The Black-Crowned Night Heron

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Nycticorax
Species: Nycticorax nycticorax

Description:
The black-crowned night heron has a typical heron profile, but with a stouter bill, neck, and legs. The bill to tail length of adults are between 58 to 72 cm. The adults have a greenish black sheen on the crown and back. The forehead, face, neck, and under parts are grayish white. There are two to four slender long white feathers extending back from the head. The bill is black, the iris red, and the legs and feet are yellow to reddish.

Remarks:
The Black-crowned night heron were first observed in Alberta near Strathmore during the summer of 1958. Since that time they have been seen as far north as the Edmonton area.
Marshes, mud flats or the edges of lakes that are overgrown with rushes and cattails are the haunts of this stocky heron. As the name implies this heron is active at night. During the day it is more inclined to roost in trees or can be found sunning on a rock or fence-post. It feeds largely on fish but will take frogs, crayfish and even small rodents.
The black-crowned night heron nests in colonies and makes a nest of sticks usually in trees, occasionally in bushes and rarely on the ground. The nest can contain 3 to 5 pale bluish green eggs. Incubation takes between 24 to 26 days. There is one brood a year.

The Deer Mouse

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Peromyscus
Species: Peromyscus maniculatus

Description:
The deer mouse is a small, white-footed mouse with large dark eyes and long whiskers. The tail is relatively long and sharply bicolored, white beneath and dark above. The soft fur of the deer mouse varies in colour from a golden brown to a pale grey on the back, while the underparts are white, including the underside of the tail. The ears are large, round, and are covered with fine hairs; and can be described as "Mickey Mouse" like. Deer mice have four toes on the forefeet and five toes on the hind feet. Adult deer mice weigh from 10-35g. with external measurements averaging 170 mm for total length, 81 mm for the tail, 20 mm for the hind foot, with the ear measuring between 12-20mm.

Meaning of name:

Peromyscus - little pouched mouse (may also be from Latin: Pero = pointed)
maniculatus - small-handed

Remarks:
The deer mouse is found throughout Alberta and indeed can be found all over North America. It can be found in forests, prairies, and deserts, but is not found where the ground is continually wet. Deer mice do not usually occur in urban areas. Their natural habitat is in rural and semi-rural areas, where they inhabit fields, pastures, and various types of vegetation found around homes and outbuildings. The deer mouse builds a spherical nest by shredding materials such as bark, grass, hair, string, and the fluff from cattails into a soft, warm bed with one main entrance. The nesting site can be found anywhere there is a cavity or opening such as under rocks or wood piles, or in empty bird's nests. Deer mice drop their scats and urinate in and around the nest site. Because of this there should always be a concern about Hantavirus when ever the deer mouse is found in sheds, attics, feed bins, or other enclosed spaces were people may breath the dust from the nest.
Breeding starts very late in the winter and young are then born in April, they have many litters each from 2 to 9. On average, the deer mouse has about four litters each year. The gestation period varies from 22 to 27 days, averaging about 24 days. Litter size ranges from one to nine, averaging about four. At birth the young are blind, pink, and hairless and weigh from 1.1 to 2.3 g. The male while not present at birth, does return to assists in the care of the young. Sexual maturity is reached before the young lose their "blue" juvenile pelage, and females born early in the year may themselves produce young by late summer or early fall.

The deer mouse is omnivorous, and feeds on seeds, plant greens, berries, nuts, mushrooms, insects, and carrion. They will also gnaw on bones or antlers for the calcium.
Deer mice in turn are an important food source for many carnivores, like weasels, foxes, skunks, minks, raccoons, bears, coyotes, and wolves. Owls and snakes are also important predators.