Yesterday's count:
1 otter. (and this in the city)
1 brood of fluffy goslings, with parents - grazing
1 goldfinch.
The usual quotient of squirrels, both black and grey.
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Yesterday's count:
1 otter. (and this in the city)
1 brood of fluffy goslings, with parents - grazing
1 goldfinch.
The usual quotient of squirrels, both black and grey.
Wow, an otter!
Catrin, you make central Indiana sound sound like animal paradise!
I searched earnestly for chipmunks in Brooklyn, but didn't find them yet. No chipmunks at all in Manhattan, which I find strange.
Our fatherless hawk family in Riverside Park is doing well. Mom hawk is getting supplemental food provided by a wildlife rehabber, and the babies are about to fledge.
Yesterday I got to see a wild turkey at close range as I rode along a rural road next to woods. He flew up to a nearby tree, but not before I'd gotten a great look at him. Sure wish I'd had a camera at the ready! Also a great blue heron, many squirrels, and smaller songbirds.
From yesterday's 35-miler, which was also an experiment in bike-n-birding. I rode with my SLR in a frontpack, small hydration pack on my back (was recovering from one of my Crohn's cramp days, so needed plenty of water). The packs and the heaps of hydration both worked. The ride passed lots of wetlands. Mostly we saw Canada Geese, Mallards and Song Sparrows ... and then I saw this guy and hollered "Bird Stop!" to Trek who was out in the lead. The heron was on the far side of a black-painted chain-link fence, which you can kind of see blurred out in the forefront.
NICE shot!Quote:
Originally Posted by Duck on Wheels
Duck that is fabulous!
Saw a gigantic mama snapping turtle crossing the road on Saturday. Then another one yesterday!
Last couple rides:
2 goldfinches
either an Eastern Bluebird or an Indigo Bunting. I only saw its back. I've seen bluebirds on the trail, but size- and color-wise I think it's more likely to be an indigo bunting
A first on the trail today--rabbits. I usually see squirrels and chipmunks, but not rabbits.
Nice picture, Duck!
Dead skunk
Dead racoon
Dead opossum
Dead groundhog
Dead frog
Dead snake
all equal BAD SMELLS
need I go on??
Nah, maybe a different road to ride on?Quote:
Originally Posted by lawnchick22
Yesterday while out exploring a new route and new adventure I found myself riding along a creek. The sun was out, skies were clear and a beautiful white tail doe was startled by my presence. She bolted and launched herself across the field she where she had been grazing. She ran diagonal to my path and the road quickly launching herself across the road and into the trees on the opposite side. She was so graceful - I felt bad about disturbing her breakfast. As I continued down this new road I was then greeted by a wild turkey hen and her clutch out for their morning walk. Momma hen took off with most of her babies quickly following except for one who decided to lay very still on the road. Momma hen was frantically calling to her babies and the last little one remained frozen on the road. I softly encouraged it to follow and within a few seconds it too high tailed it into the brush hopefully following momma hen's calls as she attempted to round up to clutch. As the trip continued I was treated to a couple of indigo buntings and numerous golden finches all decked out in their breeding plumage. I absolutely love riding in the country as there is so much to see and enjoy as one makes their way from point A to point B.
Oh, wild turkey and babies sounds wonderful. I would love to see the babies. How many were there, could you tell?
The fatherless hawk babies in Riverside Park fledged successfully. The supplemental feeding program is over, so Mom hawk will have to hunt enough to feed them while they are learning. Hawk parents are very attentive, so she still has the problems of any single parent, but I think they will be okay. Here are the kids just after they fledged:
http://palemale.com/june42011s.html
Here's a nifty video of Pale Male's kids (near Central Park). Much excitement over these two since Pale's eggs haven't hatched since 2004 (he has a new mate):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pViMx...embedded#at=26
Much more video and still photography of the Pale Male family is on palemale.com.
Awesome, Pam! The original Pale Male documentary is just unforgettable.
This is not on a ride, this is in my driveway, aka known as my front yard.
The picture looks a little blue, as it's taken through the glass. If I opened the door, they would fly away.
I saw a coyote just walking through my suburban neighborhood on Saturday - quite the brazen fellow - just walking down the middle of the road.
Saw a rattler about 12 inches long climbing Diablo yesterday. Well, the guy in front of me said it was a rattler, I didn't stop to inspect his tail. :D
Veronica
I see many a Lesser-Spotted Grockle (tourist) along with a goodly sprinkling of Lobster-Red Locals at this time of year. ;)
I live at the seaside so many types of gull are in evidence. If I follow National Cycle Route 62 inland then I encounter lots of small birds, ducks, swans, geese and squirrels. My 'wild-life' bugbear though are dogs. Or rather owners of said dogs who believe it's perfectly ok to allow their dogs to run free in cycle lanes/shared usage paths.
In the space of less than probably 200 feet on a trail I was on I saw: a red fox, wild turkey and young deer. The deer was "frozen" about 15-20' off the trail, I slowed to a crawl, calmly talking to it (I was afraid it would bolt out in front of me) and he/she never budged, just kept looking at me. I could have practically reached out and touched it! Afterwards I just had to shake my head and grin at my good fortune of seeing 3 wild critters in such a short distance.
We saw a water moccasin, which is a poisonous snake I thought lived only in the south. Growing up in Florida I learned how to identify the characteristics of a poisonous snake, so we made it get out of the road with a stick. we always move turtles if we can, and sometimes snakes. My husband didn't believe me that it was a water moccasin so he went home and looked it up on the internet, and sure enough I was right.
What interesting wildlife sightings lately. Coyote is cool -- wild turkeys I've seen but never more than one at a time (odd, I know).
Norsegoddess, you had a banner wildlife day. Good fortune indeed.
Becca, I too thought water moccasins were only in the south, but obviously not.
So did I--I know they're starting to move north, but all the way up in Michigan? Wow.
I saw an otter the other day in a stream that runs through town. This surprised me.
I saw a turtle about 4" across sitting in the middle of a pond ... on the back of another turtle maybe 12-14" across. :D
I wish now I'd tried to take a picture, although I didn't really think my phone has high enough resolution to capture it at that distance.
I had an egret fly so low over my head the other day, I could almost touch him.
Oh, cute Oak. Piggy back turtles.
I'm seeing a lot of (flat) Sonoran toads. The summer monsoon rainstorms get them out and moving to the temporary ponds for breeding. The rain brings out the tarantulas too....but I've only seen dead ones.
Lots of birds are out, nesting again with the summer rains.
AZ Fiddle, bird breeding - is that the reason for all the chatter lately? This morning there was so much singing I had to look around to see what was going on but they were happy as can be.
By the way, do you know of a bird that has a bright yellow body with black wings and head. Very striking bird and beautiful singing.
Thanks
Size of the bird? 4 inches- Lesser Goldfinch - that is the bird I studied for my master's degree. They mimic the songs of other birds.
If it's bigger, maybe 7 inches- could be a Hooded Oriole
Thanks for the names! I was able to look them up and it was definitely not the Lesser Goldfinch, too small and speckled. The Hooded Oriole may have been it. Now I'm on the look out for it again :p
DH and I were treated to a cornucopia of wildlife this weekend as we spent the weekend testing the bass boat we recently purchased. It was an awesome weekend, a respectful catch and release of fish (white bass, small mouth bass, blue gills, sun fish, and a 24" carp that put up a good fight!). We spied a young raccoon swimming the creek we were fishing, a couple of white tail deer, numerous blue herons, ducks, warblers, turtles and a bird of prey which remains a mystery. Mother Nature treated us to a great showing!
I saw a great horned owl tonight, perched on a chimney at a house I cycle by several times a week. I have never seen one in the wild, or in the 'hood, before. Pretty cool. I stopped my bike immediately in front of "his house" just to gaze at him, but I guess he did not like that idea, and he flew away.
I am sure this one has happened before, but I just about got myself a turkey dinner this morning. Poor little turkeys aren't very smart. I came around a corner on the bike trail and he jumped out of the weeds just as I came around the corner. Tom took off running straight down the bike path not knowing which way to go. Good thing one of us was willing to veer. :p
Wow, a GHO is a thrilling sight. Sorry he didn't hang around for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by withm
Makbike, you really hit the jackpot with wildlife!
We're in the Rocky Mountain area vacationing right now.
While cycling back on a road, I heard piercing whistle and on time, 6 different tiny prairie dogs shot out of their burrows in a ditch and raced over to the other side...5 ft. away. It was remarkable, all on time they scampered out, like a race.
Prairie dog is like tiny gopher and chipmunk hybrid. Very common in our area and in Calgary.
Yesterday while cycling near a lake, there were several groups of bighorn wild sheep with their kid babies feeding. Bighorn are the ones where the males have full curved back horns. Yea, I'll get a photo up soon..
I had to stop to shoo a black rat snake off the trail. She was sunning herself, and I didn't want her to get hit. A mile or so later, I happened on a family of wild turkeys (I counted mom and two mostly-grown chicks). I've never seen them on the trail before, so that was kind of cool.
When I lived in Vancouver, I'd regularly see Skunks...let's just say I SPED UP when I saw one of those. LOL
Now that I live near Denver, I see lots of birds and loads of Prairie Dogs. I love the Dogs...they crack me up!
Wednesday I rode at Saguaro NP, just before sunset with the edge of a thunderstorm threatening, but keeping it cloudy and cooler. I ran over Sonoran Whipsnake - just didn't see it in time. I also saw a Black Racer zip off the road and into the desert.
Saturday I rode between Willcox and Chiracahua N. Monument. We saw lots of birds, including Red-Tailed and Swainson's Hawks, Blue Grosbeaks, sky-larking Cassin's Sparrows, Turkey Vultures, Loggerhead Shrikes, and Eastern Meadowlark, among others. We also saw one dead Javalina, a few dead toads, tarantula and what was probably a Mojave Green rattlesnake. I was hoping to see an antelope though.
I saw another Sonoran Whipsnake today but fortunately did not run this one over. I stopped to try to get a picture but it slipped off the road and under the bushes.
Other than that, just the usual - a few whiptail lizards, Gila Woodpeckers, Mourning and White-winged Doves, Phainopeplas, Curve-billed Thrashers....
Not on a bike ride, but after supervising the 7th grade movie night at my school, I spotted a Hog-Nosed Skunk rambling about on the school grounds. Though there is a wash nearby, and we're not too far from some open desert, the school is surrounded by suburban housing and I was quite surprised to see it there! Other recent wildlife at the school: a pair of Roadrunners and a tarantula which I kept in my classroom for a week. (It got out, but I found it last night and let it back out).
Saw a hawk hunkered down on the ground right next to the Green River trail where I was riding today. She/he was laying flat, wings partially out, but her head was up and watching me. I've seen hawks do this when they're trying to hide a fresh kill. I was rolling along at a nice clip, when the brain registered, Hawk! I passed her before I could think to stop and try to get a photo with my cell phone. But I didn't want to scare her off either. She was gone when I passed the same spot on the return trip.
Well I didn't actually see this, but I did see an owl in the last few weeks in the wild, so consider this a follow up.
This is a video of an owl coming in for a landing.
In. Slow. Motion.
Truly amazing. Enjoy.
http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/
Wow! Great owl video. Thanks.