-breasted ( Sitta carolinensis ) and the red-breasted ( S. canadensis ). White-breasted nuthatch Red-breasted nuthatch Both species are perhaps best known for their tree-scaling ability that would make any free climber jealous of their skills. Many ornithologists have been equally amazed by the skills of the nuthatch. The economic ornithologist, Edward Howe Forbush noted in his Birds of Massachusetts that: "They seem to have taken lessons of the squirrel which runs down the tree headfirst,  stretching out his hi
Read more

Nature Note #201: Blue Cranes and Long Whites

Image
There is a small pond on the Trinity Center property I walk past everyday and is exceptionally buggy. Even when you are covered head to toe with 25% DEET bug spray, it seems to have no effect. The other day, as I rounded a bend, something lifted off from the top of a gnarled cedar. A tall bird croaked with agitation, flying away on long wings and extending a snaking neck. The bird in question was a great blue heron ( Ardea herodias ), a charismatic and recognizable marsh bird that is familiar to most people. Despite their common presence around wetlands, ponds, and rivers, I have heard them mistaken for another tall marsh bird, and are sometimes called "blue cranes". Immature great blue seen near Bogue Sound in Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Photo by me. Bird misidentification isn't a new issue. Even as naturalists and budding ornithologists like John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson were traveling the country identifying the birds they could; even they used colloquial n
Read more