Author: McPusspusses

Where Is The Snow?

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Guest Post—Angel Alma

This winter, the winter as we normally think of it, was very late. Even in Southeast Finland, snow can stay as early as October, and almost every year we have a white Christmas. Once Mum even had to drive to work by her kick-sledge! Her car did not have winter tires yet, and the sudden autumnal snow was so thick.

This winter, it snowed a bit on some days in November and December. Everything looked nice and bright, but it soon melted. In Lapland, the sun stays “in bed” for about two months, and also in SE daylight (or greyness) lasts only a few hours. Without snow, it’s so, so dark.

Snow didn’t bother me; unlike many felines, I would walk through it. Mum threw snowballs, which I loved to catch. I suppose it’s because I was born in March and saw snow when I first opened my eyes.

Snow or not, in wintertime, birds from the woods move nearer to humans. Bullfinches blow their tin pipes even in the city center. Great and Blue Tits and many other non-migratory birds appear in backyards looking for food.

In Finland, we feed birds only in winter, as they find seeds, berries, and insects in nature. Many apartment houses have banned feeding totally because of unwanted guests like rats, but in private gardens, you can see feeders full of birds.

I used to watch birds in our backyard from my vantage point on the balcony table. They came to check on me, but were clever enough to keep the distance. Those cheeky, shouty magpies tried to scare me, in vain. Nowadays, little birds flap their wings behind the windows, tweeting to mum: Where are our sunflower seeds!

Mum doesn’t feed birds on her balcony, although she would love to. Luckily, her neighbour, a true birdwatcher, attaches a thick slice of lard to a tree trunk under a metal net. Birds can peck through, but rats have no entrance. It would be a wonderful surprise if a White-backed Woodpecker came to lunch one day.

This black season can make humans feel blue, but it also causes problems for animals who change their fur colors. Squirrels turn from brown to grey, and hares change from grey to white. They are too easy to spot on the dark ground by hawks and owls in the city parks.

Celsius degrees above zero mean lower heating costs and less slippery roads, pavements and broken limbs for humans. Glittering snow in the rare winter sunshine is worth waiting for. It’s even better with paw prints, both bigger and smaller.  

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Badgers–Scent Glands

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Why you see a badger pop its bottom down on the ground…

Scent plays a pivotal role in group and territory maintenance. Valuable tools in the act of scent-marking are the subcaudal gland (SCG), which is close to the anus, and the paired scent glands located just inside the anus—anecdotal observations suggest that scent glands between the toes (i.e. interdigital glands) may also be used when marking objects, such as trees, near the sett.

Arguably, the most important scent-marking tool is the subcaudal gland, which is used to mark objects in the territory and other members of the clan, which is a process known as allomarking.

The SCG comprises a pouch, the subcaudal pouch (SCP), that’s divided into two sections by a membrane. Several layers of sebaceous glands line the SCP, and these glands secrete an oily lubricant onto the skin and hair, as do apocrine gland cells. It opens to a horizontal slit, two to eight centimetres (about 1-3 in.) wide, between the base of the tail and the anus. The gland secretion is predominantly a composition of unsaturated fatty acids and water, with the consistency of a margarine-like paste. The bacteria partly generated the secretion’s odour in the pouch. Each fatty acid has its own characteristic smell. Chemical analysis of the SCP has shown that the bacterial component and fatty acid composition vary from badger to badger, suggesting each individual has its own unique scent.

What activity occupies them during this season?

Through winter, badgers are a lot less active. Badgers do not truly hibernate, but may enter a state of torpor during freezing or snowy periods. During torpor, the badgers will remain in the sett, often for periods of several weeks, and metabolise fat reserves accumulated during the summer and autumn.

There is usually a marked decrease in a badger’s body temperature during the winter and early spring, being between 2C and 9C (3.6-16.2F) lower from November to April than it is from May onwards. This decrease in body temperature allows for greater “fuel economy,” prolonging their fat reserves when food is scarce or buried under snow. 

During periods of exceptionally cold weather, badgers will often use a latrine inside the sett, rather than venturing outside. Though foraging activity fluctuates unpredictably during winter, badgers may forage, even in the snow.

Arctic Birds Migrating–A Spectacle to Enjoy

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Guest Post–Angel Alma

Southeast Finland is ideally situated if you want to watch the arctic birds’ spring and especially autumn migration.

For instance, waders nesting in the North migrate in the springtime following the south coast of the country, but also those various species of geese.

Perhaps the best-known migration show for common watchers, besides the “serious” birdwatchers, is the autumnal migration of Barnacle geese. Barnacle geese nest mostly around the Barents Sea, located north of the coasts of Norway and Russia.

They fly over Finland to their wintering areas around the North Sea. (Nowadays, Finland also has their own resident population, filling lawns in the parks of Helsinki, but that’s another story…).

However, in the last 20 years, more Barnacles started taking a stopover in SE Finland, to rest and eat before continuing their journey, usually in October. They changed habits a bit by surprise, landing in front of astonished humans.

Farmers weren’t, nor are joyful, using, for example, streamers, to frighten unwelcome visitors from fields. 

Earlier, it was popular for birdwatchers to travel to Northern Karelia near the eastern border, where you could watch migration from a high hill and cover even the Russian side near Lake Ladoga, if the birds took that route.

A small town near the border even organized special Geese Weeks, where they erected a big tent with a stove to grill sausages and keep warm. 

In October, the weather can be chilly, and as the Geese Migration needs a northern or northeastern wind, warm clothes are essential. Not to mention the sometimes hours of standing and waiting in wind and rain, watching the empty sky.

Mum has been there to see the phenomenon jokingly called “suffer birding”. However, when the crowd approaches from afar, soaring above your person while honking, one simply admires. Serious watchers, of course, count and mark the species in exact numbers. 

Nowadays, you can watch the fall migration more easily. Just walk outside, and if you are lucky, listen to the honking approaching. Observe the sky, and they approach! Or visit the nearby fields, where geese fill their tummies and gather strength. 

Then one day the wind turns and starts blowing from the right direction. Birds become restless, flying a bit there and back. Finally, the urge and instinct make them rise and drift into a formation. They fly higher and leave. Until next spring.

Badgers

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A little intro to the European Badger……our black and white stripy friend.

Life Span:5 – 7 years (typical in wild).
Have been known to live up to 13 years.
Body Length:75cm (30″) head to tail.
90cm (35″) max.
Weight:10 – 12kg (22 – 26lbs) average.
23 – 27kg (51 – 60lbs) heaviest recorded.
Distribution:Found throughout Europe with sub-species present in all continents except the Arctic and Antarctic. Particularly abundant in Britain and Ireland with the majority found in southern England.

Badgers are stocky, short-legged animals that are easily recognisable by the black and white stripes that run from their nose to shoulders. They have small heads and eyes with a thick short neck and long wedge-shaped body that ends with a short tail.

Their powerful short legs end with paws, each having five digits, which are tipped with long, thick, sharp claws. This makes them very efficient diggers.

Black and white hair covers the badger’s body, making it appear grey from a distance. They have black chests and legs, a highly distinguishable black-and-white striped head with black ears that are tipped with white. Some badgers have different colour variations, such as ginger (erythristic) instead of black (melanistic). Also, some can be white (albino).

It’s difficult to tell male from female badgers. Males are slightly larger and heavier than females and normally have a wider head and a longer, thinner and lighter coloured tail.

Badgers are nocturnal animals that spend most of their lives underground in burrows called setts. They have highly social behaviour and live in family groups of up to 12 individuals. These groups display signs of hierarchy, with a dominant boar and sow leading the group.

Around dusk, they usually leave their setts to forage for food throughout the night until dawn, when they return to the safety of their sett.

Badgers can live in a wide range of habitats. Badgers mainly live on the edges of woodlands and pastures. They also live in scrubland, under hedgerows, in old quarries, on moorlands and open fields. Sometimes, they even live in gardens on housing estates.

The badger must select habitat offering plentiful food year-round. The site also must be secluded and well covered to allow inconspicuous emergence from setts. It also needs to be free from disturbance.

What are they up to this time of year…

Badgers have spent October fattening up for winter and, weather dependent, will continue this in November.

People may see increased activity in gardens where badgers visit and more snuffle holes in their lawns.

Badgers are omnivores. Their diet consists mainly of earthworms and grubs but can also include frogs, small mammals, birds, eggs, lizards, insects, plant bulbs, seeds and berries. They love peanuts and jam sandwiches as a treat.

Guest Post: Angel Alma (and Mum) Introduction

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Hi, I’m Angel Alma, and I am honored to visit McPusspuss Musings as a guest writer. I’m a Finnish tabby girl, born in a country house owned by mum’s friends. Mum collected me as a tiny kitten to live with my big brofur Aimo. We lived in Southeast Finland, near the eastern border, where Mum began birdwatching. SE Finland is a wonderful and interesting birding area, with bigger and smaller lakes, rivers, forests, and lots of countryside. The Gulf of Finland is not too far, either.

I had to travel over the Rainbow Bridge because of an illness. I had already been on cat Twitter and made many good friends there, like Angus and his family, so I decided to stay there as Angel Alma.

Mum is still a birdwatcher and loves nature overall. She lives now in a town near the big river Kymijoki, surrounded by wide fields and smaller lakes, and of course forests.

We are going to tell you about the nature in Finland, mostly near us. It’s lovely even to just visit the nearby park or watch birds during your daily walk. Just keep your eyes and ears open and enjoy.

McPusspuss Musings-Introduction

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Hello and welcome to our column.

We are angel Angus McPusspuss and Furgus McPuspuss.

Both of us were older stray tomcats that found our forever homes late in life.

I, Angus, had a very special fox friend who led me to my pawrents’. Hunger drove me to join the foxes’ nightly food runs. One fox always made sure I had some food. Mummy and the neighbor, upon observing me, attempted everything to locate my owners, yet I possessed none, plus my chip held no registration. Mummy started feeding me more and inviting me inside, but it took me some time to be brave enough to move in. Even when settled in my home, I would still go out every evening and sit with my special foxy friend. 

Because I moved in just before Storm Angus hit, my pawrents, following Scottish links, gave me the surname McPusspuss. I had been called Pusspuss when living outside.

When my time sadly came to go over the rainbow bridge, I guided Furgus to my pawrents. The rescue trapped him because of his poor state following a decade of living on the streets. He hissed and swiped, revealing his fear. No one was giving him a chance until my pawrents did. When secure and cherished, he unwound. Now, he desires laps frequently and bedtime cuddles. Furgus gets to enjoy his later years with so much love. Furgus continues the McPusspuss family name and was called Furgus as a link to our pawrents’ love of Deacon Blue (Fergus sings the blues).

We will write articles on the weather (I am #weathercat), nature, and more specifically on badgers, as Mummy is on the committee of the Badger Protection Group.

We will have wonderful guest writings for our column by Angel Alma. Alma and her mum are special friends to us.