Predation, yellow jackets....

I'm more than 2/3rds done with my data collection. I need to work on my writing and start going through the data. 

Hornets are still an issue, but there seems to be less of them and more yellow jackets. There are days when no colonization happens at all and I know it's because the hornets and yellow jackets are eating the flies or keeping them from laying eggs. My data collection site under the tall trees swarms with yellow jackets. Sometimes it's difficult to get in there to check the thermometer and look for colonization. 

It's very hot this week and slightly windy. We expect to have temps in the 100s by the end of the week.

As usual, pics of bugs, liver and eggs to follow...

Yellow jacket. 

Yellow jackets like liver. Nom, nom!  

Yay, colonization! 

The liver gets fairly dried out, especially the liver at the site in the grass. It doesn't seem to affect colonization. 

More colonization

Under the liver on the bottom of the bowl, there are holes to let liquid drain. The flies use them to lay eggs under the liver. 

This happened again and the basket was weighted down. I don't think it was a raven. They still hang around, but something else happened that makes me think it was either a raccoon or a large house cat/small wildcat. 

Three of our roosters and our duck (her name was Pip and she was a wonderful duck) were killed and eaten in our yard. My daughter heard something in the yard several nights last week, but we couldn't see anything. Then, she woke me up at 3:00 in the morning because one of our chickens was screaming. Something had her in the brush. I went out on the balcony above it and yelled. It let her go.  She ran off. to hide in the plum trees on the other side of the yard. It must have run the other way and I never saw it. My boys chased it towards our pond where they saw glowing eyes that were too high off the ground to be a house cat, but it got away. That poor chicken is injured and it's still too soon to tell if she will recover fully, but she is up and walking around. I think she needs therapy. "It" hasn't come back that we know of. We've redoubled our efforts to keep the chickens and geese safe at night. Long story short. Something is eating my birds and my livers.