Follow the Clues to Solve a Grisly Mystery

For about a week, I smelled something dead in the bushes by the horse barn and outhouse. Then a bevy of Turkey Vultures, juveniles by their black heads, circled and flew low over the area. Johnny even saw one sitting on the ground near an apple tree... which is not far from the photos below. From these photos, can you tell what died?

This is a close-up over the 2nd photo above

Thanks to naturalist Lisa Millbank for identifyiing this wee carcass. We have many young brush rabbits here so this makes sense. She writes: "There are some features that are difficult to see in the photos, but the jaw looks like it's probably from a cottontail, either an Eastern Cottontail or a Brush Rabbit. It looks like it has one incisor and 5 pointy premolars+molars on each side of the jaw, and is about the right size. On the cranium, the orientation of the ear hole in the skull looks more rabbit-like. The hairs are banded like rabbit fur. The pelvis looks about right too...

If a rabbit skull is mostly intact, it can't be confused with anything else, because the main upper incisors have a tiny extra pair behind them, and because the bone over the nasal cavity has a fine, lace-like appearance. But those parts of the skull got crunched in this case."

A Day at the Coast

 On August 25th, I made an all day trip to the coast to try to finalize what has happened to my Black Oystercatcher nesting sites. The news is sad as only one pair nested and their nest failed... twice. This is by far the worst Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) nesting season ever at my sites. But the scenery is always lovely! So I took photos. What follows is a sampling of the 100 photos I took that day.

First, inside the cove at Road's End:

South Rock at low tide, where a pair of BLOY laid 3 eggs twice and lost them

Middle Rock with Cascade Head in the distance

Middle Rock

South Rock, where BLOY seemed to begin nesting but quit

On the very top of Middle Rock was a Cedar Waxwing!

South Rock behind monolith

The only Starfish I saw all day

Polly Island, among other names

Atop Polly Island: Pelicans and Cormorantss

The Cedar Waxwing atop Middle Rock

As the tide returned, I left for Cape Kiwanda...

 

 

Chief Kiawanda Rock

 

Cape Lookout in the far distance

The only BLOY I saw all day, one adult who stayed briefly (that tiny black dot on top of the rock.)

This gull flew in and landed next to me, looking for a handout

It finally gave up on me as I told it to find its own healthy-for-a-gull food.

Double-crested Cormorant

Ledge where BLOY used to nest on Chief Kiawanda Rock

new fence and steps to west-most observation point

I returned to the north side before hiking back to McPhillip's Park

The resident Peregrine

Lots of Brown Pelicans and others were finding fish. Lots of fishing boats out there, too.

Although it was a disappointing year for Black Oystercatcher nesting, the Oregon coast is always beautiful and good for the spirit. I was going to say relaxing but hiking up and down dunes and over boulders is not too relaxing. However, I do sit and observe and breathe in that wonderful salt air. And take a LOT of photos.

The Passing of a Grand Old Dog

Mr. McCoy kept predators at bay here for eleven years. He also trained his replacement, Annie. Old age and the horrendous heat waves combined to do him in. Although we did all we could to keep him comfortable, the heat was ultimately too much for him. He fell into a deep sleep on Sunday, August 1st. Johnny put him down as he slept and buried him in the arboretum, not far from Shirley who died last year at age 15. McCoy was a much bigger dog than Shirley and it seems the bigger they are, the shorter their lifespan. 

We had bought Annie shortly after Shirley died so McCoy could train her. She wore him out but he did teach her the property boundaries, who belonged here and who did not... and that his food was his alone.  Here is a post I wrote last year about McCoy's training of Annie. Alas, she has not stopped chasing the goats when they run but she knew not to do it when McCoy was watching! https://anniepuppy.blogspot.com/2020/09/mister-mccoy-annies-playmate-teacher.html

Annie is now in charge of keeping the goats safe. She is just one year old and mostly interested in playing but she does mark her territory and bark at things McCoy barked at. Thank you, McCoy. We never lost an animal to predators while you were on duty. And you loved every child you met.