Comments on: Unscented http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/10/02/unscented/ A Bird Blog with Kate St. John Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:53:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Leslie Ferree http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/10/02/unscented/comment-page-1/#comment-4532 Leslie Ferree Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:33:01 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=649#comment-4532 Last summer a mother skunk left 5 orphaned young living below the shed in our yard. They began to follow me, making little hopeful grunting noises. I buried cat treats for them and they dug them out. They stuck around for a couple of weeks and then one by one they disappeared. I like to think they made their own way somehow, but it's more likely they became victims of a predator like an owl or crow. Skunks have always been my favorite animal since seeing "Flower" in Bambi, and this only reinforced my opinion of these gentle, adorable animals. Last summer a mother skunk left 5 orphaned young living below the shed in our yard. They began to follow me, making little hopeful grunting noises. I buried cat treats for them and they dug them out. They stuck around for a couple of weeks and then one by one they disappeared. I like to think they made their own way somehow, but it’s more likely they became victims of a predator like an owl or crow.
Skunks have always been my favorite animal since seeing “Flower” in Bambi, and this only reinforced my opinion of these gentle, adorable animals.

]]> By: Amy F http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/10/02/unscented/comment-page-1/#comment-4480 Amy F Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:15:04 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=649#comment-4480 "Mario le Pew"?! Now that's a stinker of a pun. ;-) “Mario le Pew”?! Now that’s a stinker of a pun. ;-)

]]> By: Marcy Cunkelman http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/10/02/unscented/comment-page-1/#comment-4354 Marcy Cunkelman Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:38:59 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=649#comment-4354 A few years back in late evening, we smelled a very strong scent of skunk and then it was gone....walking thru the yard a few days later, I found the top part of the scalp of a skunk....so it was here and very quickly taken away for a meal for the Great Horned Owl. Skunks are great for getting the grubs in your lawn and also will devour yellow jacket nests in the ground or even in low shrubs. If I find the yellow jackets, I put some kind of scent(tuna water is good), so the skunk (or raccoon) will find them and dig them up...much safer for me and so much better than using gas and lighting the nest. Ever notice how different the patterns are? Some are almost black with a little white, others are the opposite...I can tell the difference by their patterns...one even had a white triangle on it's head... Skunks are kind of cool but not when your dog gets skunked...trick here is NOT to use water right away...that sets the scent....my husband washed our little Lady dog after she got sprayed and thought he had all the scent off, until his mom asked him at church the next day, if he was by a skunk. Lady wasn't very pleasant for weeks either. A few years back in late evening, we smelled a very strong scent of skunk and then it was gone….walking thru the yard a few days later, I found the top part of the scalp of a skunk….so it was here and very quickly taken away for a meal for the Great Horned Owl.

Skunks are great for getting the grubs in your lawn and also will devour yellow jacket nests in the ground or even in low shrubs. If I find the yellow jackets, I put some kind of scent(tuna water is good), so the skunk (or raccoon) will find them and dig them up…much safer for me and so much better than using gas and lighting the nest.

Ever notice how different the patterns are? Some are almost black with a little white, others are the opposite…I can tell the difference by their patterns…one even had a white triangle on it’s head…

Skunks are kind of cool but not when your dog gets skunked…trick here is NOT to use water right away…that sets the scent….my husband washed our little Lady dog after she got sprayed and thought he had all the scent off, until his mom asked him at church the next day, if he was by a skunk. Lady wasn’t very pleasant for weeks either.

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