Ringbill Gull Versus a Crayfish

I caught this sequence on Tuesday at Wildwood. The rest are here.

Land Sledding? Jackass?

Shoot. I just thought to add this. While Mary and I were down at Wildwood on Sunday some kids came down and hooked some kind of plastic thing to back seat of a minivan and then dragged the "sled" with a kid sitting on it around the parking lot!
Eventually, the rider fell off, usually around the turn. I do like the fact that the one kid(pictured) put his hood up as protection. When I was a kid, we boot hopped cars and hopped trains but this seems a little more, shall we say, advanced?

                                                                                                                                                                               

Starting to Thaw

Euclid Creek, Wildwood, Cleveland Lakefront State Park.

Wildcats of Wildwood: update

After helping Al today, I went down to Wildwood and even though it was so cold it was sunny and the cats were out. They really are cute and cuddly and they make really good subjects to photograph.

 

  

  

  

The rest are here.I see that all of the cats pictured have perfect ears, so that means that irresponsible people are still dumping cats.

Wildcats of Wildwood: Status

On January 15, I ran into Brian, one of the cat trappers. Seems he's been trying for weeks to catch one of the cats I took pictures of on January 14. This series of pictures shows the cat sizing up the situation and ultimately, deciding he wasn't that hungry.

Actually, none of the kitties were willing to bite on Friday. I suggested trying catnip and Brian said he'd have to try that to see if it works. The originals are here.

Wild Cats of Wildwood: Status

I haven't had much to say about the Wildcats of Wildwood simply because it's been cold and they're hiding. I would too. On January 14, I saw some of them and took some pictures. It was warmer, the sun was out and they were prowling for food. These guys were over by the bait shop.

These two were over by the creek.

 

There was evidence of people feeding the cats, the feeders seem to be a dedicated bunch.I want to point out that in these pictures you can clearly see that the cats have both ears fully intact. When these cats have been trapped, neutered and released one of the ears gets notched(I think it's the left one). The rest of these pictures are here.

Another day at Wildwood

Went down to the lake twice today. I talked to Mark the bird Watcher and a guy named George who's a duck hunter. George wants to duck hunt off the pier in the middle of this picture because it's legal. I'm sorry, but I didn't know. In order to hunt ducks, you have to be off the shoreline. George said he can't hunt off the connected piers, but if he pulls a boat up to a freestanding pier its okay.

Wildwood/Wildwood Cats

I stopped down at Wildwood yesterday one, because it was so nice, and two, to see if Brain and Ginger were down there catching the wild cats. Well, no Brian and Ginger and no cats. I did see three cats on Thursday including the little orange kitten. He (or she) is not so little anymore so he's probably eating well. I've stopping after work most every day hoping to see Brian so as to give his trap back. I completed the project to make it remote controlled and I'm anxious to see it work.

Wild Cats of Wildwood: Remote Control Project

This is an attempt to add remote control capabilities to a live animal trap. 

I started looking around for parts yesterday and came up with a Tyco Phantom R/C car. Brian provided the trap and I have to figure out how to do it. I got the idea off of a YouTube video after searching the web.

Here's how to do it:

1. Remove the body
2. I removed the front wheel assembly because i saw that I could do it and it gives a more compact package
3. After removing the front, there were two wires for steering. I clipped one and tested to see if it still worked.
4. It still worked so I clipped the other wire
5. Now you have to remove the tires off the rear wheels leaving the hubs
6. drill a hole a little smaller than 3/16" through the right rear wheel. I drilled mine slightly off center so as to miss the axle
7. Mount the body with the battery compartment up so you can replace the batteries. Pay attention to where the on/off switch is located
8. The wheel you drilled should be sticking off the side of the cage so the rod you attach to it can move freely
9. I purchased 3/16" threaded rod about a foot long and after attaching two nuts to it screwed it through the hole I drilled
10. I also purchased an 3/16" eye bolt and attached it to the threaded rod with two nuts, one nut was extra long. You need to lock it all together
11. I tied a piece of nylon rope to the trigger mechanism and tied the other end to the eye bolt
12. As you can see in the pictures, the eye bolt starts in the top position and swings down, gaining momentum
13. Wheel rotation is important. In my example, I use reverse to actuate the trigger
    

Rear wheels are already removed

Remove the body

remove the front end

After everything's removed, it's a small and compact.
I duct taped a piece of wood to the circuit board area to prevent any short circuits.

Drilling the hole

Try to get it off center

Like this

This was my initial placement. I ended up moving it towards the back of the cage.

The trigger mechanism

The final mounting

Front view

Here you can see eye bolt and nuts. Note the longer nut

Another view

Finished and ready to trigger!

Wild Cats of Wildwood

After work yesterday I met Brian and Ginger down at Wildwood and got skunked! They didn't catch any cats but did see a couple (I didn't). I told them about a video on youtube about retrofitting a trap with a remote control and we agreed that I'll attempt to do this (I looked around yesterday and I have an old remote controlled car that should work for this purpose). Whether or not I succeed I'll post the results here and maybe submit an article to wikihow.

I also found some sites related to the "Trap, Neuter and Release" (TNR) effort, which is what Ginger and Brian are practicing. Neighborhood Cats is one such organization that provides a wealth of information. The ASPCA has a Feral Cats FAQ that answers a lot of questions that you may have.

The Wild Cats of Wildwood: Cat Trap Fever

After work today I went down by Wildwood State Park and there wasn't much going on. I was about to leave when I noticed some people setting out what turned out to be live traps. I met them and ended up helping them, more with information than anything else because I've been observing the cats down here by taking pictures of them.

I've noticed a change in their behavior because they are much more noticeable now and seem to be branching out. I thought maybe there was an interruption in their food supply (which seems to be a shadowy network of 2 to 6 individuals who come at all times of day and night to care for the cats, besides, you know, the natural method of feeding)

because there was less evidence like empty food containers and such.

Ginger and Brian have been rescuing wild cats for at least 2 years. They trap them and take them to the APL where they are assessed and spayed/neutered and then put up for adoption or possibly euthanized or released back into the environment at Wildwood. Sort of a catch and release program. They currently support feeding the cats at least as winter is coming and the cats caloric intake roughly doubles during cold temperatures.

The fishermen we talked to estimate about a hundred cats in the area, and Ginger and Brian caught 4, just a dent, but their best outing yet. I modestly attributed their good luck to my presence. Together, they not only work on the situation at Wildwood, but the Euclid Beach area to the west and also where East 156 Street dead ends at the lake a little more west. Also, there seems to be a community of feral felines at the intersection of East 156 Street and Grovewood that they are involved with.

Out of four cats caught, two seemed recoverable and two, one feral with bad paws and a red nose and the other with three good legs, did not look like they would be re-introduced or adopted. Obviously, Brian and Ginger are doing a hands on service to our community that many people would not want to undertake. My hats off to them, and I'll continue to follow this story. For additional pictures from this story, please click here.

The Wild Cats of Wildwood

I saw a kitten today and maybe the people that used to feed the cats, but it does seem sporadic at best. The system may have broken down. In years past, the cats seemed to stay around the Euclid Creek area but seem to be branching out.

The Wild Cats of Wildwood

I went down to Wildwood on Friday. It's part of Cleveland Lakefront State Park. Over the years, someone has been feeding a pack of wild cats that live mainly along the creek (west) side of the park. I haven't seen much evidence of recent feeding, but the cats remain.


One of the old timers told me someone brought the cats down to control the rat population, but I haven't seen a rat anywhere for years. Another regular (I'm a regular, I guess) told me the state introduced minks to control the rats. I've seen the mink, beavers, deer and the cats, but no rats.

Anyhow, fall is coming, providing good opportunities for pictures. While looking for the official link for the state park, I found this one.