Wildlife Around Your Home (post pics if you've got 'em!)

brianlux

I didn't find a thread like this elsewhere although I could be wrong, but I thought it would be cool to have a place to post wildlife sightings around your home.  Wildlife is everywhere- from country homes to city dwellings.  Show us what you see around your home and post pictures if you've got them!

We've seen fox run through our yard before, but this morning we had the most incredible two and a half hour display of a family of fox running around the place having a great time- a mom and dad and four kits!  A couple of times, the mom and the four kits ran across our deck right by the glass sliding door!  One of the kits even got up on its hind legs and peered into the dining room like it wanted to get in!  Too cool!  Unfortunately, mom seems to have a bum leg.  But  we feel more secure knowing the dad is around.  At  one point, the mom, dad and four kits were all together and dad started licking mom's face.  We were too captivated watching all this go on to get good pictures but my wife did get this one picture of the mom:

oftenreading

I love seeing foxes.  

This was not around my home; this little guy is an urban fox. I took pics in Breckinridge, Colorado last October. 

Meltdown99

I live in Southern Ontario ... we are limited to whitetail deer, coyotes, apparently some wolves, birds, geese (lots of them dirty fuckers), ducks, a possible big cat has been spotted in the area, a possible black or brown bear has also been spotted and turkeys...I'm probably missing something.

These pictures are of a Robbin who builds her annual nest on my porch.  This year tragedy struck...I came home yesterday to find the nest and her babies laying helplessly on my porch.  The mother was on the porch and distraught.  I called a local wildlife rehab centre to get help. I was able ti bring the baby birds to a local vet clinic who will deliver them to this rehab centre.  3/4 baby birds were still alive.
l

This picture was taken at a local park (Malden Park) in city limits ... I have had 8 deer sitings in the last 2 weeks at this park.  A national park I have been going to for over 30 years and I have only seen 1 deer ... yet this park holds annual deer culls ... it's a joke among us locals.  It's another epic government of Canada fail ... executing wildlife for no apparent reason but bullshit excuse.

Meltdown99

We have squirrels as well ... LOL

Meltdown99

I have dog ... she's not very wild ... but I am absolutely confident she could survive for a bit if we were ever separated ... but I'd search day and night, high and low to find her...

brianlux

Nice pictures, often, Meltdown.

My wife saw a western Oriole the other day.  I was envious- I've never seen one out here before, only while traveling back east.

oftenreading

We have so many deer they are pests. They wander the streets and eat our gardens. 

eeriepadave

Oh lord I think in my apartment complex the animals outnumber the tenants

I live in the suburbs of philly and have seen tons of animals in our complex.  Squirrels, birds, rabbits, deer, foxes (a few times), snakes, hell even had a bat in my apartment once and of course cats and dogs (I know not wildlife).  My cat loves looking out the window.

brianlux

oftenreading said:

We have so many deer they are pests. They wander the streets and eat our gardens. 

A few years ago I talked to a lady friend who was living in Virginia. 

"Hey, P., How's it going?"

"GODDAMN deer!"

"Huh, What's wrong?"

"I hit a deer and it dented my Mustang."

""Bummer, I'm sorry.  But what about the deer?"

""Those pests!  I think I killed it."

I did have some empathy for the friend- the car is an early original early model, but a dead deer- bummer!  The problem, of course, is reduced natural predators.  We need more big cats!

curmudgeoness

That's from our home in New Jersey. Somewhere on my phone I have pics of a bear right outside the back door. Deer were everywhere, like giant locusts eating everything. We also had foxes, a coyote/ coywolf, and all the usual critters.

Here, I get to see dolphins, which is just so much cooler. And then of course there's the skunk that sprayed my cat the other day. :-(

Thirty Bills Unpaid

brianlux said:

oftenreading said:

We have so many deer they are pests. They wander the streets and eat our gardens. 

A few years ago I talked to a lady friend who was living in Virginia. 

"Hey, P., How's it going?"

"GODDAMN deer!"

"Huh, What's wrong?"

"I hit a deer and it dented my Mustang."

""Bummer, I'm sorry.  But what about the deer?"

""Those pests!  I think I killed it."

I did have some empathy for the friend- the car is an early original early model, but a dead deer- bummer!  The problem, of course, is reduced natural predators.  We need more big cats!

Eesh. 

I don't know about this Bri. As an avid mountain biker I do not want to encounter a cougar while biking. And encounters are on the rise in my area.

I ran over a snake today. I didn't mean to. It was moving across the trail right as I was cornering. It was really shitty timing- I came upon it quickly and couldn't adjust my line.

The rider behind me never saw it so I'm hoping it was okay.

mcgruff10

curmudgeoness said:

That's from our home in New Jersey. Somewhere on my phone I have pics of a bear right outside the back door. Deer were everywhere, like giant locusts eating everything. We also had foxes, a coyote/ coywolf, and all the usual critters.

Here, I get to see dolphins, which is just so much cooler. And then of course there's the skunk that sprayed my cat the other day. :-(

Are you in Sussex or warren county?! That s a big black bear!!

Meltdown99

No need to be afraid of wildlife ... wild animals rarely attack people (including big cats and bears) ... 

curmudgeoness

mcgruff10 said:

curmudgeoness said:

That's from our home in New Jersey. Somewhere on my phone I have pics of a bear right outside the back door. Deer were everywhere, like giant locusts eating everything. We also had foxes, a coyote/ coywolf, and all the usual critters.

Here, I get to see dolphins, which is just so much cooler. And then of course there's the skunk that sprayed my cat the other day. :-(

Are you in Sussex or warren county?! That s a big black bear!!

That was Sussex county. Out there, if you call the police to report a bear in your yard, they hang up on you. Bears were everywhere. I remember when we moved in the neighbors said, "Oh, there's a bear in the area, but it lives on the next street over (1/8 of a mile away), not on this one." Umm....

curmudgeoness

And, yes, that was a big bear. My husband got the scare of his life out running on a trail one day: two cubs crossed the trail in front of him. And where there are cubs, there is always a mama bear. 

brianlux

curmudgeoness said:

That's from our home in New Jersey. Somewhere on my phone I have pics of a bear right outside the back door. Deer were everywhere, like giant locusts eating everything. We also had foxes, a coyote/ coywolf, and all the usual critters.

Here, I get to see dolphins, which is just so much cooler. And then of course there's the skunk that sprayed my cat the other day. :-(

Yikes!  I'd have run too (even though they say you're not supposed to).

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

brianlux said:

oftenreading said:

We have so many deer they are pests. They wander the streets and eat our gardens. 

A few years ago I talked to a lady friend who was living in Virginia. 

"Hey, P., How's it going?"

"GODDAMN deer!"

"Huh, What's wrong?"

"I hit a deer and it dented my Mustang."

""Bummer, I'm sorry.  But what about the deer?"

""Those pests!  I think I killed it."

I did have some empathy for the friend- the car is an early original early model, but a dead deer- bummer!  The problem, of course, is reduced natural predators.  We need more big cats!

Eesh. 

I don't know about this Bri. As an avid mountain biker I do not want to encounter a cougar while biking. And encounters are on the rise in my area.

I ran over a snake today. I didn't mean to. It was moving across the trail right as I was cornering. It was really shitty timing- I came upon it quickly and couldn't adjust my line.

The rider behind me never saw it so I'm hoping it was okay.

I suppose I should be more concerned about mountain lions/ cougars.  We do have big cats her in El Dorado county and although I have seen footprints of a big one, I've never actually seen one.  I really do want to see a big wild cat in my life time (though I have seen a few bobcats).  I'm actually quite bummed that I never have. 

But I have seen wild bears.  The first one I saw was in Plumas Eureka State Park when I was maybe 10 years old.  It was on the other side of a rather small 2 foot wide creek and was only about 15 to 20 feet from me.  I saw it and freaked- just turned and ran like hell.  I've always been unnerved by bears ever since then. 

Coyotes are another favorite.  I've seen bunches of them.  They are so tenacious and smart.  One of my favorite animals. 

Meltdown99

B.C. expert warns against ‘cougar hysteria’ after tragic U.S. attack
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/05/21/bc-expert-warns-against-cougar-hysteria-after-tragic-us-attack.html

oftenreading

I’ve seen bears many times while hiking in the Rockies (and in and around properties in Northern BC), and coyotes while cycling the Kettle Valley trail in the okanagan, but I've never seen a cougar, though I would love to. 

Meltdown99

oftenreading said:

I’ve seen bears many times while hiking in the Rockies (and in and around properties in Northern BC), and coyotes while cycling the Kettle Valley trail in the okanagan, but I've never seen a cougar, though I would love to. 

It wouldn't surprise me if a cougar has seen you though.  Big cats are amazing at how stealth like they can be.  The Rockies has some great wildlife ... I've Big Horn Sheep, Bears (no grizzlies), Elk, Mule deer, Moose, Caribou siting 2 years ago, wolf and Goats and Elk Island National Park you get nice and close to Bison.

Meltdown99

Strange ‘wolf-like’ creature shot in Montana, leaves wildlife experts baffled

https://globalnews.ca/news/4233986/wolf-like-creature-shot-in-montana/?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=GlobalNational

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Meltdown99 said:

Strange ‘wolf-like’ creature shot in Montana, leaves wildlife experts baffled

https://globalnews.ca/news/4233986/wolf-like-creature-shot-in-montana/?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=GlobalNational

What a drag.

brianlux

Our fox family was back this morning before I woke up so I missed them but my wife said a couple of the kits were playing on our deck again... until our cat Annie saw them through the glass slider and scared them off.  This is exactly why Annie is an indoor cat.  She would either kill one of the kits or get killed herself by one of the parents. 

brianlux

C. got this shot off this AM.  Kit fox on our deck!

Fifthelement

That is so cool Brian.  Good thread idea.



From last September.

brianlux

Fifthelement said:

That is so cool Brian.  Good thread idea.



From last September.

Great photo, Fifth!

Meltdown99

plenty of messy Canada geese in my area...

rgambs

Some sort of migratory waterfowl

brianlux

This afternoon we got word that a good friend of ours died this morning of cancer and so it was very comforting to have one of our little fox friend come and take a nap on our yard swing.  We opened the window a little and told her she's a good girl.  She look up for a moment and then went back to napping.  ❤️

Thirty Bills Unpaid

brianlux said:

This afternoon we got word that a good friend of ours died this morning of cancer and so it was very comforting to have one of our little fox friend come and take a nap on our yard swing.  We opened the window a little and told her she's a good girl.  She look up for a moment and then went back to napping.  ❤️

Awesome!

Thirty Bills Unpaid

I hope nobody is bothered by this one. My parents live on the river and we spend time on the dock in the summer. We always have a line in and we catch these rainbow trout (also known as Kamloops Trout).

We typically catch 2-3 each day and eat them that day. They're a little bony, but they're tasty. My father sent me a shot of this beauty- he caught it today while I was mountain biking.

brianlux

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

I hope nobody is bothered by this one. My parents live on the river and we spend time on the dock in the summer. We always have a line in and we catch these rainbow trout (also known as Kamloops Trout).

We typically catch 2-3 each day and eat them that day. They're a little bony, but they're tasty. My father sent me a shot of this beauty- he caught it today while I was mountain biking.

Fish killers burn in hell!  LOL!

Yes and no.  I don't fish in stream or ocean anymore (and as far as ocean goes, I abstain from eating anything with the exception of seaweed), but how can I judge?  When I was a kid and up through my 20's I went fishing in Sierra streams and creeks and remember well the taste of fresh caught rainbow trout pan fried in butter after a morning of fishing.  Most places are stocked with fish now so maybe not much impact on  environment- I honestly don't know.