What wildlife do you see on your rides?

I first thought it was a good sized dog- but I realized that I was about to cross paths with a javalina this morning. Javalinas (metimes called peccaries) are desert creatures that resemble pigs. It emerged from a yard today on my ride . They have poor eyesight, are unpredictable and usually in packs, so I wasn't quite sure whether to stop and get off, turn around, or keep going. Fortunately, it was by itself and looked up, stopped and let me ride by. They are not uncommon here, especially in neighborhoods with a lot of desert vegetation, but it was the first time I've come so close to running in to one.

It was a little extra adrenalin-

Did somebody say turtles?
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...g/P1000626.jpg

I've been doing more paddling than riding lately.

Then there was this guy in the neighborhood
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...s/P1000268.jpg

and this guy in the yard-
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/P1000317.jpg
This last one surprises me as I think it's a mostly aquatic painted turtle as opposed to the semi-aquatic box turtle
I also think the last one is a female.

Those are Maryland Terrapins! ;-) Great pictures, Zen.

The last couple weeks or so, I've been seeing a trio of kits (fox babies), playing and exploring, during my predawn rides. Last year in exactly the same spot, there was another bunch of fox babies. Also have been spotting small fawn with their mommies and a few baby bunnies. A couple of the fawns have been so small that I thought they were dogs at first!

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

I first thought it was a good sized dog- but I realized that I was about to cross paths with a javalina this morning. Javalinas (metimes called peccaries) are desert creatures that resemble pigs. It emerged from a yard today on my ride . They have poor eyesight, are unpredictable and usually in packs, so I wasn't quite sure whether to stop and get off, turn around, or keep going. Fortunately, it was by itself and looked up, stopped and let me ride by. They are not uncommon here, especially in neighborhoods with a lot of desert vegetation, but it was the first time I've come so close to running in to one.

It was a little extra adrenalin-

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I saw them out in the Davis Mountains State Parl, they are kind of endearing. I name the one that was near our campsite Fred, I thought he was kind of cute in his own bumbling way. :) They told us they can be terribly destructive but the ones at the park must have mellowed.

At least it wasn't a Chupacabra

I've been watching a monk parakeet nest forever, and today I finally saw a juvenile. Not surprisingly, he is the cutest thing. Quite good at flying, but needs to work on his landing skills.

I also got to watch the adults work on the nest, which was fascinating. The nest is like a globe of woven sticks with circular doors. I confirmed that this nest is a duplex with two doors. These very social birds live in colonies, so I hope it gets bigger.

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Originally Posted by PamNY

I've been watching a monk parakeet nest forever, and today I finally saw a juvenile. Not surprisingly, he is the cutest thing. Quite good at flying, but needs to work on his landing skills.

I also got to watch the adults work on the nest, which was fascinating. The nest is like a globe of woven sticks with circular doors. I confirmed that this nest is a duplex with two doors. These very social birds live in colonies, so I hope it gets bigger.

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We have these guys in Austin, my co-worker saw some at our building the other day. There are debates on how they got here, I haven't seen them yet but I hear they are beautiful.

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Originally Posted by Zen

At least it wasn't a Chupacabra

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Still got my eyes out for those, since you know they live in Texas. :p

Not wildlife, but I certainly HEARD a peacock on Saturday's ride.
A pair of finches and what looked like an owl (species unknown) swooped across my path. More deer.

Not on a ride, but the neighborhood fox has two kits now. And they're adorable.

It is going to be HOT today, so apparently the animals watched the weather report this morning :D

Saw two deer, a good number of red-wing blackbirds and other kinds of birds. A flock? of ducks were hanging in a farmers pond next to the road - and best of all, a rabbit ran with me briefly! I think I was more surprised at his speed than he was at me - I was cruising at 14mph and it shot out of the corn, ran alongside the road - keeping up with me - briefly then darted back into the corn. Thankfully he didn't dart in front of me...

Does it count if I was simply scouting the route for my long ride next Saturday? I WILL see those Arabian Horses and Reindeer on my bike, just like I did in my car today...and given that area's reputation for animals one wouldn't expect to see - I may just see more than that :D

I AM planning on taking the camera this week - and since it is a "long" ride, well then, I have to take breaks, right?

In addition to calling the bumps and obstacles (his job as tandem captain), Brewer has started calling the road kill.

*bleh*
'Tis the season.

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Originally Posted by malkin

In addition to calling the bumps and obstacles (his job as tandem captain), Brewer has started calling the road kill.

*bleh*
'Tis the season.

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Better than some other names...Am trying to avoid and ignore this...

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Originally Posted by malkin

In addition to calling the bumps and obstacles (his job as tandem captain), Brewer has started calling the road kill..

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That's funny. Unpleasant, but funny.

Had fun today on my ride - I heard about these animals so I made sure to have my real camera with me. It is challenging to try and take pics when your sunglasses doesn't have bifocals :o

There were other animals at the same farm where I took all of these pics outside of the goats, but I couldn't see well enough to zoom in on them properly. I am including a cropped version of the picture, but may delete it.

The two males appeared to be made nervous by my presence, they rose from their resting in the shade and started constantly moving around their enclosure. It didn't seem a very large enclosure for such large animals... I also took pics of the females in the next enclosure, but as they were smart and stayed in the shade the pics didn't come out at all.