Today started with the sighting of a Northern Goshawk, which is a larger bird of prey that has a distinct slash of white above its' eye. So many birds out here!
Getting on to the entrees... I mean...the animals we're studying. Today was the first day that we didn't set traps around W2, and so, of course, we saw the unmarked dog W2un. We haven't seen it for days, but as soon as the traps weren't set, it made it's appearance. Figures. Wilbur walked out to remedy the situation, and on his way back, discovered that he had caught yet another gs, large, and unmarked (yay!). These days, it's becoming harder to catch unmarked gs at his tower, as they are finding the treats in the traps oh-so-yummy. While Wilbur awaited for W2un's re-emergence, John and I marked the gs number 8, and I found that I am slowly getting better at putting in ear tags, always a good thing, as they need to last more than one season, and it's annoying when they get ripped out (usually because it takes most of the ear with it). 8 was actually a good boy during the marking process, and his marker turned out nice to prove it.
Meanwhile, back at the top of the hill, Wilbur was learning the hard way that pd's are sneaky, and they enjoy to frustrate their observers. W2un had appeared a few times, but only in the emergence of a head over the burrow mound. We were starting to give up hope, when 2 sauntered by the traps (2 is a big fat pig when it comes to oats, and especially the oats with molasses bait we're using this year) and W2un just couldn't take it. She (I say she because of the way she reacted to 2) came out, and was unable to resist the lure of the traps. We got her, and it turned out I was right; it was a female...RR2. During his agonizingly long wait, Wilbur also saw H0, another female, a dog that was already marked because she was a yearling, and had been marked in the fall. All together, not a bad day.
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