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salsabike
04-05-2006, 10:31 PM
Inspired partly by Nanci's eagle cam post (for another, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/eaglecam/) and partly by a thread I once saw on BikeForums:

On our rides on the Sammamish River Trail, we see Great Blue Herons, bald eagles, various hawks, bufflehead and merganser ducks, kingfishers, coots, mallards of course, cormorants, the occasional river otter and babies, and lately an osprey. What do you guys see?

(Another favorite BikeForums thread, by the way, was "What's the biggest bug you ever ate?" As one who rides breathing through her mouth often, I'm sure that thread will be relevant to me at some point).

tattiefritter
04-05-2006, 11:44 PM
On my old commute I used to regularly see rabbits (why do baby rabbits insist on darting right in front of you?) and the odd deer, which was lovely. My commute now is down a main road on the way in, any wildlife I see is mainly roadkill. On the way home its more rural, so in the last two times i've seen pheasant, squirrels, lambs (aww!), cows and lots of birds.

Out on MTB day rides it is predominantly sheep, especially in the Lake District, and other farm animals, as well as swans, ducks and lots of other birds that I don't know the name of but are striking enough to point out. On nights rides I've come across and owl and a badger (and lots of other shining eyes belonging to who knows what).

uk elephant
04-06-2006, 04:26 AM
On Tuesday afternoon, I saw lots of phesants on my ride around the countryside. Big males in glorious colours. Beautiful! On other rides, I have also seen a heron. I always see tons of birds of various kinds, but unfortunately don't know enough to identify most of them. Typically the list includes ducks (several species), swans (at least a couple of species), merehens, robins (European, not American ones), seaguls, pigeons, blackbirds, magpies, and crows. I've counted at least 10 species in one day, just on my little 2.5 mile ride from the station to where my office is.

I always see lots of rabits and hares, and of course the usual sheep, cows and horses. And I have seen a water vole run across the trail once.

so far my most exciting observations have been the heron, the phesants and the black swans....and of course the vole (as I'm doing my PhD on voles).

Tater
04-06-2006, 04:35 AM
Now that the weather has gotten warmer, I see a lot of ground squirrles (whistle pigs, as they are known in these parts), American robins, house finches, hawks, an occassional golden eagle, antelope and deer. I am sure this list will expand as the days get warmer and longer.

DebW
04-06-2006, 05:45 AM
I see occassional deer and turkey on my commute to work. Weasel, muskrat, and beaver on occassion if I'm cycling by wetlands. There was a barred owl living in my neighborhood a couple year ago. I saw it once as it flew in front of my when I was riding. It landed in a tree 10 feet from the road, so I stopped. We looked at each other for about a minute, then it flew off. I used to bird watch by bike so much that I'm amazed I never ran off the road.

JLD
04-06-2006, 06:29 AM
Ah! A subject favourite to me! Sometimes I think I ride Just to see the non urban.....Last year I saw a bobcat!............Often enough deer.....the occasional fox..........At night I haven't seen a skunk but I sure know one is nearby! And I have heard an owl. By day, the best was a marsh hawk. There are Many kind of geese and duck here-mallard, teal, Canada goose, small hawks, mergansers, woodpeckers, kingfisher, once a snow goose.

JLD
04-06-2006, 06:35 AM
Of bugs...well.....the no see-ums get bad here in the spring--and by the water, shad flies fly into the face--but--I haven't 'eaten' one yet! I have been stung by mozzies though---and once a wasp got me good-Ouch!
But does anyone have to worry about loose dogs?
I am careful on paths that have a lot of chipmunk traffic and squirrels. Stopped the bike on a dime once to avoid a snake crossing the path.

yellow
04-06-2006, 07:22 AM
Well, today I saw my very fat cat lounging on the dog bed next to my trainer. :p

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/FatCat.jpg

Blueberry
04-06-2006, 09:14 AM
Your cat looks almost exactly like mine - same coloring - different color eyes.

I see lots of deer, surprised an opossum on a night ride once. Many squirrels and lots of baby bunnies recently...

Carrie Anne

yellow
04-06-2006, 09:32 AM
Your cat looks almost exactly like mine - same coloring - different color eyes.
Ummmm...yours is THINNER! :eek: :D The vet told me I need to make her exercise. Yeah, right. She's not leash trained :p and when you start playing with her, she just lays on her back and bats at whatever you're dangling in front of her. It's perplexing to me as she used to be an outdoor-only, in-shape cat. I think she likes this indoor livin'! (And yes, she is on "light" cat food!)

Blueberry
04-06-2006, 10:02 AM
Ummmm...yours is THINNER! :eek: :D The vet told me I need to make her exercise. Yeah, right. She's not leash trained :p and when you start playing with her, she just lays on her back and bats at whatever you're dangling in front of her. It's perplexing to me as she used to be an outdoor-only, in-shape cat. I think she likes this indoor livin'! (And yes, she is on "light" cat food!)

Mine is just in a flattering pose:D :D

She looks just like she swallowed a bowling ball :D :D She has a heart murmur, so she can't exercise much (haven't figured out how you exercise a cat either - umm...kitty treadmill:eek: :eek: ). My other cat is the really overweight one - I tried to exercise him, but he bites the toy and hangs on. Chase that - who me?! He does beat up the 85 lb golden retriever year old "puppy" we have, though...

CorsairMac
04-06-2006, 10:52 AM
Mine is just in a flattering pose:D :D



Love that line!! Next time someone wants to take my picture I'm gonna tell em Only if it's a flattering pose!! :D

let me see: quail, sandhill cranes, roadrunners, bald eagle, blue herons, geese, pheasant, ducks, snakes, various and sundry birds. that's all I can think of right now

makbike
04-06-2006, 02:47 PM
CA in NC and Yellow have you tried a laser pointer? I have seven cats and it by far is their favorite toy and gets them moving! I'm sure your vets have given you the speech about obesity and the health issues (diabetes, heart disease, joint issues, etc) associated with it in cats and dogs so I will spare you (I'm not a vet but have worked as an assistant for over 10 years and have seen the effects first hand). Love your furry buddies for they are wonderful gifts which have been bestowed upon you.

Marcie

makbike
04-06-2006, 02:51 PM
Okay, now for what I see and enjoy when I ride: Red Tail Hawks, Vultures, Red Fox, Bison (not wild but still very cool to ride past), beautiful horses (I live in horse country) lots of cows, goats, birds (warblers, thrushes, red wing blackbirds, meadow larks, etc), deer, turkey, chipmunks, gophers, snakes, lizards, frogs (typically don't see them but love to listen to them sing), lots of insects, and the list goes on and on.

yellow
04-06-2006, 04:17 PM
CA in NC and Yellow have you tried a laser pointer?
Oh, yeah. :rolleyes: "What's that? That's interesting."

The dog, however, goes absolutely batty over it. It's called "The Dot" and when you say those words...oh boy.

makbike
04-06-2006, 04:59 PM
I will never forget the crazy dog that I encountered at the first clinic where I worked. You could not touch this dog without him going crazy unless his owner used his laser point. Once the red dot appeared on the wall the dog would hold a perfect point and we could do anything we needed. If the dot disappeared people moved pretty darn fast as did the dog. It was an amazing sight!

marcie

SadieKate
04-06-2006, 06:00 PM
This being the land of fruit and nuts we have all kind of stuff out here. Ostrich, emu, peacock, llama, Somali Wild ***, etc. I miss the camel that used to live out by Lake Solano.

I've had finches roost on my hat when taking on nap on the bank and have also wakened to find a trio of pelican staring down their beaks at me from their perch on the log I was resting against (heh, naps in a fishing trip are a work of art :p ). Pelicans are HUGE when they're standing over your head.

But twice in the last few weeks, I have had a Red-Shouldered Hawk sweep over my head by only 10 ft or so. Bubba calls me Hawk Woman for the number of times he has seen this happen. I'm hoping this means good things for our Utah trip next week.

SK

Popoki_Nui
04-06-2006, 08:32 PM
Saw this lady enjoying the hot sun a couple of weeks ago on a ride. You can just see the gi-normous smile on her face. :D Usually there are half a dozen of her friends with her...the rest were inside cooling off on this day.

~Sherry.

slinkedog
04-07-2006, 08:20 AM
Let's see... llamas, horses, lots of cows, deer, kamikaze squirrels, lizards, hawks, turkeys... That's all I can think of right now. :)

newfsmith
04-07-2006, 03:48 PM
Deer (20 on the ride home last night), wild turkeys (usually 14 to 22, right now the Tom's are displaying), raccoons, opossums, grey squirrels, red squirrels, flying squirrel, chipmunks, woodchuck, red fox, coyote, Least weasel, Canada geese, 2 Saw-whet owls, yellow spotted salamanders, turtles, Spring Peepers, Woodcock, and a full array of songbirds.

DrBee
04-08-2006, 06:06 PM
Rabbits, squirrels, robins, finches, house sparrows, blue jays, grackles, canada goose, mallards, occasional wooduck, and oh yeah - a hedgehog :D

The roving dogs (wild, but not wildlife) usually belong to someone, just someone that doesn't care enough to keep them safe and secure in a fence.

Aggie_Ama
04-16-2006, 09:09 AM
The wildlife in Austin, Texas is actually somewhat boring. We have seen a hawk, white-tail deer, snakes (grass and one rattler being eaten by the hawk), cardinals, grackels, pigeons. The non-wildlife we frequently encounter are donkeys, cows and yesterday we were sharing the road with a horse.

Nokomis
04-17-2006, 08:12 AM
in addition to all the farm animals - deer, coyote, various birds (hawks, eagles, ring neck pheasant)...
but the worst is snakes, when they decide to sunbathe on the road. If they get startled by the first person to pass, they start moving erratically and are hard to swerve around :eek: I really don't want to run over a snake.

margo49
04-17-2006, 12:52 PM
I just started doing this ride again (after a break). Now it is spring and there is a colony of bee eaters (Merops apiaster) that are doing their burrow-in-the-bank nests. Must be 100 of them with their lovely colours (even better than kingfisher), their trilling whistle song and their crazy aerobatics. Nature's BASE jumpers, they throw themselves into the air (from a thin branch or a power line - they have only tiny little feet) and *then* start to fly.
Also saw otters in the river, mongooses scurrying from one place to another and a flock of skittish finches.

Wonderful thread, btw

bcipam
04-17-2006, 03:35 PM
The wildlife in Austin, Texas is actually somewhat boring. We have seen a hawk, white-tail deer, snakes (grass and one rattler being eaten by the hawk), cardinals, grackels, pigeons. The non-wildlife we frequently encounter are donkeys, cows and yesterday we were sharing the road with a horse.

I did "Hell Week" last year out of Fredericksburg. We saw just about every kind of exotic deer and antelope possible. Plus the everyday cows, horses etc. Also saw a strange herd of angora goats, lots of interesting wild birds, cool stuff. But then again I'm from California so it was all new ot me!

mimitabby
04-24-2006, 09:43 AM
Biking in the Seattle area, we see lots of birds, from Eagles to waterbirds.
but last year we came up upon a skunk. We came REALLY close and held
our breath... and the skunk just looked at us and kept on with his business!

talk about adrenaline!
::eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
but it was a happy skunk I guess.

RoadRaven
04-24-2006, 11:39 AM
I just started doing this ride again (after a break). Now it is spring and there is a colony of bee eaters (Merops apiaster) that are doing their burrow-in-the-bank nests. Must be 100 of them with their lovely colours (even better than kingfisher)...


Ah! Margo! I envy you the bee eaters...
When we first got SKY (satellite TV) one of the first programmes I saw was about African Bee Eaters and it has always stuck with me - not only because of the clarity of picture and colour (we live in a bad reception area for 'normal' TV) but also because of the community the programme described with aunts, uncles and grandparents all helping to raise one couples chicks - and if anyone other than a first cousin approached the hole/nest/burrow, then they would be rousted away promptly. I was well impressed!

AuntieK
04-24-2006, 12:05 PM
Last Fri I rode in a place called Antelope Island. It's an island in the Great Salt Lake. There I spotted bison, antelope, barn owl, small owl (it had it's back to me, so I couldn't ID), rabbits, great blue heron, Canadian geese and of course seagulls, ducks and starlings. Oh and lots of bugs (ate more than I saw of these) :p

margo49
04-24-2006, 07:09 PM
Yeah, RoadRaven. I read that last year's boy-bee eater chicks help the parents with the digging of this year's nest. Now there's an idea for occupying teenage boys and keeping them out of trouble:p
I found another but smaller colony even closer to home (along-the-river-bank ride).Quite the wee ornithologiste,amn't I?;)

Duck on Wheels
04-26-2006, 02:56 PM
I assume the dead skunk doesn't count? That leaves ... hm, turkeys crossing the road, deer, moose, a bat, a coyote once, and today through the window at spin class: a chipmunk.

DirtDiva
04-26-2006, 03:20 PM
Pigeons...

Lise
04-26-2006, 04:28 PM
For the longest time, the pictures in this thread wouldn't open for me. Finally got to see the two cute fat cats and the lovely lady pig in the mud. Made me smile. :)

Tuckervill
04-26-2006, 07:57 PM
I see nutria a lot. There's one who lives in the falling down shed in my side-neighbor's back yard. It ho-hums around even when the dog is barking at it through the fence, but when I walk close he scampers off. There's a section of Sager Creek in my town where I can always see one hanging out. They are supposed to be nocturnal, but I see them often in the daytime.

They are also a pest, destroying wetland (although I don't know exactly how). They look like a cross between a beaver and a possum.

http://www.iisgcp.org/EXOTICSP/images/nutria/nutria-ZooNet1.jpg

margo49
04-27-2006, 03:29 AM
Yeah we have that nutria. I thought name nutria was a hebrew one so I translated it as otter. This is an English name which seemed to be what I was looking at from descriptions in British Imperialist books I read in my 1960's New Zealand childhood. Are you sure it is related to the possum?:confused:

Tuckervill
04-27-2006, 04:27 AM
I don't think it's related to the possum. Its tail just looks like a possum's when it's wet. Looking at the tail is how I distinguish it from a beaver when I see it. We have beavers, too, but I never see them on my rides.

Karen

Geonz
04-27-2006, 10:19 AM
If I remember right from my Wildlife major days (Wildlife and Fisheries, not the other kind :-)) it is 'way closer to beaver than anything else.

I always figured my Giant Nutra was sort of named after it. I know I resemble a plastered possum when it's raining...

margo49
04-27-2006, 10:21 AM
Oh Tuckervill, none of us look our best when our tail is wet!!

Tuckervill
04-27-2006, 11:24 AM
Speak for yourself. :::snicker:::

Karen

Tuckervill
04-27-2006, 11:28 AM
My son and I encountered a deer at Devil's Den a couple of times. Strangely enough it didn't run away, but just watched us go by, and it was still in the vicinity when we came back through. We did stop and watch it for a while. It was twitchy, but unconcerned.

And then there was the time that the turkey flew up in front of him. That's why he lets me lead all the time, now.

Karen

Aggie_Ama
04-28-2006, 01:33 PM
The other day a saw a roadrunner (beep beep) and a baby miniature donkey. The donkey was so cute!

I forgot on the Tri County Hill Hopper the last two years we have seen some guineas (birds). That is an interesting one.

margo49
04-29-2006, 06:23 AM
On today's "riding my bike to ride my bike" ride I found myself riding along a swathe of stubble at the edge of a golden wheatfield (I guess they started and decided it was not ready or something)...
Suddenly a rustling sound caught my attention and I looked to see a gazelle. It leapt and bounded across the field. It was so graceful; hardly seemed to touch the ground. The only sound was the rustle of the wheat.
Then I heard the kingfisher's typical screaming and looked up to see no less than 3 kingfishers. I so love their colours. They also do that thing of having one of last year's chicks help digging out this year's nest hole in a bank, RoadRaven, it's not only bee-eaters.

I love this thread, in case you all hadn't already guessed

betagirl
04-30-2006, 07:18 AM
I'm with tikiwi - pigeons.

Also squirrels that like to run out in the road in front of me. An occasional seagull if I'm by the lake. Canadian geese. Ducks.

For roadkill, usually oppossum and racoons. I saw a flat ground squirrel yesterday.

Lise
05-01-2006, 08:10 PM
Yeah, like beta said. Dogs, too. Why do the little ones seem the most dangerous? They're like berserk squirrels. (This from the woman whose avatar is a dachshund...:rolleyes: )

I'm envious of the beautiful animals and incredible countryside some of you get to see. Our lake Michigan is nothing shabby...but...you know. It's still Chicago. Which I love. But still...

crazycanuck
05-02-2006, 02:13 AM
If i ride round the Swan river i often see Pelicans on top of light posts...(kiwi in oz..know what i'm on about?)

Now my question is why do pelicans like sitting atop light posts when the light post is quite small...

It's rather distracting trying not to ride into the river when looking up wondering what a pelican poo is like...

c

colby
05-02-2006, 04:12 PM
Rollerbladers, recumbent bikers, walkers, joggers, girls with gum up their noses (yes, really)... oh, you meant non-humans :)

Lots of bunnies! Especially at dusk, that's prime bunny time to be running across the road, or right along it then darting to one side or the other (hopefully away from the bike...). Along the river we'll see ducks and geese, sometimes some squirrels or chipmunks or other small groundish creatures. One path to/from work includes horses and cows! In town, we'll see seagulls and other local birds. Right near our house, local dogs and cats, too.

Sometimes I feel so focused on the bike I don't take time to enjoy what's around me... I think I'll be more observant on the next few rides.

maillotpois
05-02-2006, 04:40 PM
I completely forgot about Adam the 2-humped camel who lives on the road between Petaluma and Tomales. I think he takes the prize.

I've been buzzed by vultures ("Not yet guys!").

Deer: I've seen 2 stags fighting their way across a relatively suburban road. I heard a commotion on the hill above me and stopped and there they were right out of Wild Kingdom. It was actually a little scary to be that close.

DH and I rescued a turtle from the middle of the road once.

I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

We almost hit a skunk (living) at the beginning of the Mt. Tam Double last year. He was about to cross the road right in front of us. Now that would have been a miserable ride.

Melody
05-02-2006, 08:14 PM
I don't usually see much wildlife other than your typical cat & dogs, however that said, this past weekend when I rode with everyone on the Alameda Creek Trail I saw a turkey... smack dab in the middle of the trail :eek: I slowly approached it since I had *no* idea where it was going to go.

Later on, I saw more turkeys just walking around on a hillside. :)

Mel

Lise
05-02-2006, 08:37 PM
MP--surely you didn't see a 45 foot long rattle snake, right?!? :eek: Does that say "4.5" or "4-5"? The camel does win the prize so far, IMHO. L.

maillotpois
05-03-2006, 07:22 AM
MP--surely you didn't see a 45 foot long rattle snake, right?!? :eek: Does that say "4.5" or "4-5"? The camel does win the prize so far, IMHO. L.

wow that would be a big snake! I meant 4 - 5 feet..... thanks for catching the typo!!!

jobob
05-03-2006, 07:34 AM
I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

I wonder if it's any relation to the rattlesnake that was crossing Crothers Rd that I almost hit this past Sunday as I was descending the other side of Mt. Hamilton. Gahhhh.

Speaking of wildlife of sorts on Crothers Road, very near the location of the DMD Crothers Road rest stop there was a pasture with llamas. Maybe if they have the rest stop there again next year they could call it "Pet the Llama"?
Uh, or not.

maillotpois
05-03-2006, 08:25 AM
I wonder if it's any relation to the rattlesnake that was crossing Crothers Rd that I almost hit this past Sunday as I was descending the other side of Mt. Hamilton. Gahhhh.

Speaking of wildlife of sorts on Crothers Road, very near the location of the DMD Crothers Road rest stop there was a pasture with llamas. Maybe if they have the rest stop there again next year they could call it "Pet the Llama"?
Uh, or not.

llamas are actually pretty engaging and friendyl. a pair of them came running over to watch us at the solvang double. at the dmd pet the goat spot, the goat lives with a llama who was apparently very mad about his roomie being gone for the day - spitting on owner, etc.

there's a ranch in petaluma called "shangri-llama".

bcipam
05-03-2006, 11:22 AM
Alittle OT but Saturday I did a "wildflower" training hike with a bunch of fellow docents. One of the younger docents liked to pick up fallen logs and other debris. We were never disappointed. Each time there was a snake hiding out - no rattlers - several garters and gopher snakes. We also watched some stalks of tall mustard go underground - I guess there was a gopher nibbling at the roots. Yes I started to get alittle bore on the training hike. We did 3 miles in 5 hours! :eek: Can you imagine????

Aint Doody
05-03-2006, 03:06 PM
Baby emus! Oh, and the parents, too.

tulip
05-03-2006, 04:52 PM
The last two days I've rescued baby snapping turtles from the MUP on my way to work. They are too small to bite, and look like small, black dinosaurs. I put them back in the wooded area next to the river, which the trail runs along. Then I read that as soon as they hatch, they head for the water. The little ones that I saw must have gotten confused. If I see any more, I'll put them in the river.

Lise
05-03-2006, 06:04 PM
The last two days I've rescued baby snapping turtles from the MUP on my way to work. They are too small to bite, and look like small, black dinosaurs. I put them back in the wooded area next to the river, which the trail runs along. Then I read that as soon as they hatch, they head for the water. The little ones that I saw must have gotten confused. If I see any more, I'll put them in the river.
Hi, tulip--what's the MUP? I was in your town last weekend--my bro lives in Adams Morgan. I spent Friday afternoon walking around the Phillips, then up Connecticut and across the zoo. I love our nation's capital! What a beautiful town. I always experience it as a delightful blend of urban and natural beauty. I had one of the worst allergy days I think I've ever had, though. I just kept taking more antihistamines and decongestants--went to bed still sneezing and snuffling. Once we started driving down to VA for the wedding, it all went away.

MP--I was clearly post-call to even imagine a 45' long snake. (Post-call: After an intense call shift, my thinking isn't the clearest) Still. 4-5'. Yikes. I love looking at llamas. I spent some time in Peru at age 17, as an exchange student. There's a little, fluffy toy llama on my desk even now, with a red and white ribbon around his neck, the colors of the Peruvian flag. :)

kiwi girl
05-03-2006, 08:38 PM
lots of farm animals - cows and sheep mostly but i had to get past four horses that were been walked down the street the other day - but I guess they are not really wildlife

bunnies if I go to bottle lake early enough (which I haven't for a very long time), pukeko (usually alive, but road kill disturbingly often) and possums (only as road kill)

mellic
05-03-2006, 09:47 PM
I don't think there is anything more irritating than having a kangaroo jump out in front of you. They can grow up to 6-foot tall. They really are very stupid and they always seem to be in the way.

Once when I was out on a training ride in a rural area someone's pet kangaroo started chasing after me. I tried to sprint away from it but they are soooo fast. It followed me for about 4 kilometres, so I stopped and got off my bike and tried chasing it away, but unfortunately that didn't work. In the end I had to ride all the way back until I found the owners of this kangaroo who told me that they constantly take it out for exercise using their motorbike and they were not suprised that it followed me.

Lise
05-04-2006, 02:44 AM
I don't think there is anything more irritating than having a kangaroo jump out in front of you. They can grow up to 6-foot tall. They really are very stupid and they always seem to be in the way.

Once when I was out on a training ride in a rural area someone's pet kangaroo started chasing after me. I tried to sprint away from it but they are soooo fast. It followed me for about 4 kilometres, so I stopped and got off my bike and tried chasing it away, but unfortunately that didn't work. In the end I had to ride all the way back until I found the owners of this kangaroo who told me that they constantly take it out for exercise using their motorbike and they were not suprised that it followed me.
See, this is just one of the reasons that I love this board. You'll never get a story even remotely like this one from Chicago! :D We pay money to go look at kangaroos in the zoo! :p

Geonz
05-04-2006, 05:19 AM
Welp, we saw three herons and a skunk up close last night -- don't often see skunks *alive* around here.
But what's MUP - Middle Upraised Peninsula? Mired Under Pavement? Municipal Underpass Park?

bouncybouncy
05-04-2006, 10:48 AM
have you ever drafted a bumbble-bee???



quite amusing...and not much help:p
***i was sure to keep him away from my boobs tho...hehe

weathergal
05-04-2006, 02:16 PM
Domestic animals: Dogs, a few cats, more cattle than you can shake a stike at, horses, and on certain routes, sheep or goats.

Wild animals: Birds of many kinds, including phesants and hawks, a few deer, turtles, rabbits, and on my route to the northeast of my house; a prairie dog town.

Roadkill: Mostly bunnies and birds, but a couple of skunks, possums, and one really big snake.

Bad JuJu
05-08-2006, 03:18 AM
bouncybouncy--I've never drafted a bumblebee, but I've seen a couple of dragonflies that I'd swear were drafting me! With the sun behind me, I saw their little shadows at my rear wheel. They stayed with me for maybe a tenth of a mile or so.

Other wildlife: turkeys, both wild and domestic, one peacock (must be somebody's pet), flock of guinea fowl, box turtles, blue herons, belted kingfishers, blue blue blue bluebirds, crows, vultures, one bald eagle, deer, an occasional hawk, bunnies, and assorted snakes, both venomous and non-.

Also, do carnivorous plants count? Here along the northern Gulf coast, we have the white pitcher plant, which supplements its diet with insects...yum!
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2150/1360/1600/GossipingPitchers.1.jpg

Starfish
05-08-2006, 05:54 PM
Bald eagles, herons and other assorted flying critters (although try to avoid seeing THE bird); otters & seals; a coyote; lots of deer, including 2 today; elk.

Anyone ever run across a bear or cougar on a ride? We have both around here, and I always think of that when I'm riding alone and creeping up a hill (blacktop) in the forest. Our hikers and one cyclist I know of sometimes come face-to-face with a cougar, and it's something that sorta scares me.

yellow
05-08-2006, 07:11 PM
Today, a moose in the distance. Looked like a young bull moose. We stopped and watched him for a while.

I continue to be surprised by the bird diversity here (I used to live in the Pacific Flyway and, well, you could see just about anything as a result). Lazuli buntings singing and rufous hummingbirds vocalizing today. Whew. I was afraid it would be nothing but robins and mo-dos (though there is nothing wrong with robins and mo-dos).

bouncybouncy
05-09-2006, 04:21 AM
Anyone ever run across a bear or cougar on a ride? We have both around here, and I always think of that when I'm riding alone and creeping up a hill (blacktop) in the forest. Our hikers and one cyclist I know of sometimes come face-to-face with a cougar, and it's something that sorta scares me.

we are of the few in our area who have actually seen a black bear (and her cub!) on a trail:eek: black bears are usually very timid and i was not too worried except we saw one cub and was not sure if it had a sibling...

my hubby saw the moma run across the trail (about 100 yards in front of us) so he stopped i nearly bashed into him when i saw the comotion of the cub following moma...chris hollered if it was ok to go (he is a florida boy...only gator-wise / i on the other hand grew up in north CA & OR region...have had a bit more bear education) so i said make sure there is only one cub...we DO NOT want to get between moma & baby!!!! the moma ran up a tree and baby stayed on the ground at the base of the tree looking at us....oh my goodness it was SOOOOO cute!!!!! we did not hear any more russling so i said to continue while making a bit of noise as to let moma know we were moving AWAY from her and baby....
all was ok EXCEPT....we did not have a camera:(
oh...well...the image is etched in my brain for a LONG time!!!

Aggie_Ama
05-09-2006, 06:53 AM
I seem to be noticing the wildlife more since reading this thread. Yesterday I veered to avoid hitting a TARANTULA! They eat insects, so I let him live. He was just crossing the road peacefully, I have never seen one in the wild.

bentforlife
05-09-2006, 10:12 AM
We certainly have plenty of those. We live on what at one time was called Tarantula hill.:eek: :eek: We get plenty in our yard. I'm not particularly fond of them..nothing should be that big and hairy and have that many legs, but they do eat a lot of insects, as long as they don't set up web making on my porches. EWHHH!!

We get armadilloes, mainly dead, possums, the occasional coyote, lots of birds,especially the common grackle, and also see gulls and other sea birds. Even though we are at least 300 miles from the coast, there are several large lakes in the area and we get the sea birds because of that. I have seen a few dead snakes, nothing live while on my bike. My favorite is a red shouldered hawk nest on a large power line tower. They must have babies because they've been very busy.

Donna :cool:

Deanna
05-09-2006, 11:41 AM
I mostly see deer and birds. Wild turkeys are getting to be a problem in the area, so I see flocks of them. On our first warm days after winter I see snakes and lizards, unfortunately the snakes are usually dead in the road, I think they get out there to sun themselves on the warm asphalt and then get hit. I saw a bobcat last weekend!

maillotpois
05-09-2006, 04:50 PM
Reading Bouncy's post made me remember: last year I was riding Tioga Pass in Yosemite (well, the 30 - 40 miles that were open because of the super late high snow levels :mad: ). Anyway, I saw 2 bears! One was above us on the hill above Tioga Pass. He rushed off into the woods. The second was at Crane Flat as I was preparing to descend to Yosemite Valley. He was just wandering through a fiels, super casual, eating plants. I got a picture of the second one and may post it here if I can get it off the home computer and into the photobucket thing SK made me sign up for.

Bears are COOL!

Starfish
05-09-2006, 05:24 PM
We certainly have plenty of those. We live on what at one time was called Tarantula hill.:eek: :eek: We get plenty in our yard.

This might make me sound ridiculous, but I honestly don't know how I would cope living where there were wild tarantulas. On my first and only visit to Texas (it was a great trip, beautiful state), I had to deal with a scorpion, but if I had thought I might have to get a tarantula out of my cabin, too, I just don't know. My hat is off to you guys.

bentforlife
05-10-2006, 06:28 AM
and I'm as close to having arachnophbia as anyone else. These "big" guys really don't have many enemies and don't have much to fear except cars running over them. Actually I overcame some of my arachnophobia 4 summers ago when we had a rather large zipper spider set up housekeeping on my back porch. My dh talked me out of killing it and asked me to observe it for a while. Having peaked my curiousity( I do have a Biology degree) I agreed. Well that spider stayed all summer and well into the fall. I was actually sad to see it leave. And I learned a lot about spider behaviour that was intriquing. And seeing how many bugs that thing took care of was amazing!! Now I only kill the black widows and brown recluses I find, they can be quite dangerous. I let all other spiders live.

As far as scorpions, another arachnid, I hate them. The ones here are not dangerous but they can be aggressive little boogers. I do kill them because they pose a danger to my cat and dog. Now if I can overcome my fear of wasps, bees, and yellow jackets, I'll have accomplished a lot.

Donna :cool:

Lise
05-10-2006, 01:12 PM
My mom did me a big favor when I was little--she told me about spiders eating mosquitoes. And she read me Charlotte's Web. That may have been the book on which I learned to read...having it read to me, I just started to pick up the words. How frustrating to go to 1st grade and be handed D*ck and Jane. Boooooorrrrrrring! But I digress. Spiders are our friends. Most of the time.

Lise
05-10-2006, 01:14 PM
Good grief. The computer edited the name of the beloved, extremely boring children's book of yore, **** and Jane. :rolleyes: I went back and compromised, editing it down to only one strategically placed asterisk.

maillotpois
05-10-2006, 01:18 PM
Good grief. The computer edited the name of the beloved, extremely boring children's book of yore, **** and Jane. :rolleyes: I went back and compromised, editing it down to only one strategically placed asterisk.


Let me try something: **** Cheney.

maillotpois
05-10-2006, 01:19 PM
Let me try something: **** Cheney.


Now that's excellent!

DirtDiva
05-10-2006, 02:22 PM
Heh. Most excellent. :D

maillotpois
05-10-2006, 02:51 PM
I thought it was good. Due credit to Lise for figuring out the "expletive blocker."

SadieKate
05-10-2006, 02:54 PM
It's getting deeper.:cool:

SadieKate
05-10-2006, 03:01 PM
Does this qualify as a wild animal?

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=crap-your-hands.jpg&category=Toys&date=2005-08-10

maillotpois
05-10-2006, 03:08 PM
Does this qualify as a wild animal?

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=crap-your-hands.jpg&category=Toys&date=2005-08-10


Tickle me Elmo - oh cr@p!

Starfish
05-10-2006, 05:40 PM
Spiders are our friends. Most of the time.

My brain definitely agrees. Now if I can only train my skin to react the same way! :-)

kiwi in oz
05-17-2006, 05:18 AM
A bit slow on the uptake.. but yeah, Crazycanuck - have seen the pelicans - though I tend to be looking at the ground in a paranoid state lately!

Did see a duck on a post today - I couldn't see any water nearby - and it was still there an hour later when I returned.

best wildlife spotting has to be the pod of 5 or so dolphins under the Narrows bridge (for those of you who know Perth) about 20-25km up river. Definite wildlife highlight!

Lise
05-17-2006, 03:56 PM
Does this qualify as a wild animal?

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=crap-your-hands.jpg&category=Toys&date=2005-08-10
Oh, man, SK, I was EATING!

(there's an adventure story for you. How did Lise end up in the hospital? It's a biking related injury. She was eating pasta and choked while laughing at a post from SK on the TE board.)
.............................
Do you think if we write his name in asterisks enough times, **** Cheney will disappear?

maillotpois
05-17-2006, 08:01 PM
Oh, man, SK, I was EATING!

(there's an adventure story for you. How did Lise end up in the hospital? It's a biking related injury. She was eating pasta and choked while laughing at a post from SK on the TE board.)
.............................
Do you think if we write his name in asterisks enough times, **** Cheney will disappear?


Beautiful!!!

Let's send **** Cheney a Crap you Hands Elmo!! He can use it for quail (Quayle?) hunting target practice....

Edit: Amazing how it ***'s out "****" but not "Crap". Conspiracy? Liberal media??

Lise
05-18-2006, 03:36 AM
Liberal media??
Yes. Clearly.

I am now resisting the adolescent urge to write a bunch of words and see which ones get the star treatment. Resist! :rolleyes:

hirakukibou
06-21-2006, 09:33 AM
On Sunday I saw a mother deer and two fawns. The mother and one fawn made it across the bike trail but the other fawn saw me and ran back. I waited a bit to see if it would cross but the path was really busy and it was sort of stuck. I hope it made it.

light_sabe_r
06-21-2006, 12:55 PM
Okay... most of the wildlife I saw yesturday during the overcast morning.... Galahs, Magpies (Very aggressive little buggas), Noisy miners and Rainbow Lorikeets. Funny to see the lorikeets drunk on nectar. ^_^

annie
06-21-2006, 01:10 PM
Are we only counting alive and breathing wildlife? Something about this time of year........... I see SO many roadkill racoons and snakes! Like the overflow that survived the relatively mild winter is now out there for the cars to destroy...... ick! I DO see some gorgeous blue herons, tho', when crossing the Mississippi (via bridge!) And in surrounding bodies of water. When they take off for flight - it can take your breath away!

annie

margo49
06-21-2006, 07:32 PM
Okay... most of the wildlife I saw yesturday during the overcast morning.... Galahs, Magpies (Very aggressive little buggas), Noisy miners and Rainbow Lorikeets. Funny to see the lorikeets drunk on nectar. ^_^

I love descriptions of birds - even if you spell mynah "creatively"
Keep riding, keep posting

Kano
06-21-2006, 08:46 PM
On rides around the neighborhood, we usually see magpies, squirrels, horses, cows, miniature horses and cows too! Canada Geese and Mallards, Snakes now and again, and yesterday a hawk -- being pestered by a pair of crows! One day recently, we found a badger -- poking his head out of a hole in the road, and another meandering down the street a few miles later. Also Rock Chuck, LOTS of Rock Chucks!

Karen in Boise

vicvroom
06-21-2006, 11:03 PM
On Saturday, my huband called me from a motorcycle ride he was on. (I was on a bicycle ride in a different mountain range.) He and some friends had stopped at an abandoned missle site on the top of a mountain.

He asked me if he was looking at a condor - it was black with a red head and a ten foot wingspan, and it was flying within a few feet of them. I said it had to be, turkey vultures are a lot smaller. He was just in awe of it's size and how close it was. Unfortunately, he didn't have a camera with him.

After he hung up with me, two other condors came and were flying around them. A Fish and Wildlife guy who was tracking them showed up and told my husband and his friends that they were all zoo born and released into the wild as part of the recovery program. He said that it's best to try to scare them away from people, and asked them to leave, and rev their engines loud when they did, then he started banging on a metal tower.

I wish I had been there, I always miss the interesting animal sightings, like the time he saw the quail family, though I'm glad I missed his bear encounter.

Nanci
06-22-2006, 01:49 AM
There was a joke when I lived in Minnesota:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To show the raccoon it _could_ be done!

Nanci

Nanci
06-22-2006, 01:51 AM
That would be so amazing to see condors- one of the animals I've waited my whole life to see like the coral snake (seen), Gila Monster (not- but seen by Running Mommy!), armadillo (seen lots!!!).

Nanci

JLD
06-22-2006, 05:06 AM
Last Sunday my friend and I were riding down a local boulevard, close to the green belt . We were half a field away when a wolf came tearing across the rode and ran into the field. He was a big fella--if indeed it was a he........I haven't seen a wolf around here in over ten years!

mimitabby
06-22-2006, 07:14 AM
In the Seattle area we see bald eagles, hawks, great blue herons (HUGE) ospreys and lots of smaller birds.
We also see deer (on saturday I saw twin foals too )
We also have lots of road kill, husband ran over 4 slugs on saturday!

margo49
06-22-2006, 07:39 AM
a wolf came tearing across the rode and ran into the field. He was a big fella--!

Yeoww... was it as "wild" and "free" as one imagines? (you know archetypes and all that?)

Nanci
06-22-2006, 10:33 AM
http://tinyurl.com/pbanc

I've been thinking about condors all day. Here is the story of the final days before they were all taken into captivity, and what became of them...

makbike
06-22-2006, 11:00 AM
As I was riding today I was treated to a wonderful show, a doe and her fawn in the meadow. The fawn was staying very close to mom but they both seemed relaxed and a bit confused by me and the bike. They were beautiful!

margo49
06-24-2006, 06:23 AM
Still on a high from my June 23 ride so I will write about it here too...
I went out to the border where the two rivers meet to see my lovely bee-eater colony. There are even more of them now and their trilling I could hear from quite far away.
It was early in the morning before the First Patrol and so the tracks of the night's visitors were really clear on the sand-strip next to the Border Fence
Suddenly it caught my eye and I braked immediately...a snake track. Perfectly long and wiggly and wavy amongst all the pig prints, jackal prints and lots and lots of different tiny birdy-feet with their associated beak-poke-holes.
I just stared and stared.(There are no snakes in New Zealand so I am impressed by them because we have heard about them in foreign literature and seen them on tv)
Oh I just felt like A Wild Cave Woman or something...an amazing few moments
Do you-all know what I mean?

salsabike
06-24-2006, 07:39 AM
Margo49, I was pretty taken by your description of what you saw by the Border Fence---one of those profound connections with elemental nature. I had an experience like that climbing Mt. Fuji years ago---when you realize just how powerful nature, animals, the earth, and your part of that are. (bad grammar, but you know what I mean).

No snakes at all in NZ?

Quillfred
06-24-2006, 08:37 AM
I appreciate the strong draw of nature as well. That is why I lived on Vashon Island for ten years and spent a 3 hr/day commute to work.

I would hear owls almost daily about 4 am. Got to see a Great Horned and a Barred (almost thought I had the elusive Spotted).Different hawks and eagles, sparrows building nests, hummingbirds (they would sometimes "dance" in the spray when I watered), Pileated Woodpeckers and other species. The Tree Frogs would sing after a rain. The deer would eat in my drainfield and would "mow" my strawberries and raspberries.

Margo, I looked up Bee Eaters as I am not familiar with them. What a beautiful bird! It must be quite a treat to see them. Snakes usually like it warmer than Western Washington, but I used to see some shy Garter Snakes.

crazycanuck
06-25-2006, 12:56 AM
As far as i'm aware there are no snakes in nz.....! Hoop snakes for the tourists though..tee hee...

It's a good thing it's winter here in Western Australia..I think most snakes are in hiding..Although they're out there, i still look around me before i water the bushes on my mtn bike rides...

I'd love to see just one live snake but know it would be one of the lethal ones so i'm cautious on that wish...No desire to have a run in with a dugite or a tiger snake thanks....

No creatures on our ride today-too early for the live roos...I only saw a VERY large dead kangaroo on the side of the road


c

kiwi in oz
06-25-2006, 04:03 AM
Nope, no snakes in NZ :D

Crazycanuck - what's a hoop snake?

crazycanuck
06-25-2006, 04:14 AM
I'll never tell. Ever heard of drop bears? Same thing...

c

I'll tell you over coffee one day.

kiwi in oz
06-25-2006, 05:43 AM
Awwww come on, tell me/us. The kiwis in my house are confused.

Pax
06-25-2006, 06:31 AM
Funny thing going from IL to AZ, I used to see squirrels an robins and smashed skunks...now I see gamble quail (cutest babies EVER!), small fuzzy ground squirrel-looking things, coyotes, javalina, lizards, snakes, and lots of hawks. I'm gonna wreck because I'm paying so much attention to the flora and fauna rather than the road. :p

Quillfred
06-25-2006, 08:52 AM
Queen have you seen any Roadrunners yet? I saw one many years ago during a sweep of the Southwest. I just did a search and it stated they can go 17 miles per hour on foot, er I mean claw. They can catch Rattlesnakes as well. :eek:

When do you get to start the diving gig (speaking of animals)?

Pax
06-25-2006, 09:32 AM
Queen have you seen any Roadrunners yet? I saw one many years ago during a sweep of the Southwest. I just did a search and it stated they can go 17 miles per hour on foot, er I mean claw. They can catch Rattlesnakes as well. :eek:

When do you get to start the diving gig (speaking of animals)?
Hiya Quill!

Seen a bunch of roadrunners, our house backs up on to a wash that is some sort of critter highway. :p

Start the dive shop gig tomorrow morning, it feels so good to be going back to work! As much as we all dream of just hanging around the house, trust me, it's boring as hell after a short while.

Duck on Wheels
06-25-2006, 11:15 AM
Are those anything like jackalopes? Mythical beasts for impressing tourists? I vaguely recall something about snakes that would bite their own tails to form a circle the size of a bicycle wheel and then roll very fast over long distances. Nonsense, I presume. And drop bears, would that be bears that jump on you out of trees? There _are_ big cats that do that (mountain lions leeping onto deer?), but bears? Næh!

crazycanuck
06-25-2006, 01:41 PM
ONe day whilst mtn biking in auckland(after 4yrs i might add) our biking partner Ian (got quite confusing)said watch out for the drop bears...I sat & thought...:confused: ian's never told me about these... I vas foooolleeeedd...ARGHT
The other ian told me it was something they told american tourists about when the met them either in NZ or on thier OE in Canada...

Hoop snakes-an ozzie friend here told me about them...Í knew she was having me on...She too told American tourists about these & they believed her....

c

Quillfred
06-25-2006, 03:34 PM
ONe day whilst mtn biking in auckland(after 4yrs i might add) our biking partner Ian (got quite confusing)said watch out for the drop bears...I sat & thought...:confused: ian's never told me about these... I vas foooolleeeedd...ARGHT
c

Of course there are Drop Bears. Cousin to our local Sasquatch...;)

http://www.bigfootinfo.org/

Being the youngest to two brothers, I've fallen prey to every trick in the book. :confused:

Queen, it is great to know that Roadrunners are alive and well!

light_sabe_r
06-25-2006, 07:56 PM
Yesturday morning my B/F and I rode past an enormous colony of Flying foxes. :p They really do STINK!

Tuckervill
06-30-2006, 08:31 PM
Today I rode a new route around a lake. (took the uphill way instead of the downhill way. doh!) Nearing a clump of bushes on my right, a starling flew out of it and across the road about 15 feet head of me. It was chirping and dipping down to the road over and over again.

I was just paying attention to the bird and the road, but when I got up to it I saw that it was screaming and dipping at a GINORMOUS king snake, whose tail I almost ran over!

EEK! I watched the snake go straight across the road into the ditch on the other side, with the bird chasing him the whole way. Then I had a weird sensation that, like deer, there would be a herd of snakes following him, and I started mashing hard! lol. About 20 yards down the road I got he heebie-jeebies and had to stop.

:::shiver:::

Karen

Saxa82
08-05-2006, 04:13 PM
Last year I wrote a poem about the wildlife I've seen on rides. Every so once in a while, I add something new to the poem, so it really is a work in progress.

Saxa82

The Flora and the Fauna

On my many rides I see
the flora and the fauna all around.
The coyote crosses my path,
I startle the bear in his wood,
I eat the gnats.
Orioles and scarlet tanagers flash
their brilliance, goldfinches flit about.
Caterpillars dot the road,
in a month, I blink away
the moths they’ve become.
Above, there’s a hawk screaming
its authority, snake in its talons.
A fox flies by, golden glimmer of a tail.
A mink slinks across the road,
I spy a heron silently fishing.
The garter snake winds its way
across the road, nearly flattened by my wheel.
A blizzard of mountain laurel blinds me.
Soon, their petals will look like
old tissue paper, tea brown and wrinkled.
Native rhododendron unfurl their flags
just in time for the Fourth of July.

What am I in this landscape
but a smudge against a blue background?

crazycanuck
08-06-2006, 02:11 AM
Back when Ian & I first purchased our bikes we rode (the kiwi girls will understand the area) from Ohiwa Harbour to Whakatane the long way round.

We were just outside of Ohope when Ian saw a dead possum (a good possum is a dead one i say) on the road-intact...He stopped to look at it & as i wandered towards him....what does Ian do..He hurls it towards me!!!:eek:

I could have killed him...
Exact conversation whilst trying to calm oneself from laughing:

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to throw dead things" ....

"nope"

"oh ok then, the next time i see something dead i'm throwing it at you...dork!"

I love the man...:D :)

c

Brandy
08-06-2006, 10:40 AM
Holy bunnies batman! Hundreds of them on the San Diego Creek Trail this morning, just before and after dawn. They were so cute. Kind of sketchy riding with them because they do the...FREEZE. I'M GOING THIS WAY. NO. I'M GOING THAT WAY...dance in front of your wheel. :eek: So cute though!

Evie
08-11-2006, 08:17 AM
I saw something this morning, and I have no idea what it was!
All I saw was its silhouette, because it ran across the road in front of a car.
It was about the length of my wrist to my elbow, and about the height of my hand (wrist to fingertips). It carried its head very low, and it just sort of tapered off, so there was no distinct neck. It moved pretty fast, and its legs moved independently--no bounding the way a rat does in when it's in a hurry, and no rocking like most things do when they run. The legs were kind of stubby, and it carried itself up off of them. They were also pretty uniform; its back legs looked more like its front legs, and they weren't shaped like a rabbit's or possum's. It had no tail that I could see.

Any ideas?

bcipam
08-11-2006, 08:25 AM
Take it it was a mammal of some sort? Do you have polecats, weasels, strouts, pine martens, minks or ferrets in your area? Or something like a ringtail cat?

check out this website:

http://freespace.virgin.net/peter.wilde3/mustelids.html

Evie
08-11-2006, 09:25 AM
It was definitely a mammal, but it wasn't shaped like any of the weasels on that website. Its body wasn't as long or as arched. It was more dome-shaped than anything, looking at it from the side.
Here's what it more or less looked like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/EvieH/weirdthings.jpg

At first I thought it might be a mole, but it carried itself too high, it didn't have the crazy nose, its feet were too small, and I've never heard of a mole sprinting in front of a car.
I was out before five this morning, so I'm assuming it was nocturnal.
And it most likely wasn't that color. :D

bcipam
08-11-2006, 10:36 AM
Moles are very small, would fit in your palm. you said this animal was about 8 - 10 inches long? Could it be a marmot? Not certain if they are in PA but marmots are like big furry squirrels (think squirrels on steroids).

Or how about a muskrat?

Actually this is kind of fun - let's guess the weird mammal!!!

Evie
08-11-2006, 10:56 AM
Haha! Steriods are the last thing any squirrel needs.

I think your marmot is what we call a groundhog. (At first I thought you meant those golden monkeys in the rainforest! That might be a marmoset, though...)
I've seen some of those in the pastures around here, But they're much too big and fat to be what I saw. The ones around I've seen tend to lumber around, too. This thing moved more like a beetle; its legs moved, but it's body didn't.

This has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever tried to describe. But you're right--I'm having fun trying to figure it out. I'm trying to think of things to compare it to, but nothing really matches. It was almost like a small possum or large rat, but without a tail, with different legs, and less of a neck.

There weren't any ponds or streams nearby (as I was in a development), but it may have been a muskrat who lost its tail to a snapper. I'm looking at a list of PA mammals right now.

bcipam
08-11-2006, 11:49 AM
Well if you ever figure it out please let me know. You have me stumped!

Evie
08-11-2006, 12:32 PM
I think "muskrat" was the right guess. Mom says there's a stream running through the pasture two streets away, so it isn't unreasonable. And there are lots of snapping turtles around here, so ducks and geese are always missing limbs--why not a muskrat? That'll do for now.

Thanks for helping. :D

mimitabby
08-11-2006, 01:02 PM
http://www.fws.gov/blackwater/images/nutria3.jpg

they're usually near water..

mimitabby
08-11-2006, 01:06 PM
http://www.canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/data/sppphotos/mammals/muskrat.jpg


they also have a tail

bcipam
08-11-2006, 01:15 PM
Neither is particularly cute huh? We don't have those here in California. All our animlas are cute!!! And if not, someone would ship them off to the plastic surgeon! :p ;) :rolleyes:

Nanci
08-14-2006, 03:53 AM
Here's a little guy I caught yesterday in the middle of my ride. It's a Rough Green Snake, non-venomous, never bites. I released it after photos.

Lise
08-14-2006, 04:32 AM
Nanci! He's beautiful! Thanks for the picture. :) L.

margo49
08-14-2006, 05:31 AM
What a colour!
Does it change - looks a bit bright to me unless it lives in a rice paddy or tea plantation.

Nanci
08-14-2006, 06:41 AM
That's what color they stay. I don't know if there are any snakes that change colors. It perfectly matched the foliage it was in.

Nanci

Deanna
08-14-2006, 07:47 AM
Neither is particularly cute huh? We don't have those here in California. All our animlas are cute!!! And if not, someone would ship them off to the plastic surgeon! :p ;) :rolleyes:

Umm, opossums are not particularly cute!

Nanci
08-14-2006, 07:52 AM
The babies are!! I got to hold one last summer that was the size of a baby kitten...

chickwhorips
08-14-2006, 08:25 AM
nanci i love the snake! very pretty. i'm supirsed you didnt take him home. you could use another one at home.

Nanci
08-14-2006, 09:24 AM
Well, Maizey is still causing problems by refusing to eat, so that's all I need is more trouble. Though if I find another Corn, it's going home with me!

Doesn't he look nice up against those Pearl Izumi gloves? Good thing they wash well- they smell a teeny bit snakey at the moment...

7rider
08-14-2006, 05:55 PM
<snip>
What do you guys see?

(Another favorite BikeForums thread, by the way, was "What's the biggest bug you ever ate?" As one who rides breathing through her mouth often, I'm sure that thread will be relevant to me at some point).

I got chased by a "rabid chicken" once when mountainbiking. It was a very territorial ruffed grouse - so said the park ranger after he stopped laughing.

The DH and I just yesterday saw a HUGE dragonfly - some type of darner, I think, with about a 5" wingspan. It must have gotten knocked silly by a car, as it was head down on the sidewalk beside the road not looking terribly happy. It was still there (and still alive) 2.5 hrs later when we came by again on the return trip. DH moved it off the sidewalk onto some branches. I hope it recovered.

On the bike, I've also seen bunnies (near and dear to my heart), pileated woodpeckers, more deer than I care to think about, pheasant, squirrels, several types of turtles, SNAKES!, fox, black vultures, turkey vultures, and the usual assortment of suburban songbirds, but I won't count them (still looking for bluebirds rumoured to frequent one area where we ride, but haven't seen 'em yet).

Regarding the bug in the face: I once took a bug in the back of the throat (ulp! Swallowed it!) and it left a big knot there for HOURS. Yuck. But the worst was the other week when I took a big bug...I think a bee...in the inside of my lower lip. I guess it stung me, as my lower lip and face swelled to softball size before DH dragged me to the doctor's for treatment! :eek:

Aggie_Ama
08-14-2006, 06:31 PM
Nanci- I am not a snake fan at all, but that little guy is so pretty. Looks great against your PI gloves! ;)

Nanci
08-15-2006, 09:28 AM
See, not all snakes are big and mean and poisonous!

bcipam
08-15-2006, 10:15 AM
Hey this is slightly off topic... but tonight I am doing something really cool and will report back fully tomorrow. This afternoon I'm meeting with Stephanie Remington, a biologist for Southern California who specializes in bats. I and another poor sole have volunteer to help Stephanie tonight counting bats. The area we are hiking out to is very remote (the mouth of Fremont Canyon), basically we have to bush wacked our way in. Then we will be sitting out there, just our lonesomes, in the dark (I will have my trusty headlamp) no doubt being watched by lions or other creatures of the night, eaten alive by mosquitos (Stephanie says no repellent - it's bad for the bats). A friend asked "what if you have to go to the bathroom...?" I explained I bring out a water bottle to rinse off in case nature calls, but oh yeah, squatting out in a remote part of the woods, in the dark with lions watching... like that's gonna happen!!!!

Anyway I'm excited but have no idea what to expect. Hope to see some cool creatures while out there. Wish me luck!

Nanci
08-15-2006, 10:17 AM
Wow, are you just counting them as they emerge, or all night? They come out so fast, like a swarm of bees...Good luck. I love bats.

bcipam
08-15-2006, 11:27 AM
Our bats here don't live in caves. They roost in trees and and niches. They tend to start coming out at dusk but should be flying all night. We don't get the big fly outs like in Texas. Was told we would be counting until 11p - 12a. Seems like a long time to be out there doesn't it???

Nanci
08-15-2006, 11:40 AM
How do you know you're not counting the same ones over and over?

Who was on here talking about Flying Foxes? There's a captive breeding colony near my house. They are amazing! Five foot wingspans! And big willies!!

bcipam
08-16-2006, 11:20 AM
OK my Bat story:

Met the biologist and her assistant about 5. There were 5 volunteers to assist. We drove out to the trail head and she and her assistant began unloading her truck. She is about 5 ' and weighs less than 90 lbs. Her assistant is 5'1" and weights 95 lbs. The gear they pulled out of the truck weighed more than both of them. Normally these two small gals carry all that stuff out my themselves. They were grateful to have help.

Since I'm big and "strong like bull" Stephanie asked if I wouldn't mind carrying the fannypack containing the batteries. Sure, I said. The pack contained 10 batteries each weighing 3 lbs and all the wiring etc that goes with the batteries so the pack was about 40 lbs. Yipes I was already carrying a Camlebak weighing around 10 lbs. and also had to carry a bundle of rebar weighing another 20.

I thought we were just going in alittle way. Nope wrong. We hiked out approximately 4 miles through bush, poison Oak, stream crossings, thick woodland etc. No trail - all bushwhacking. Wasn't so bad during the day when I was fresh but later that night, a nightmare.

Along the way the biologist changed out some of her equipment and lightened the load of the batteries (thank goodness). At the turn around spot (in a beautiful sandstone slot canyon) we set up catching nets and sat and waited for dusk. Bat activity was good, not great but good. Once it got dark it was hard to see the bats (but Stephanies did allow us to use her night vision goggles). We could hear the bats and also see the recordings of sound on her computer.

Basically I found a nice silty spot and laid down and watched the stars. Every 15 minutes I had to climb up this slope and check some nets. I managed to get totally filthy in the process (like Pig Pen) and got sand and dirt in my new digital camera. BUMMER!

About midnight we packed up and walked out. Along the way we picked up the batteries so I was loaded down again. Between the fact I was tired, there was poor light and I was weighed down, a couple of times I just fell over and couldn't get back up without help (weebles wumble and they do fall down!). Anyway didn't get home until after 1:30 am. Not into bed until after 2. I'm tired and just not doing well at work today.

I was diappointed we didn't see more wildlife although I realize we were a noisy little group. We saw plenty of lion tracks and at one more could smell a very strong urine trail. We did see owls, catch a poor little nighthawk (Poorwill), and of course bats: U-mops, Mexican Brown, Free-tails, Red bats, Little and Big Brown, and some I can't remember today. The Biologist was disappointed they didn't record any Pala Bats. Apparently they have move out of the area but once were abundant.

If caught in the nets the bats are tagged. We didn't catch any (darn!). Maybe next trip.

OK so my legs are tired today... I have a century on Saturday. Probably wasn't such a good idea but I had fun!

salsabike
08-16-2006, 01:15 PM
What a great story, bcipam. Makes me wish I'd been there too, Pigpenning and all.

Nanci, that snake is so GORGEOUS. I like snakes.

mimitabby
08-20-2006, 07:05 AM
http://www.sersale.org/bike/stinkbug.jpg

Before we started our ride, this enchanting stink bug (don't know it's exact title)
was riding on my bike. Hubby knocked it off before he knew what it was, but it was such a beautiful color particularly against my bianchi, i had to share.

chickwhorips
08-20-2006, 11:08 AM
wow mimi that is a really cool bug. didn't know stink bugs were so cute looking, well until they get stinkey.

Evie
08-23-2006, 02:10 PM
I love bats, and that snake is adorable! I don't think I've ever seen a stinkbug before. It IS pretty. Of course, I wouldn't want to examine it too closely...

I saw that weird thing that I mentioned a few pages back. This one had a tail! It was sticking almost straight up, and it wasn't bushy or anything--it just kind of tapered off to a sharp point. It reminded me of a horseshoe crab's tail. Unfortunately, this one was also running in front of a car, so I didn't see any colors or features. I'm going to sit down and look through Mom's huge North American Mammals book.

This doesn't count as wildlife, but I had the bejabbers scared out of me a few times last night. The first time, I stopped by an Amish farm to clean my glasses, and a few seconds later there was a Belgian horse in my face. I didn't even see it coming, because there weren't any streetlights back there. (At this point I was traveling by starlight; I was sort of lost.) The second time, I was totally focused on making it up a hill, and yet another Belgian snorted off to the side. I nearly fell off of my bike.

I love it when I ride by pastures and the cows start to follow me along the fence. :D

mimitabby
08-23-2006, 02:16 PM
both the nutria and the other large rodent we discussed had long rat tails.
let us know what you come up with in your book!

Evie
08-23-2006, 02:55 PM
Well, it wasn't a nutria, since we don't have them around here. I'd love to see one running across the street, though!

Seeing the tail definitely helped. I couldn't find ANYTHING without a tail that looked like the first animal. Do muskrats or 'possums run with their tails held straight? Now I'm pretty sure it was one of those, which sucks all the fun out of it. New Holland could use a small, rodenty chupacabra.

SadieKate
08-23-2006, 03:25 PM
Neither is particularly cute huh? We don't have those here in California. All our animlas are cute!!! And if not, someone would ship them off to the plastic surgeon!

Umm, opossums are not particularly cute!
Neither are vultures! And, if muskrats aren't in California, what the heck was it doing on the end of my husband's fly line (other than taking off with the fly). Trust me, you don't want to have to haul a muskrat out of it's hole to untangle it from your line.

On otter can look pretty humpy when it's running. I'm trying to remember how they hold their tales. Where's Marty and Wild America when you need him?

Nanci
08-24-2006, 05:30 PM
Vultures are too cute!! Have you ever seen them skipping? And in the mornings, they are so slow to warm up and start flying...

bcipam
08-24-2006, 07:12 PM
Nanci:

You must be a real bird lover to think vultures are "cute"... interesting maybe but cute NO! :rolleyes:

Aggie_Ama
08-24-2006, 08:26 PM
On our normal ride the other day I BAFFLED to see elk. I guess that is what they were, sure as heck were not white tail deer. There is a large barbed wire area on the side of a busy road and there they were. Huge antlers, big animals. I googled Elk and that is my guess of what they are. If I can find my digital camera I will HAVE to take a photo. Talk about a shock, isn't it too hot for elk here?

SadieKate
08-24-2006, 08:32 PM
Vultures are too cute!! Have you ever seen them skipping? And in the mornings, they are so slow to warm up and start flying...Yeah, ever so cute when they're lined up on a fence in the morning sun with their gargoyle loom and glare.

bikerz
08-25-2006, 06:03 AM
lined up on a fence in the morning sun with their gargoyle loom and glare.
Lovely turn of phrase, SK! :)

bcipam
08-25-2006, 10:50 AM
On our normal ride the other day I BAFFLED to see elk. I guess that is what they were, sure as heck were not white tail deer. There is a large barbed wire area on the side of a busy road and there they were. Huge antlers, big animals. I googled Elk and that is my guess of what they are. If I can find my digital camera I will HAVE to take a photo. Talk about a shock, isn't it too hot for elk here?


After doing Hellweek (Fredericksburg, TX) several years ago I'm not amazed or surprised you saw elk. We saw all sorts of exotic deer and antelope - all escapees from local "hunt club" or whatever you call the drive in and shot 'em places. The friend I did the ride with, is a zoologist and runs a zoo. She commented there was more exotic critters running around then they had in the zoo. Sortof cool, but weird! :p

Deanna
08-25-2006, 03:31 PM
After doing Hellweek (Fredericksburg, TX) several years ago I'm not amazed or surprised you saw elk. We saw all sorts of exotic deer and antelope - all escapees from local "hunt club" or whatever you call the drive in and shot 'em places. The friend I did the ride with, is a zoologist and runs a zoo. She commented there was more exotic critters running around then they had in the zoo. Sortof cool, but weird! :p

From an ecological standpoint, this is kind-of scary. You have to wonder what it's going to do to the food chain of the native flora & fauna.

Aggie_Ama
08-25-2006, 05:50 PM
After doing Hellweek (Fredericksburg, TX) several years ago I'm not amazed or surprised you saw elk. We saw all sorts of exotic deer and antelope - all escapees from local "hunt club" or whatever you call the drive in and shot 'em places. The friend I did the ride with, is a zoologist and runs a zoo. She commented there was more exotic critters running around then they had in the zoo. Sortof cool, but weird! :p

Yeah there are a lot of exotic hunting ranches in the Hill Country, South Texas and East of Austin (where I went to college). This isn't really a big enough area for one of those, so I am not sure if they are just visiting or what they are there for. It was bizarre.

Aggie_Ama
10-17-2006, 09:34 AM
This time I managed to get DH to look at the field in time, he confirmed they are elk. And there is a lot of the beauties out in the field. They are so gorgeous! I_need_to get a photo.

The next few minutes of our ride was debating why there are Elk along Parmer Lane. DH's theory is they are being bred for meat or to be shipped to an exotic game ranch. :( I guess they wouldn't be pets, would they? There is one big guy with a huge set of antlers, he is so beautiful. At least it is cooling down a bit for them.

Aggie_Ama
09-14-2007, 09:10 AM
This morning's ride had a new sighting- blue heron. Though not rare for Texas, I can't recall seeing any lately. I rolled down a hill over the river and there they were. Luckily I was curious to see how high the river is or I would have missed them. There was four of them, one wading, two flying and one swimming (or maybe wading in deeper water). What beautiful and majestic creatures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron

I unfortunately saw four dead armadillos as well and all were pretty fresh (ick). :( Poor little guys, doesn't seem to have been a good night for them.

shootingstar
05-11-2008, 09:24 PM
Where we live...one morning I thought I saw a coyote..which is not totally impossible. But it was in a park by a university campus. The "dog" looked abit strange. I've seen coyotes from a car elsewhere.

Other wildlife...in I've seen at home... big huge purple starfish in the middle of bike path. Bullfrogs blurping away. Bald-headed eagles wheeling above do occur if one is paying attention... One would have to be off bike, to spot the rare seal..in water near a city..

And elsewhere on travels, elk, baby black bear, herd of bighorn sheep..all of this was in Alberta.

The creepiest incident was when we were in Vermont. We got off our bikes and eating at a restaurant by a river. Then my partner aimed his camera..he thought he saw a white cougar. I thought he was nuts. Then the big white stone...disappeared when I looked again. One of the locals did confirm there had been rare sighting of a white cougar in area.

And I could never the time of seeing a moose just outside of Montreal ..but from a train. Near major highways. Everyone stared through the window. I think it was real....

OakLeaf
05-12-2008, 03:13 AM
Yesterday there was a large-ish hawk sitting on a fencepost very near the road. (I'm not good at hawks, maybe a red-shouldered, but really not sure. Could've been a redtail, too, since I didn't see the tail.) Hawks are a common sight around here, but they usually choose a higher perch, so it was cool to see him/her so close up!

Shootingstar... a starfish? On the bike path?!

shootingstar
05-12-2008, 11:58 AM
Shootingstar... a starfish? On the bike path?!

A raised bike path (well-known to locals) that runs through Stanley Park, runs near the ocean water. Actually I've seen live, occasional starfish (or maybe they recently died) on the bike path. Not clear, how each starfish got there, but the waves can occasionally get high (in a storm..) to fling stuff onto the path.

another thing that I have seen...elsewhere is the occasional banana slug crawling across path. they are slugs that are a bright yellow, shaped like a banana. Kinda beautiful and strange.. When I was new to the Pacific coast, never saw them before. They tend to hang out in woodsy areas...obviously.

Of course always dread the skunk streaking across in the twilight..:eek:

jobob
05-12-2008, 12:03 PM
A bald eagle soared over me yesterday on Calaveras Road.

Its nest has been on top of a nearby power line tower for a year or two now, and I've seen the eagle (and some eaglets) perched on the nest or on the tower, but this is the first time I saw the eagle outside of the nest.

It was such a cool sight. :cool:

Aggie_Ama
05-28-2008, 03:36 PM
While in Fort Davis, pronghorn antelope!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/AggieAma/antelope.jpg

OakLeaf
05-28-2008, 07:09 PM
On Saturday, a red fox - first one I'd seen in about four years - a blue heron trying to swallow a fish three times as big as its head - and a yellow Lab who had ahold of a raccoon.

Aggie_Ama
05-29-2008, 04:00 AM
In Fort Davis we also saw (but did not get a picture):


javelina
cardinals
blue jays
cute little birds with red heads
cows that live open range
roadrunner
a little cocker spaniel mix, honestly an odd dog to see on a ranch in rugged west Texas


Thankfully we did not see rattlesnakes that often like to sun on the roads out there!

Aggie_Ama
06-04-2008, 05:41 PM
Monday's commute: a skunk just mosey-ing along in a field next to the road. They are so cute if you aren't in danger of being sprayed! :p

csr1210
06-06-2008, 10:44 AM
Horse
dogs
dead squirrel:(
rattlesnake (only one this ride--they've really been out in force this year)
rabbit
various birds
cows (sometimes they seem facinated by us, and sometimes they seem oblivious to our presence)

DebW
06-08-2008, 05:40 PM
On my ride this morning, I saw a snake (18-24" long) crossing the road just in front of me. Had to change course to avoid hitting it. Then as I approached my house at the end of the ride, a canid crossed the road in front of my neighbor's house and trotted through my neighbor's back yard. It was either a grey fox or a coyote, not sure which.

lovelylibrarian
06-09-2008, 02:08 PM
We once saw a group of wild turkeys. I had no idea what they were at first. They sure made a lot of noise.

F8th637
06-10-2008, 04:43 PM
I've seen a few snakes sunning themselves on the trail. DH and I saw a full-antlered buck on the MUT right in the middle of a neighborhood. It was strange because he was in a rather residential area with tons of people around but he really was an astounding creature to behold.

OakLeaf
06-11-2008, 07:38 PM
Didn't see it, but on tonight's ride there was a barred owl hooting as we climbed a long hill.

crazycanuck
06-11-2008, 09:46 PM
I think I cycle near a large group of frogs on my rides? They sound like people talking quietly..odd yet cool.

I normally hear a Kookabura kookaburring in the mornings :D and a rooster! Oddly enough, the rooster is in an urban area right by a major train station..

auntiebobo
06-12-2008, 08:42 PM
This morning's commute (just 6.5 miles) 8 rabbits.

A few months ago I saw a coyote again on my commute. It was just 6 feet off the trail! We were both a little startled, I was messing with my mirror and didn't see him as I approached and he it looked like he was stalking some prey and pounced on it as I went by. So, given that little experience I'm always glad to see the little cottontails on my way to the office.

TahoeDirtGirl
06-16-2008, 01:59 PM
was a busy wildlife week! In Tahoe I get to see the usual bear and maybe a mountain lion once a year (if you are really quiet) but Mass is like a drive through safari!!

skunk (I was like...awwwww...then...OH CRAP!!!)
wild turkey sitting in someone's driveway
shuttled a snapping turtle out of the middle of the road (that was fun!)
garter snake (I caught it and scared my biking partner)
a big sea bird that dives in the water
cute chipmunks
a black squirrel (everyone is telling me it wasn't black but it was!)
and a coyote....

wow...!

OakLeaf
06-16-2008, 04:01 PM
a black squirrel (everyone is telling me it wasn't black but it was!)

why not? There's a big population of black squirrels in the town I live near.

Really I see more wildlife when I stay home. :p I'm moving too fast when I'm on the bike.

But how did you manage that snapping turtle without getting bit? I had to leave my car halfway down my lane one time, because there was a snapping turtle in the lane who would not move, and I sure wasn't going to get my fingers bit off!

shootingstar
06-16-2008, 09:20 PM
The other day I thought I saw this hugish bird on road while whizzing around it.It looked hawk-like. Certainly not a crow or raven.

bmccasland
06-17-2008, 04:07 AM
Last week - on the Mississippi River levee -
Bald Eagle
2 Mississippi Kites
1 kite flying high with it's string wrapped around a power line. :D
various assorted wading birds - egrets, herons, ibses.

I always keep my eyes out for the eagles and the kites (with feathers). It's hard to look up for birds and keep your eyes on the levee at the same time. I've come close to riding down the levee on more than one occasion.

OakLeaf
06-21-2008, 01:04 PM
Twin spotted fawns, no bigger than medium-sized dogs, that we startled out of their resting place. I was a little afraid Mom would come bounding across our path, but we never saw her.

Trekhawk
06-21-2008, 04:59 PM
I was riding up a longish hill near my house last week and as I come around the corner I find a huge group of Black Cockatoos. They were feeding in a low tree by the side of the road. I don't know who got the bigger shock them or me. Funny but they are so noisy I thought I would have heard them first but maybe my heavy breathing was blocking every other noise out.:o
http://www.michaelmorcombe.com.au/whitetailedblack.html

RolliePollie
06-21-2008, 08:29 PM
Today's ride it was lizard tails. No lizard bodies, just tails strewn about the road.

I am thankful I didn't actually see this wildlife...

About a week ago, a lady 3 houses down let her little Pomeranian out at about 7 am. Something whooshed by and her dog disappeared. Then she saw it...a mountain lion. It took the poor dog up a tree and yes, decided to eat it. This is really gross, but there is still "evidence" up in the tree. I won't go into further detail. The mountain lion was severely punished for this and let's just say it won't be eating anyone else's dogs. I hate it when wildlife and man collide...the wildlife usually loses. But from a safety standpoint, I don't really know what else Fish & Game was supposed to do. The lion was about 50' up a cedar tree so it would've fallen to its death if they shot it with a tranquilzer. Neither the dog nor the cougar stood a chance.

crazycanuck
06-24-2008, 10:07 PM
Hmm..this could be due to the chilly morning yesterday..I didn't hear a single bird or frog..perhaps they were keeping eachother warm :rolleyes:

This morning we heard a kookabura laughing..ahhh. so nice..

bambu101
06-25-2008, 05:46 AM
This morning I was out at 5:15 AM for an early ride before work. I came to the top of a short, steep hill, and had my eyes on the bumpy, cracked road surface in front of me. Suddenly, I heard this loud noise directly in front of me, and looked up to see a moose crossing the road about 30 feet in front of me! :eek: The noise was the hooves on the paved road surface. It was not a full-grown moose, but probably 2 to 3 years old. We had seen a mother moose and 2 babies about 2 years ago, and the 2 juveniles have been seen around the area on and off since then. Of course, the adolescent moose I saw today was bigger than a small pick-up truck!

It went into the woods and stopped, and I could see it peering at me through the brush. I had a brief, anxious moment of thinking about what I should do if he decides to charge me- fend him off with the Halt spray(nah), outrun him on the bike (nah), or fight him off with my 23 pound Terry hybrid (nah). So I just kept going for another mile or so, and when I turned around and came back, he was nowhere to be seen.

Aggie_Ama
06-25-2008, 09:11 AM
This morning on my commute I heard rustling in a field/wooded area next to me. A deer? Homeless person? Skunk? Snake? Stray dog? I am not sure but it is actually a little frightening at dawn when you don't know what it is.

Trekhawk
06-25-2008, 04:59 PM
This morning I was out at 5:15 AM for an early ride before work. I came to the top of a short, steep hill, and had my eyes on the bumpy, cracked road surface in front of me. Suddenly, I heard this loud noise directly in front of me, and looked up to see a moose crossing the road about 30 feet in front of me! :eek: The noise was the hooves on the paved road surface. It was not a full-grown moose, but probably 2 to 3 years old. We had seen a mother moose and 2 babies about 2 years ago, and the 2 juveniles have been seen around the area on and off since then. Of course, the adolescent moose I saw today was bigger than a small pick-up truck!

It went into the woods and stopped, and I could see it peering at me through the brush. I had a brief, anxious moment of thinking about what I should do if he decides to charge me- fend him off with the Halt spray(nah), outrun him on the bike (nah), or fight him off with my 23 pound Terry hybrid (nah). So I just kept going for another mile or so, and when I turned around and came back, he was nowhere to be seen.

How wonderful and scary at the same time.:eek:

Aggie - I have had that happen a few times when riding in the bush and it sure does give you the heebie jeebies.

ttaylor508
06-26-2008, 08:49 PM
I saw two camels once a few years ago while doing the Kitsap Color Classic. Pretty weird to see two camels in October in Washington State!

Here is a photo from someone elses blog http://www.calnan-web.com/weblog/2005/10/03/kitsap-color-classic/

Melalvai
06-27-2008, 09:54 AM
My avatar is a picture I took on a bike ride. There's a farm near here with 2 camels (1 hump and 2 humps) and a zebra. The 1-humper comes right up to the fence and makes bizarre noises if I stand quietly there.

makbike
06-27-2008, 12:45 PM
I spied four wild turkeys racing across a field this morning as I explored a new route.

Tabby
07-11-2008, 01:02 PM
I went out last evening for a birthday ride, Happy Birthday to me! I'm still building my newbie skill of 'looking ahead'. On Great Scott, knowing the big ramp was coming up, I'm actually looking ahead. Right on the trail were 2 deer and 2 spotted fawns. I slowed and stopped ... they looked at me, I looked at them, we marveled each other for a bit. Did I think to get a camera or phone for a pic, NOOOO! Anyway, I inched ahead with my toes and they all scampered off. OK, so now I'm thinking, come on PJ, get enough speed and momentum to make the ramp ... pedal, pedal, pedal!!! Last minute I decide to not do the ramp so I brake it and stop. What I could not see til I was walking up the ramp were 2 more deer on the other side. Probably a good thing I opted out on the ramp this time, me and those deer would have been in for a totally startling experience! I was startled, didn't pull the camera for this shot either.

Couple bunnies scampered across the trail, knowing they'd be safe and I didn't see it, but smelled the skunk!

PJ

7rider
07-11-2008, 03:33 PM
Happy Birthday!

I was heading up a slight incline (too slight to call it a hill :rolleyes: ) on my way home today...head down, barely paying attention to anything. I was in a residential neighborhood...lots of closely spaced brick ramblers, carports, little plot o' grass...and I catch something out of the corner of my eye. I look up. A big doe deer is standing at the edge of a driveway, still as a statue. All of 5 feet away from me. "Hey" I call. She looks at me. "Gyet outta there." She looks away. Doesn't move.
Clearly unimpressed! :p

Then, I'm heading by a big horse field by the regional park near my house. I see something long, low, and black loping trough the field. I stopped my bike. It's longish - maybe 30" - low, narrow and with a long, thin black tail. It moved in a wave-like gait....not slinking like a cat. It stopped and looked in my direction (it was pretty far away...maybe 150 yards). I have no idea what it was...too small to be a fisher, and they're very rare around here. As near as I can figure, it was a river otter (unlikely) or a mink (more likely). I think it was too big to be a weasel. It was pretty cool, whatever it was. Definitely a first.

Norse
07-22-2008, 07:34 AM
I see the usual northland wildlife: lots of deer, squirrels, raccoons, hawks, bald eagles, tons of geese, red-winged blackbirds...

Two of my more interesting encounters: (1) just the other day, out in the countryside, a mole came darting out from a cornfield right in front of me - one of my peeps riding behind me said he was quite certain that mole went right between my two wheels; (2) last year out riding a trail alongside a wetlands' area, there were a several adult Canadian geese with many goslings right next to the trail - not good as geese are VERY protective of their young - I wanted to swerve to the other side but riders came along just then - the next thing I saw was the huge chest and flapping wings of one of the adults headed right for me. It ran into my upper right arm and left a hematoma the size of a softball, the color of dark cherry, that stayed with me for a week. The goose was fine.

Aggie_Ama
07-22-2008, 08:59 AM
I had a roadrunner move across the road in front of me the other day. Closest I have ever been to one in my life, he wasn't moving too fast.

Funny thing is growing up in Texas I never had seen one even though they are quite common. Once I started cycling I saw my first one and probably at least 10 in the last four years of cycling. They still excite me like some rare creature.

mimitabby
07-22-2008, 09:15 AM
I've never seen a real roadrunner, from my point of view they ARE a rare and lovely creature.

firenze11
07-23-2008, 11:21 AM
I almost always see snakes on the road - scratch that - I almost always see and almost run over the snakes I see on the road. Which is weird because I absolutely hate snakes. It's like that accident avoidance thing, if you look at what you're trying to miss, you'll probably hit it. If I don't want to see snakes, I see them all the time.

I also almost ran over a lazy chipmunk the other day.

Hmm, ok this thread is not called what wildlife do you almost run over on your rides.

I also saw some kind of coyote or wild dog thing on my last ride but I didn't get close enough to verify what it was. Can't ride fast enough for that kind of nonsense.

And I saw a beaver or otter once. I'm not sure which one it was but it was swimming happily in the stream.

csr1210
07-23-2008, 01:01 PM
Yeah, I'm paranoid about running over a rattlesnake:(, but I guess that's really another thread....

Saturday, we saw a javelina and a bobcat -- unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us - I dunno) they were both roadkill. Husband and I did a double take at the cat. I think he caught a bumper or grill guard while chasing something else (TOTALLY unidentifiable which did NOT make it) across the road. I wanted to take a picture of the bobcat and javelina just because it was so unusual to see them on our route, but I figured maybe that was just a little too gross (even though they weren't smashed up or anything), and I didn't want to become know as the road kill fanatic or anything:o.

Okay, I've probably just killed this thread -- just thought it was really neat to see the animals, but bummed cause they were dead.

Christy

mimitabby
07-23-2008, 01:12 PM
sorry to say that our cars and skyscrapers kill an incredible number of wild animals. the skyscrapers with their reflective glass fool birds who fly into them by the millions and cars and trucks murder the rest.

Today on my ride i saw yet another of the tiny species of rabbit that seem to be indigenous to Puget Sound.

BleeckerSt_Girl
07-23-2008, 02:42 PM
Today on my ride i saw yet another of the tiny species of rabbit that seem to be indigenous to Puget Sound.


bunny no more. :(

mimitabby
07-23-2008, 03:14 PM
bunny no more. :( no, this one was alive. He scampered away from me, into the black berries with his tail all puffed up.

spokewench
07-24-2008, 11:37 AM
Today's ride it was lizard tails. No lizard bodies, just tails strewn about the road.

I am thankful I didn't actually see this wildlife...

About a week ago, a lady 3 houses down let her little Pomeranian out at about 7 am. Something whooshed by and her dog disappeared. Then she saw it...a mountain lion. It took the poor dog up a tree and yes, decided to eat it. This is really gross, but there is still "evidence" up in the tree. I won't go into further detail. The mountain lion was severely punished for this and let's just say it won't be eating anyone else's dogs. I hate it when wildlife and man collide...the wildlife usually loses. But from a safety standpoint, I don't really know what else Fish & Game was supposed to do. The lion was about 50' up a cedar tree so it would've fallen to its death if they shot it with a tranquilzer. Neither the dog nor the cougar stood a chance.

The other choice would have been to let the lion eat the dog - go on its merry way and let it try to live in peace in the neighborhood it had actually tried to live in since it's own habitat had probably been encroached upon. When you live in an area where there are lions, fox, coyotes, whatever, etc., you need to know that your pom can get eaten.

mimitabby
07-24-2008, 12:04 PM
The other choice would have been to let the lion eat the dog - go on its merry way and let it try to live in peace in the neighborhood it had actually tried to live in since it's own habitat had probably been encroached upon. When you live in an area where there are lions, fox, coyotes, whatever, etc., you need to know that your pom can get eaten.

+++++

jesvetmed
07-24-2008, 10:17 PM
The other choice would have been to let the lion eat the dog - go on its merry way and let it try to live in peace in the neighborhood it had actually tried to live in since it's own habitat had probably been encroached upon. When you live in an area where there are lions, fox, coyotes, whatever, etc., you need to know that your pom can get eaten.

Tired of people wanting to have wildlife killed because it interferes with their lives! Move to the downtown area then. No wildlife there. Otherwise, know that it's a possibility b/c we have taken away the land, and gotten rid of much of their normal diet. What are they supposed to do? Our population is out of control... not theirs!

On my run, I ran into some of my favorite wildlife this week.... two domestic dogs that attacked mine (who was on leash but is ok.. the other two were not on leash), and then the mighty wasp.... attacked me with no reason! Stung me right i the neck! BUT... did see a beautiful buck in the middle of the road just prior to all that nonsense!

Aggie_Ama
07-25-2008, 04:55 AM
I really get sad riding an seeing dead wildlife. Lately it has been armadillos, lots of them. And raccoons. The road they are on is new, used to be a tiny county road with little road kill but now it is a 4 lane behemouth. :(

We have been being harrassed by a door to door pest control guy wanting to kill all the bugs on our property. I told him some of them do good and he was like "Well you have a black widow, it won't do you any good and we have to kill them all to get that". We aren't using him. We let barn swallows live on our porch and it stays mosquito free. We let frogs our neighbors run off live in the yard, lizards too.

My in-laws said many people keep Llamas to scare off coyotes from their ranches, how novel not to shoot the coyotes.

Pax
07-25-2008, 05:28 AM
I really get sad riding an seeing dead wildlife. Lately it has been armadillos, lots of them. And raccoons. The road they are on is new, used to be a tiny county road with little road kill but now it is a 4 lane behemouth. :(

We have been being harrassed by a door to door pest control guy wanting to kill all the bugs on our property. I told him some of them do good and he was like "Well you have a black widow, it won't do you any good and we have to kill them all to get that". We aren't using him. We let barn swallows live on our porch and it stays mosquito free. We let frogs our neighbors run off live in the yard, lizards too.

My in-laws said many people keep Llamas to scare off coyotes from their ranches, how novel not to shoot the coyotes.
We have an agreement with living things...outside of the house we won't bother them a bit, but they are not welcome in the house.

Aggie_Ama
07-25-2008, 06:25 AM
We have an agreement with living things...outside of the house we won't bother them a bit, but they are not welcome in the house.

My husband has a weak immune system, so we are concerned with the black widow. What if they come inside? I have never even seen one until the other night. Otherwise I don't give a darn what is in my yard, well we do kill the fire ants and let our neighbor flea treat our yard. Otherwise....

Pax
07-25-2008, 07:01 AM
My husband has a weak immune system, so we are concerned with the black widow. What if they come inside? I have never even seen one until the other night. Otherwise I don't give a darn what is in my yard, well we do kill the fire ants and let our neighbor flea treat our yard. Otherwise....
Once they come inside I become Flip-Flop Ninja Woman! :p

beccaB
07-25-2008, 08:47 AM
a beautiful coyote lives in our neighborhood. I have seen him when I'm out walking. I saw his amber eyes looking at me from the bushes, and then he disappeared. I would recommend keeping cats indoors around here! He is really big and looks more wolf-like. I think I know where some of the cats have gone. The foxes are cute and they had babies under our barn, talk about adorable! They ate lots of rodents, but we had to do some housekeeping for them because the left little furs around.

teawoman
07-25-2008, 11:16 AM
I have seen mostly moose and deer--once a fox. We also seem to have a bajillion hares in our neighbourhood this year--don't have to go out to see those.

csr1210
07-25-2008, 04:53 PM
Yeah, the roadkill makes me sad to see too. We also have lots of flattened armadillos (amoung other more usual stuff). At least dead skunk season seems to have passed:(.


Once they come inside I become Flip-Flop Ninja Woman! :p

Ha! I love that and would claim that title as my own, but I generally count on "Combat boot Ninja husband" for larger prey such as delightful roaches (the squish freaks me out:o) Now to go tell husband that he has a new title....

Christy

hermitclub
07-31-2008, 09:47 AM
Went riding last night and while waiting at a stop light, I looked over to the car at my left. In it was a clown whose makeup was running because of the heat and humidity - kinda creepy looking. Does that count as wildlife?

Later in the ride I got stung by a bee on my neck. OUCH! I'm proud to say that I didn't miss a pedal stroke, just kept riding.

Finally, when making the turn into my neighborhood, I saw a little cottontailed bunny by the pond. Super cute. Always a good sign to see bunnies in the neighborhood - that means the coyotes have moved on.

JennyPi
07-31-2008, 10:36 AM
I live on the Peninsula in the bay area, in the middle of the hustle and bustle, so jack rabbits are usually as exciting as it gets. Although I did see my first snake while doing a solo-ride last Friday. It had to have been 3 and a half feet long or so. I'm not a snake gal so I have to say that it did shake me up a bit. I rode right around it ... eek.

Smilie
07-31-2008, 10:51 AM
Saw two badgers last week. They are very cool looking, I just wish their hole wasn't so close to the road. As long as they stay off the road, they should be fine. It would be a shame for them to get ran over.

Aggie_Ama
07-31-2008, 03:52 PM
We did the Enchanted Circle (New Mexico) yesterday, along the horrendous climb up bobcat pass a bear ran in front of me! It was 1/8 to 1/4 mile in front of me, just bounded across the road. I think it might have been adolescent. No photo, I was too terrified and in awe at the same time. DH was much further up the climb so he missed it. And he is really jealous. :D

MrsB
08-06-2008, 10:05 AM
Being in Maine we see lots of wildlife. Last week out with the mountain bike and dogs I looked over to my left and there was a huge moose about 15 feet away. Thankfully the dogs didnt run after it. They chickened out and ran up ahead on the trail. Just left me there.LOL. Then a couple days later I was out with the road bike and saw a deer up ahead of me that didnt want to move off the road. Yelled a few times and she finally moved on.
Then last but not least had a fox run in front of my bike a few days ago while on the road. Scared the poop out of me because I was moving right along.

kygrrlinco
08-06-2008, 03:39 PM
I typically see Canadian geese and some other wading-type bird...big, black, with red eyes (??)...ducks, a fox once, flickers (my favorite!), lizards running across the path, little green snakes (ran over one's tail the other day :(.

About a month ago there was a news story here (Denver) about a guy who was cruising down Left Hand Canyon, in the foothills, going about 40mph, when he crashed into a BEAR that had run out of the trees!!! I'm getting ready to do a fundraiser ride that heads up that canyon; I wouldn't mind SEEING a bear, but I'd prefer it be from a distance, not as I'm crashing into it!
Apparently both bear and rider were okay, with only some good road rash to report.

Boise Birder
08-06-2008, 07:45 PM
I come back from time to time to read it.

I live in place where I see lots of wildlife. As a birder, I really watch. I did a team in training ride, kept a bird list during the training. The list was around 75.

Here's some favorites:

Badger, burrowing owl, curlew, white-headed woodpecker, pygmy nuthatch, prairie falcon, sandhill crane, cinnamon teal, bald eagle, golden eagle, willet, avocet, black-neck stilt, shoveler (a duck), gadwall, pileated woodpecker, swainson's hawk....

On and on - I love riding!

biking viking
08-06-2008, 09:50 PM
Mule deer, beaver, turtles, pelicans, and sometimes rattlesnakes. I like the pelicans best!

jayno67
08-07-2008, 01:08 AM
In sub tropic Australia theres a bit of wildlife hoppin around - here goes :

Kangaroos, wallabys, paddy melons, possums (nite only) Bats (by the millions) Koala (rare) Snakes (not rare - can be large and deadly) Monitor Lizard (ie HUGE Goanna type reptile) Dingo (wild dog) many other lizard types

Birds - Eagle, Kyte (sea eagle) Kookaburra, Kingfisher, Wampoo, Cat Bird (heard not seen) many many finch, King Parrot, many other small parrots, Black Cockatoo.

Insects - almost endless array !! Most noticed is the rather large Golden Orb who weave very sticky webs and BITE.

Love it !!!

amithereyet
08-08-2008, 04:55 AM
In Maryland, I am used to seeing white-tailed deer, ducks, geese, swans, eagles, hawks, vultures, fox, and squirrels. What I am not used to seeing is a nasty type of bee that decided to fly up under my shirt to sting me repetitively. Unlike a previous poster, I missed many pedal stokes by jumping off of the bike and shaking my jersey, thinking that I might have to disrobe in sight of a busy highway. Luckily, the #$$$# bee decided to leave the scene.

TahoeDirtGirl
08-08-2008, 04:44 PM
why not? There's a big population of black squirrels in the town I live near.

Really I see more wildlife when I stay home. :p I'm moving too fast when I'm on the bike.

But how did you manage that snapping turtle without getting bit? I had to leave my car halfway down my lane one time, because there was a snapping turtle in the lane who would not move, and I sure wasn't going to get my fingers bit off!

They tell me there aren't black squirrels in SE Mass. Well then, someone got into the shoe polish!

As for the snapper, at first I was going to grab is tail because that's how I was taught when I was a kid that you could pick them up but you had to hold it really close to the body. When I attempted it, my 38 year old senses kicked in and well, I wasn't 12 anymore. So I teased him with a stick and when he took hold, I dragged him across the road. I usually have a piece of cardboard in my car now for emergency turtle crossings and tobaggan them across (snappers that is). The box ones I'll pick up.

When I was growing up a snapper bit my dog's nose. He forever had a white scar on his pretty black nose.

Yesterday, the wildlife report was 2 turkeys, 2 deer and some type of weasel. I wish I got pics. I also found what appears to be wild blueberries. I need to consult with someone in the know around here on berries because there is an awful lot of them. And oh how I want to snatch some! Last year I was in MN on a bear study and the bear biologist I was with knew all the berries and I loved it. Here I'm still recovering from the stomach bug and didn't want to wind up in the ER from eating poison berries!

TrekTheKaty
09-02-2008, 04:05 PM
Geese, ducks, herons, deer, wild turkey, snakes (sunning themselves on the path--dh swears he saw a copperhead), and VERY LARGE SNAPPING turtles. DH saw two large BULLS on the Katy Trail. They scurried ahead of him and then suddenly turned around. He was afraid to turn back or try to go by so he stopped--finally they stared each other down, went to separate sides of the path and sprinted by each other! I'd love to have a pic of that!

crazycanuck
09-02-2008, 04:22 PM
It's spring & with the warmer temps the creatures will be venturing out..

Someone spotted a few snakes along the Kwinana bike path last saturday..:eek:

andtckrtoo
09-03-2008, 12:43 PM
When I mountain bike around here I see tons of deer and hawks (love watching hawks). But my scariest and most excelerating sighting was a bobcat on an early morning ride. Big sucker, but with a short tail, so it was a cat, not a lion. A few days later on the same trail I saw a coyote. I've also seen mountain lion foot prints, but I don't usually ride early enough to see lions, thankfully. Their paw prints are rather intimidating.

BleeckerSt_Girl
09-03-2008, 01:00 PM
A white tailed deer crossed the road in front of me on my ride this morning. Big gangly teenage deer.

jesvetmed
09-03-2008, 08:42 PM
One metal elk -- a carved one on the side of a barn I passed tonight!
Other than that, nothing NON-domesticated... lots of goats, sheep, horses and cows on tonight's ride. One LARGE hawk -- red-tailed perhaps? Seems early, but maybe! Oh, and the one orange fuzzy caterpillar. (Missed him!)

Trekhawk
09-04-2008, 02:26 AM
It's spring & with the warmer temps the creatures will be venturing out..

Someone spotted a few snakes along the Kwinana bike path last saturday..:eek:

Yikes!!
I will be keeping my eyes out for them at home now with so much bush around our place.

crazycanuck
09-04-2008, 03:47 AM
Trekhawk....where there are bobtails, there are bound to be tiger snakes etc..

Be careful!!!

Have you seen any white tail or red back spiders yet?

limewave
09-09-2008, 03:51 AM
I didn't see much wildlife this morning. But I did see the end of the rainbow. Had to run back in the house to get the camera. Hopefully the pictures turn out.

Aggie_Ama
09-09-2008, 04:10 AM
I read about some locals seeing rattlers at the mountain bike trails, I hope I never see them. I don't think there is anything I am more afraid of than a rattlesnake! :o

crazycanuck
10-01-2008, 04:09 PM
I saw two bandicoots on my way home last night. I've never seen one & they were really cute!

I just did a search & yep..bandicoots

http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/bandicoot.htm

Biciclista
10-01-2008, 04:10 PM
I think I saw 2 bandicoots or something similar last night. I'm going to find some pics & figure out what I saw?

They were really though!

they were really though?

what's a quoll?

Biciclista
10-01-2008, 04:18 PM
CC you have wild bandicoots?!?!??! that is awesome beyond words!

crazycanuck
10-01-2008, 04:25 PM
A quoll is similar to a bandicoot but has a longer tail & more spots. They're more endangered than bandicoots.

I meant to type-they were really cute!-but must have hit my backspace button.

Friends of ours in Roleystone(hills area of perth) have tons of them in their yard at night! I just never get to see them :(

arielmoon
10-02-2008, 08:19 AM
On yesterday's ride on the 3500 acre farm where I work I saw several hawks, a turtle, a small deer, and some turkeys. Way cool!

Aggie_Ama
10-02-2008, 08:47 AM
Ariel- Hawks, how cool. My husband and I saw one grab a snake in a field and fly off, only one I have ever seen riding. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, not for the snake of course.

On my commute home Tuesday I saw a lovely white crane. He decided his perch was unacceptably and moved a little further upstream, amazing to see those large birds gracefully fly.

I also saw a mama and baby goat curled up napping amongst the goats I see every commute. I wanted to stop but was sure my beeping HRM would startle them or the other goats would be curious and wake them moving. It was the sweetest thing ever though.

arielmoon
10-02-2008, 09:19 AM
Ariel- Hawks, how cool. My husband and I saw one grab a snake in a field and fly off, only one I have ever seen riding. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, not for the snake of course.

On my commute home Tuesday I saw a lovely white crane. He decided his perch was unacceptably and moved a little further upstream, amazing to see those large birds gracefully fly.

I also saw a mama and baby goat curled up napping amongst the goats I see every commute. I wan't to stop but was sure my beeping HRM would startle them or the other goats would be curious and wake them moving. It was the sweetest thing ever though.

Yes, we have lots of hawks here and a few bald eagles but I have not seen one on a ride yet.

Baby goats are soo adroable!!

One day I am going to get a picture of the buffalo I pass on one of my routes. They sometimes stand up on a berm by the road and it would make a great shot!

alpinerabbit
10-02-2008, 12:58 PM
Saturday - MTB'ing....

we were biking in some vineyards when I saw a sheep caught in a net-type electric fence, wildly jerking around. She was probably trying to get to the "greener grass on the other side".

We first had to shut off the battery of the fence, undo the contact. Not sure if it was even turned on considering the sheep went through it in the first place.

then jump the fence and run down to the poor creature. I tried to calm her by talking to her, the netting was very tight where she had pulled it to the ground. We tried to loosen it up. She was rather calm but started retching when I tried to undo the tight webs - she'd just stuck her whole head right through it.
We finally managed to undo one of the main poles and get it loose. She collected her composure for a few, then took off to her mates.

We found a few people working the vineyards and asked them to call the owner.

Sorry creature, I'm sure she wasn't hurt. but those fences suck.
Nice soft fluffy coat.
I wonder if we managed to give her a feeling that we were there to help.

RolliePollie
10-15-2008, 05:09 PM
Today I saw a fox...a huge one! I think it's a bit unusual to see foxes during the day. This one was beautiful and definitely the biggest fox I've ever seen!

Then I saw a snake. Instant panic! Even though it was very small, I rode really close to it because I didn't see it until the last minute. I was very unhappy to be so close!

Then when I got home, I saw the neighborhood peacock. He is so annoying. I want him to go back home. His owners keep coming and catching him but he just keeps coming back to our street. He is very pretty though...I'm give him credit for that.

crazycanuck
10-15-2008, 08:18 PM
Your neighbours keep a peacock??

Trekhawk
10-16-2008, 02:23 AM
Trekhawk....where there are bobtails, there are bound to be tiger snakes etc..

Be careful!!!

Have you seen any white tail or red back spiders yet?

Snakes are out and about now that is for sure. I was on a ride a few days ago and a car coming the other way slowed down and I thought ok what is this going to be about. Two guys were in the car and I though yikes Im out in the middle of nowhere I hope they are not going to hassle me. No they wanted to let me know that up the road a bit further was one huge snake crossing the road. Happily I did not see the snake and enjoyed the rest of my ride.

Seen lots of spiders including the two above. I don't worry too much about the spiders here after living in NSW home of the Sydney Funnel Web.
http://www.usq.edu.au/users/weppner/dangerous/sydney_funnel_web_spider.htm

You want to stay well away from those suckers.:eek:

xeney
10-16-2008, 04:38 AM
We see lots of hawks on our rides, but this last time I am pretty sure I saw an owl in a tree. My pictures did not come out.

The ride before that we saw the usual flock of wild turkeys where we picnicked, and I expect to see them again today.

dachshund
10-16-2008, 10:03 AM
Yesterday I rode by wild turkeys, a deer, and a squirrel, all hanging out at the same part of the road. Does that count as a trifecta? :cool: None of them seemed the least bit perturbed by me. The squirrel was in the middle of the road sniffing at the plastic divider thing. I was thinking, "dude, don't spend too much time on that..."
Later when I came back, a squirrel tried to race across the street in front of me. Run!! He made it.

I also noticed some llamas at one of the farms, but I suppose they don't count as wildlife.

RolliePollie
10-16-2008, 05:19 PM
Your neighbours keep a peacock??

Yes...unfortunately!

He technically "lives" at a small farm about 1/4 mile from here. But evidently he prefers my street. He roosts on my next door neighbor's roof, digs up my yard, poops an awful lot, and screeches. His "owners" bought him along with his mate...and supposedly they mate for life. But I guess he doesn't like her because he won't stay with her. I'm not sure what's going to happen to him when it snows.

crazycanuck
10-16-2008, 08:27 PM
Icky & rather annoying are the terms I use for cycling in Western Australia during our warmer months. Since we're surrounded by sand..we have oh so many flies, cockroaches, etc etc... My ride along a particular train line is littered with dead cockies..blech

It's not really summer yet (officially anyways) & my legs are already chewed up...:(

Ya can't cycle slowly either..all the flies hang around! One hand on the bar & the other swatting :mad:

Oh yay, i can't wait until the Marchflies appear...

salsabike
10-25-2008, 08:01 PM
Today we saw these guys at Logboom Park, the place at the north end of Lake Washington where we begin and end our rides:

7691

crazycanuck
11-09-2008, 08:10 PM
I was out doing a practice lap for the 12hr event at the end of the month & encountered a roo. Right in front of me as I zoomed up a little hill and around the corner.

It was huge! The roo bounced away to the left into the bush, we both stared at eachother for a few minutes and went on our merry way.

I sure hope I don't encounter any when i'm doing a night lap on the 12hr..It's freaky enough hearing them rustle in the bushes!!!

SouthernBelle
11-10-2008, 05:03 AM
Not wildlife, but still cute:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/3013435246_e05ef008be.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/3013435232_9fb678b842.jpg

7rider
01-23-2009, 04:46 AM
Oooo.
I had a fox pass in front of me and a car today on Sligo Creek Parkway.
That was a first for me. :D
Cool.

xeney
01-23-2009, 05:31 AM
Oh, neat, I've only seen foxes twice (and never from a bike).

We saw two coyotes on our ride Sunday. One of them was really aggressive, too, snapping at a person walking a dog.

batsheva
01-27-2009, 10:00 AM
vultures, cranes, loads of squirrels, occasional armadillo and occasional tortoise/turtle

Trekhawk
01-27-2009, 02:02 PM
vultures, cranes, loads of squirrels, occasional armadillo and occasional tortoise/turtle

How cool to see an Armadillo!
That is one weird looking animal.
When we were on our last driving holiday in the States I told my kids I would give 20 bucks to the first one that saw an Armadillo in Amarillo. LOL - I still have my 20.:D