Since dusk this evening I have been watching to try to catch sight of the four
legged culprit that has been eating the suet mixture we put out for the birds.
I was sure it was the opossum that I had been seeing occasionally in the yard
at night. Around 10:30 I flipped on the outside light and there, gobbling up
the peanut butter mixture from the suet feeder, was a face with a black mask. A
medium sized raccoon was having his fill. I eased open the sliding kitchen
window and started barking at him, to try to make him believe that a dog was
right on him. Immediately he came down the tree and went streaking across the
yard toward the woods. He or she hadn't gone more than a few yards when a
Barred Owl took off from where it was perched in the large cherry tree at the
edge of the yard. The branch shook rather violently. This was nearly directly
over the raccoon's position. The surprise of the owl taking off only served to
add speed to the raccoon's already speedy departure. It disappeared in a blur
of fur into the underbrush at the edge of the woods, as I had a good laugh.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
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