Chukars?

nature article Earl Plato

“Chukar! Chukar!” That’s their sound and that’s their name. I had several phone calls and two visits all because of this little bird. A lot of you know about the Chukar game bird. Leroy Fretz called first. His father, Howard, on the old Fretz farm used to raise these beautiful little partridges. Leroy checked his father’s records going back many years. He had many comments about Chukars. Calls from various people confirmed that indeed Chukars are in the area. Although he is not a hunter, George Dalby called and stated that this past October he saw Chukars at a Game farm west of St. Catharines. Yes, they are used as game birds for training retrievers.
Bob Chambers showed surprise that I wasn’t aware that Jim Claus, next door to the Schneiders where the eagle did his deeds, raises Chukars. We went there a few days later and saw the Chukars. Jim raises various exotic birds. He took us first to the Chukar pen. There they were. Now I know about this burd. ***
Wilf Edwards of Willoughby recently checked out his bluebird box and found two dead ones. One male was still around. From the orginal 10-12 birds only one was left. Where did they go? To Ray Willwerth‘s place? He has recently reporting seeing his bluebirds around. How many Ray? Between 7 to 9?
Wilf checked his Wood duck box. Surprise a Screech owl!
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“Eagle man,” Bob Chambers, was talking to Aileen Schneider.at the Doneen Pond when Ray Willwerth and I drove up. The dead Canada geese were gone. We walked over to the frozen pond area where we saw brown spots, some feathers and the tracks of a coyote or “coydog.” Aileen and Bob confirmed that our killer bird was indeed an immature Bald eagle. This bird was a dusky black and within a year would attain the full white form that we recognize as the Bald agle. Remember the Old English word for white is “Balde.”.
Bob Chambers reports later that as he drove eastwards down Bowen Road toward Ridgemount Road he saw a strange sight. Crows, lots of them, as many as sixty Bob estimates wereon the ground in a circle around a tree in the field. There perched on a limb was a large black bird, The young eagle was getting a lesson early in life - Being Mobbed!
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Natalie Barton of Niagara Falls called saying my little article on the opossum was timely. A cold, hungry opossum had found a temporaty home and food in their compost bucket. She has two cats and so far everything has been copacetic. “Pasquale” is its name. When Natalie approached it the animal gave that hissing sound and bared its many teeth. I have heard about rabid skunks and raccoons who checkout our garbage cans. I have nevert heard of rabid opossum, have you?