Page 21 - Sentinel July 2018

WILD SIDE Continued from page 19 hot sun. Number 16, as she was labeled, successfully dug and
in constant use. The overhead weeping willow gives the birds dwelled in her own tunnel. She arranged small twigs in a per-
a perch to stage their grand entry. See the robin shaking off fect spiral while covering the entrance with silk, as her mother
the water from its bath? They seem unfazed by our bench just had done. When she felt the silk strands trembling she would
six feet away where we can watch and photograph the activity quickly emerge and grab the prey before returning to her deep
while keeping an eye on the pond with the stunning koi, and, tunnel.
yes, the myriad of garter snakes that hang out waiting for their
next fish fry. This pond is deep enough and has enough hiding Every few years she would allow a mate near her to propagate.
places that the fish have been able to duck safely for cover from The males just wander around and dyed young – no burrow for
the snakes and a visiting raccoon. protection. What? No child support?

One night, the raccoon climbed up to our bedroom deck. The One day, the latter zoologist found the entrance of twigs to the
dogs heard it and right away went into guard mode. At one burrow quite disheveled and a small hole in the trapdoor. She
point the raccoon was riding one dog, then the other, cowboy dropped down an endoscope and confirmed that Number 16
style. Whoopee ti yi yo!!!! Finally, hubby Dave was able to was no more. When it was determined that she was no longer
push the raccoon off the deck, but it climbed right back up. One in her tunnel and the trap door was gone, most likely because
more shove, and it high-tailed it. she was victim to a parasitic wasp that laid her eggs in the spi-
der, 43 years had elapsed! Wow! Before then the longest lived
You must have seen the female raccoon in St. Paul, Minnesota, known spider was a tarantula of 28 years.
that climbed 35 stories to the roof of a building. She was met
by a cage with a can of cat food in it. Yum. Wildlife officials Short Takes
released her safely into the wild. When frightened, raccoons OK, folks. Here we go again! Fasten your seatbelts! Mid July
climb. When crowds started forming, this lady kept climbing means the return of the raucous Rufous hummingbirds who
for safety. Her long claws allowed her to grip the uneven sur- take over the feeders in very rude fashion. That means put-
face. ting out more feeders. By then the young of the black-chin and
broadtail hummers are also shoving their way for a space at the
It took them awhile, but the bruins started showing up here. feeders. Definitely time to put out more feeders.
First it was a big black guy that attracted the attention of the
dogs on the deck. All the barking must have hurt his ears as he The bird activity this year has been wild. All of the feeders
quickly exited to quieter realms. have to be frequently refilled, and now the fledglings are joining
the fray, usually with mom or dad, while they do their fluttering
Then one day Dave was working on our trailer and he saw and peeping, begging to be fed. Their rumpled appearances
something in his peripheral vision. He looked up to see a cin- make them look comical. One day we were fortunate to see
namon yearling bear that stopped to look at him quizzically. a mom, dad, and baby lesser goldfinch at one of the platform
Shortly the bear just ambled off as if to say, “Yuk. That dude feeders. Awe. A family outing to the ice cream store.
would have tasted bad, anyway.” Dave just froze not knowing
what to do in the moment. No broom was handy to scoot the You, too, can have a backdoor nature paradise. Both the Audu-
bear along. bon Society and the National Wildlife Society give you sugges-
tions on how to achieve an envious habitat that attracts a great
Long Live the Spiders! variety of insects and birds. You can even get a certification.
A recent Wash- Hot damn! But the real reward is seeing all the visitors to your
ington Post ar- backyard.
ticle covered the *****
amazing “trapdoor That’s all, folks, for this month. Gotta run. The string algae in
spider” of west- the pond needs some taming.
ern Australia. A
zoologist studied How to Contact Me: Email is best at susan@larskpurconsulting.
and catalogued the com. Alternatively, call my cell phone at 303-725-6868 or send
spiders in the area a short write-up to 2255 Quartz Mountain Drive.
before she passed
the duties onto a colleague. The trapdoor spiders, or Gaius vil- New Mailing Address Effective July 3,2018
losus, lay their eggs deep in a burrow lined with their silk under
an acacia tree in a wheat belt. She makes a trap door at the en- Perry Park Sentinel
trance of the burrow out of silk to keep her and her young safe.
c/o Diane Jauch

The young spiders remain in the burrow for six months in dark- 12637 Washington Lane #F2
ness. Then mom spider opens the trap door for them to escape Englewood, Co 80112
and make their own burrows. But many of them perished be-
fore this could happen from predators such as lizards or the
Perry Park Sentinel July 20187 - Page 21