A Purring Raccoon in Mosquito Country
Stormy weather hit Kitchener and with it came heat and humidity. Mosquitoes love humid weather and the line had now been drawn at Lakeside Park, stay on the path in the sunlight, keep away from the shade and you are safe. But dare to venture off the walkway into the undergrowth and you are breakfast, lunch and dinner served in an overheated sweaty body that will act as a beacon to the hundreds of hungry mouths just waiting to bite.
To continue with my photography, staying off the beaten track as I do, I needed a plan, and that arrived from Amazon a few days ago in the shape of a mesh hoodie that fits over my clothes. I eagerly brought it to Lakeside Park on Thursday morning, wearing it over my T-shirt. Fitting loosely over my cap and clothes, the mesh provided a safety zone around me and I was pleasantly pleased with how it was performing. To give it a real test though, I would have to venture to the far side of Shoemaker Lake, past the reed beds that are gradually reaching up a little taller every day, to the deeply shaded cover of the trees.
Movement incites the mosquito's curiosity and I was literally surrounded as I hit the shade, they buzzed around my ears making me flinch, but no bites yet. I walked further in and to my first photo opportunity, a blue jay that was feeding, hopping from branch to branch at a perfect height. I raised my camera to my eye which pulled the mesh tight against my back and also over my elbows. Within a few seconds, I was bitten multiple times, most of them were fairly innocuous bites, but a few gave a painful burning sensation. I quickly made my way back out and into the strong sunlight that mosquitoes try to avoid. Disappointed, I gave up on my morning.
Restless sleep that evening (due to itching mosquito bites) before my next shift at work made me think a little further on how to proceed at Lakeside Park and avoid the mosquitoes. It had to be a combination of my camouflaged jacket and the mesh hoodie. It would be much hotter, but hopefully also safer. A shower after work the next morning, to make sure that I didn't bring a certain virus back into our home, a change of clothes, a quick a bite to eat and I was ready for the lake. I headed straight off the path and into the undergrowth. I had no expectations of taking any photos, this outing was more of a test.
The mosquitoes still alarmingly buzzed past my ears, but so far so good. As I approached the top edge of Shoemaker Lake, my attention had been focused on the mosquitoes that had landed on the mesh in front of my face, when I noticed some movement through the undergrowth a good way further up the rough worn path. From behind a tree, I saw a familiar masked face. An adult raccoon and it had also seen me. I snapped a few photos through the leaves, deciding to keep a good distance between us.
I was sure that the raccoon would either climb the tree or move away, and so I hastily tried for a clearer shot before it disappeared. I slowly came down to a kneeling position to see a little better through the undergrowth. But the shot was still masked and so I lay flat on the ground, holding my camera level and now I had a clear shot.
It was quite a sobering visual. I had made a choice to leave my cozy home environment to be at Lakeside Park.
Perhaps, as I was now lying flat on my stomach and looking less human-like and also as I was covered in a fine mesh which I guess looked a little like fur, the raccoon started to show some interest. It gradually approached, pausing at the makeshift wooden log bridge over the running water which feeds into Shoemaker Lake.
The raccoon stopped for a few minutes and then started coming closer. I noticed that it was making a very faint purring noise, and I must admit that I had no idea what that meant, but I was feeling a little uneasy with its proximity and so came back to a standing position. I spoke out loud, with my inside voice, curiously asking, "What are you doing?" As usual, speaking with my inside voice always gets me in trouble and the raccoon swiftly turned and walked back.
My voice had obviously alarmed it. The raccoon turned its head and looked back at me as it walked away, and so I spontaneously did something that I always do with my cats, I slowly blinked to reassure and instantly the raccoon stopped walking away.
The raccoon idled for a while, sitting on the ground and every time it looked at me, I blinked. It now seemed very relaxed, but still constantly aware of its surroundings, listening acutely to the passersby on the path at the other side of the pine trees.
I heard the purring sound again, so just as I do with the bird calls that I hear, I tried my best to emulate and the raccoon again started walking towards me, sniffing the ground where I had lain and where I had walked.
I am not so brave as to let a wild raccoon walk up to me and so I thought it best to keep the same distance between us. I backed up along the path, snapping photos as I went, being sure not to trip on the fallen trees that crossed the path behind me.
Eventually, my inner voice got the better of me again when I expressed how beautiful the raccoon looked, and as soon as it heard my spoken voice, the raccoon turned tail and walked away. This time there was no reassurance that I could give to the raccoon, my cover was blown, I was human after all. I moved on, leaving the raccoon to continue with its day, and I headed for the dense cover on the far side of Shoemaker Lake for the ultimate mosquito showdown.
They are so impressive!
I took a few photos and then another lady whom I regularly see in the mornings walking her dog remarked on a baby raccoon a little further up the path.
I looked up and saw in the grass on the edge of the path a baby raccoon that was making its way towards me. I again took a few photos as it approached and then stepped away to the bank on the opposite side of the path.
This was not a good location for the baby raccoon, many people walk their dogs in the morning along this route. One quick bite and that would be the end of the baby raccoon. I stayed and gave warning to the people passing with dogs, but with all the movement from the walkers, the baby raccoon remained motionless at the edge of the path.
After the dog and its owner had left, I made my way back up to the path and met Sandra who always takes a walk around the lake in the morning. We could not see the baby raccoon, but a snapping turtle was in the turtle nesting area digging in the sandy soil.
I am hopeful that I did the right thing.
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogspot.com 2020 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
To continue with my photography, staying off the beaten track as I do, I needed a plan, and that arrived from Amazon a few days ago in the shape of a mesh hoodie that fits over my clothes. I eagerly brought it to Lakeside Park on Thursday morning, wearing it over my T-shirt. Fitting loosely over my cap and clothes, the mesh provided a safety zone around me and I was pleasantly pleased with how it was performing. To give it a real test though, I would have to venture to the far side of Shoemaker Lake, past the reed beds that are gradually reaching up a little taller every day, to the deeply shaded cover of the trees.
Movement incites the mosquito's curiosity and I was literally surrounded as I hit the shade, they buzzed around my ears making me flinch, but no bites yet. I walked further in and to my first photo opportunity, a blue jay that was feeding, hopping from branch to branch at a perfect height. I raised my camera to my eye which pulled the mesh tight against my back and also over my elbows. Within a few seconds, I was bitten multiple times, most of them were fairly innocuous bites, but a few gave a painful burning sensation. I quickly made my way back out and into the strong sunlight that mosquitoes try to avoid. Disappointed, I gave up on my morning.
Restless sleep that evening (due to itching mosquito bites) before my next shift at work made me think a little further on how to proceed at Lakeside Park and avoid the mosquitoes. It had to be a combination of my camouflaged jacket and the mesh hoodie. It would be much hotter, but hopefully also safer. A shower after work the next morning, to make sure that I didn't bring a certain virus back into our home, a change of clothes, a quick a bite to eat and I was ready for the lake. I headed straight off the path and into the undergrowth. I had no expectations of taking any photos, this outing was more of a test.
The mosquitoes still alarmingly buzzed past my ears, but so far so good. As I approached the top edge of Shoemaker Lake, my attention had been focused on the mosquitoes that had landed on the mesh in front of my face, when I noticed some movement through the undergrowth a good way further up the rough worn path. From behind a tree, I saw a familiar masked face. An adult raccoon and it had also seen me. I snapped a few photos through the leaves, deciding to keep a good distance between us.
I was sure that the raccoon would either climb the tree or move away, and so I hastily tried for a clearer shot before it disappeared. I slowly came down to a kneeling position to see a little better through the undergrowth. But the shot was still masked and so I lay flat on the ground, holding my camera level and now I had a clear shot.
My mesh hoodie was doing its job, but my hands were not covered and I had to keep moving them to dissuade the biting mosquitoes. I looked through my lens and the raccoon quite clearly had the same problem, but not just on its hands.
It was quite a sobering visual. I had made a choice to leave my cozy home environment to be at Lakeside Park.
I could go back any time that I wanted to, but for the raccoon, there was no escape from the heat and the incessant biting.
Perhaps, as I was now lying flat on my stomach and looking less human-like and also as I was covered in a fine mesh which I guess looked a little like fur, the raccoon started to show some interest. It gradually approached, pausing at the makeshift wooden log bridge over the running water which feeds into Shoemaker Lake.
The raccoon stopped for a few minutes and then started coming closer. I noticed that it was making a very faint purring noise, and I must admit that I had no idea what that meant, but I was feeling a little uneasy with its proximity and so came back to a standing position. I spoke out loud, with my inside voice, curiously asking, "What are you doing?" As usual, speaking with my inside voice always gets me in trouble and the raccoon swiftly turned and walked back.
My voice had obviously alarmed it. The raccoon turned its head and looked back at me as it walked away, and so I spontaneously did something that I always do with my cats, I slowly blinked to reassure and instantly the raccoon stopped walking away.
I heard the purring sound again, so just as I do with the bird calls that I hear, I tried my best to emulate and the raccoon again started walking towards me, sniffing the ground where I had lain and where I had walked.
I am not so brave as to let a wild raccoon walk up to me and so I thought it best to keep the same distance between us. I backed up along the path, snapping photos as I went, being sure not to trip on the fallen trees that crossed the path behind me.
Eventually, my inner voice got the better of me again when I expressed how beautiful the raccoon looked, and as soon as it heard my spoken voice, the raccoon turned tail and walked away. This time there was no reassurance that I could give to the raccoon, my cover was blown, I was human after all. I moved on, leaving the raccoon to continue with its day, and I headed for the dense cover on the far side of Shoemaker Lake for the ultimate mosquito showdown.
A full moon over Lakeside Park that night made me think back to another full moon last year in June: https://wildlakeside.blogspot.com/2019/07/snapping-turtles-nesting-lakeside-park.html. I wondered at the time if the full moon was purely coincidental or the actual trigger for the snapping turtles to nest. I had the intention of checking the nesting area on Saturday morning, but as usual, after work, my attention is easily distracted. It was a lady walking her dog along the path who alerted me to a snapping turtle on the path further up. The full moon was not a coincidence. I excitedly made my way to the nesting area, to see two large snapping turtles already making their way back to Shoemaker Lake.
They are so impressive!
I took a few photos and then another lady whom I regularly see in the mornings walking her dog remarked on a baby raccoon a little further up the path.
I looked up and saw in the grass on the edge of the path a baby raccoon that was making its way towards me. I again took a few photos as it approached and then stepped away to the bank on the opposite side of the path.
This was not a good location for the baby raccoon, many people walk their dogs in the morning along this route. One quick bite and that would be the end of the baby raccoon. I stayed and gave warning to the people passing with dogs, but with all the movement from the walkers, the baby raccoon remained motionless at the edge of the path.
I waited for a gap in the walkers and then disappeared into the undergrowth. Hopefully, the mother raccoon was close by and the baby would go to her. I sat on a fallen tree close to the lake and decided that it was probably better to just let nature take its course. I soon heard a dog excitedly yapping loudly followed by shouting. I thought the worst.
After the dog and its owner had left, I made my way back up to the path and met Sandra who always takes a walk around the lake in the morning. We could not see the baby raccoon, but a snapping turtle was in the turtle nesting area digging in the sandy soil.
As Sandra walked away, she noticed the baby raccoon, now on the other side of the path. It was lying on its side all huddled up in a ball. Perhaps it had been bitten? It wasn't moving but was breathing, so I took the largest leaf that I could find (I think a burdock leaf) and wrapped it around the baby raccoon, to keep my scent off it. It fit snuggly in the palm of my hand and raised its head a little as I carried it off and away from the path. I decided to take it down the bank, close to the location where I met the adult raccoon yesterday. I laid the baby raccoon down in the shade of a tree, still wrapped in the leaf and walked away. I again decided to let nature take its course, and again changed my mind and went back to check. The leaf was now empty and on the other side of the tree, I saw movement in the leaves. The baby raccoon was walking off. It paused to look back at me and then continued on its way through the undergrowth.
I am hopeful that I did the right thing.
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogspot.com 2020 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
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