What wildlife do you see on your rides?

Nothing exotic...
In 15 miles on Tuesday, I saw; deer, squirrel, fox and bunny.
The deer running across the road freaked me out and I spent the rest of my ride scanning the forest for more. We were out around 5pm, which is when the deer start moving about. Slowed me down quite a bit.

On Saturday a buck with a rack ran across the road. We were not out during high-deer movement time so it didn't affect my riding. I was in awe of the big rack and that it was an unusual time of day to sight a deer.

The large deer population creates dangerous driving conditions in this part of GA.

Saw a squirrel today. Right before it ran under my front wheel. :eek:

Shepard Smith.
I spent an hour and 5 on the elliptical this evening.

Oooo *thud*...:eek:

A rather LIVE long black snake accross the bike path...just inches away from my leg...I kinda sped up & didn't look back... I think it lifted its head as I ventured past :eek:

Spiders I can handle..snakes on the other hand...:eek: I'll just move fast...

I was biking in Central Park yesterday when I got a text that a Long Eared Owl was around. I was lucky enough to watch this majestic bird for a couple of hours until he flew at dusk. I also discovered that I can bike really, really, really fast after dark in Central Park.

Here are photographs of the owl from a really superb photographer (scroll down a bit for the owl):

http://palemale.com/november172009.html

Pam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PamNY

I was biking in Central Park yesterday when I got a text that a Long Eared Owl was around. I was lucky enough to watch this majestic bird for a couple of hours until he flew at dusk. I also discovered that I can bike really, really, really fast after dark in Central Park.

Here are photographs of the owl from a really superb photographer (scroll down a bit for the owl):

http://palemale.com/november172009.html

Pam

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Gorgeous, Pam!

Glad you got out, uh, promptly.

Coyote and it looked ready for winter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazycanuck

Oooo *thud*...:eek:

A rather LIVE long black snake accross the bike path...just inches away from my leg...I kinda sped up & didn't look back... I think it lifted its head as I ventured past :eek:

Spiders I can handle..snakes on the other hand...:eek: I'll just move fast...

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I am the same way. It seems every time DH and I go for a hike I always "find" the snakes. :o

Found these guys on our trip to Moab.

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...7/DSCN5451.jpg

I did dirt time very very early Sun am & had two roos that couldn't quite figure out what direction they wanted to go on the trail...:rolleyes: All I could think was " Make up your mind you silly creature...fast...!!!" I was quite close to both & slowed down immediately in order for them to hop off in whatever direction they wanted...

We encountered a pair of sandhill cranes in the same area we often see them - I guess they nest there - but this time they were in the bike lane and not a bit spooked by our 23 mph paceline. We had to get out of their way as they stood their ground.

Feral Pigs a Crooked River State Park in St. Mary's, GA.
http://www.southeasternphotography.c...37978684_TokpU
We didn't take this photo but this is what they looked like.

We were pedaling out of the campground for a ride on the submarine base when we saw a young couple with some big, black dogs on the side of the road. When we got closer we saw that they were not dogs but pigs! And there were a bunch of them on both sides of the road! Luckily none decided to cross in front of us. They were very shiny and attractive for pigs.

I also saw an armadillo on the base golf course during the ride. The first "live" armadillo I have seen on a ride or run. They make the most disgusting road kill.

We were adjacent to a bird sanctuary for a portion of the ride and saw a huge variety.

There was also a baby deer making the meet and greet rounds at the campground but we only saw it while in the truck or walking Cooper.

The pig photographs are really interesting. Armadillos in Georgia? Seeing the baby deer must be wonderful, though I do have mixed feelings about them being so used to humans. In Shenandoah you see them hoping to be fed and it makes me so sad.

Thanks for posting the pigs!

Armadillos in Georgia?

We are crawling with them.
Before moving here in 1985 I thought the only state with armadillos was Texas.

We had one in the brush beside our camp site making a huge racket on Saturday night. Cooper, our JRT, was all upset about it.

We have alligators in Georgia too. I thought they were only to be found in Florida prior to moving South and East. I have seen them while riding a bike as well. Just not since I discovered this forum.

I had a lot to learn when I relocated to the East Coast. Like you have to attach "State" on the tail end of Washington when you tell people where you are from or they think you grew up in Washington, DC.

We have several red tail hawk hatches in Manhattan -- two are within my biking range. These photos are of the nest in Riverside Park, which I've watched for a year now. Riverside Mom and Dad are so smart -- we silly humans were worried about her nest location, but it survived two Nor'easters. Tonight the photographer of the below photos was kind enough to let me look at babies through his camera.

http://urbanhawks.blogs.com/urban_ha...dtailed_hawks/

The hawk nest on the building in the photos below belongs to Palemale and Lola -- their nest was famously destroyed by building management in 2005. After protests, a nest cradle was put up for them to rebuild, but their eggs have never hatched since humans interfered. We think Riverside Mom is Palemale's daughter, so at least he has grandchildren this year!

http://palemale.com/april272010.html

Pam, I see Red-tails often in Tucson. I also see a lot of Cooper's Hawks, as well as Curve-billed Thrashers, Cactus Wrens, Gila Woodpeckers and the ubiquitous Mourning Doves- plus White-winged Doves now that spring is back... Of course, I see more when I am moving more slowly up the hills than when I'm cruising on flats or flying down hills.

We have at least one red-tailed hawk that lives and hunts along my local urban rail-trail. I saw him get a rabbit once.

The best, however, was a week or so ago when DH & I were riding along the same trail and a wild turkey crossed in front of us. I was thrilled. Come to find out, turkeys have been moving back in to our town. It makes sense, once I think about it. The trail corridor is actually pretty good habitat for wild things, with a lack of predators/hunters, the hawks excepted. I'm looking forward to more turkey sightings.

Azfiddle, what a wonderful variety you get to see! We had a Cooper's hawk wintering over in Central Park which was quite a thrill. I even dreamed about Cooper's hawks.

MomOnBike, I would love to see a redtail get a rabbit. I could watch them hunt for hours (in fact, I do).

Three of our redtail babies died in a windstorm Saturday. The nest just gave way (gusts were up to 55 mph). It was so sad -- they were just weeks away from fledging. The parents started rebuilding the nest and copulating immediately, but the experts tell me they are unlikely to produce more eggs.

A couple weeks ago I saw a cottontail mountain biking, he was so cute and terrified of me coming! I also saw the funkiest beetle last weekend, it was sparkly and green. Road riding a few weeks back a saw a road runner, they are probably my favorite bird. I love that they eat rattlesnakes and always seem to be on a mission. Plus they are just darn cool looking. :cool:

Last night I did 16 miles around Lake Miramar and I saw a red tail hawk hunting (it was nearing dusk) and I hoped it wouldn't see the bunny I had just passed hopping quickly across the road. I also heard coyotes howling and yipping at each other up in the hills above the bike path. Pretty neat. This was the same hillside where I heard then saw that golden eagle last year.

Roxy

I saw an Osprey a few days apart at an urban park with a lake. It was gone today...

I was riding on a college campus last week, my son ahead of me on his bike. Deserted road. There comes a nutria up out of the grass, crossing the pavement. Sees my son coming towards him and stops dead in his tracks, and then hunkers down in the street like a cat about to strike. I stopped to watch it, because I didn't want to run him over or get bit if he decided to go for it. A pickup comes along and it takes off running into the grass and back to the creek. It looked like a giant squirrel, running low to the ground. They seem to have a lot of loose skin, like a bloodhound, and it wiggles when they run, and their coat is kind of silky looking. Anyway, it was cool!

eta: A picture of one.

Karen

I saw a wild mink on one ride. :)

I saw a beautiful doe this morning, she was watching me cycle down the road toward her - she was at the forest edge at a T-intersection, as I slowed down to move she turned and disappeared into the trees. It was good to see her!

The other evening, DH suggested a bike picnic. OK, off we go. There is an urban park that has a nice pavilion surrounded by a wooded area. About halfway through the picnic, I looked up and saw 3 white-tailed deer. They crossed the small park and disappeared into some shrubs on the other side.

Not a bad sighting for a decidedly in-town setting.

Saturday:
2 bald eagles flying low, just caught some snakes
a bunch of stingrays (I had stopped on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and there they were-a whole lot of them cavorting in the shallows)
the usual osprey and great blue herons

I saw another doe today on my ride - these past 4 rides in a row I have seen at least one deer on my route - and they have been different routes! Hopefully they will continue to show themselves without running across the road in front of me :eek:

Saw several really big Desert Spiny Lizards this morning.

On Thursday, a young buck, just getting this year's antlers.

Today, a herd of prancing horses ;) - aka some Ferrari club out for a Sunday ride. That was a treat to hear and see.

Deer sightings continue :)

In the last couple of weeks I've encountered a some more unusual critters. I don't count egrets, herons, eagles, osprey, rabbits, or even deer any more - they are pretty common around here.

A flock of turkey hens (probably 20+)
Red fox
Trumpet Swans in a lagoon where I have never seen them before. Though there is a resident pair at a pond a few miles away. And haven't seen them there again since.

My barn owl is back again. He comes to hang out in the woods behind my house for a couple weeks at a time. I have never been able to find him - it's usually dark when he makes his presence known. He sounds like this:
http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_...urFamilyID=203

Essentially he just screeches every 10-20 seconds for hours in the evening - from around 7-10pm. Yikes!

And today I took a detour through a heavily wooded fresh water marsh area, had to walk some because the dirt track was sandy in places and was not designed for 700x23 tires. Saw an indigo bunting, a totally iridescent and beautiful bird. :)

I love this thread.

I love this thread too, and it makes me want to bike everywhere!

Saturday I saw a huge flock of cedar waxwings. It seemed as if there were thousands of them, swooping down, feasting for a bit and taking off again. I've seen them in groups, but never that many. I also saw an egret and turkey vulture.

On a sad note, we lost another baby hawk. His body was still in the nest yesterday. The one remaining baby seemed to be looking at him with great curiosity.

Usually all I see is road pizza possums, skunks, squirrels, cats and dogs with an occasional and rare live specimen showing up. I was riding around a lake which is actually a cooling pond for a power station and is quite out in the country and I saw a wild hog disappearing into the pines- a short while later I spotted two scissor tail fly catchers which always delights me because they look so much like something invented by Dr. Seus.

marni

Songbirds of varying stripes, mostly. A couple of house finches, a goldfinch, cardinals, the usual sparrows and mourning doves on today's ride. Also a bright blue bird whose identity I don't know. Crows, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures. Gray squirrels, the occasional chipmunk, white-tailed deer (saw two on Sunday's ride), and cats. I also nearly brained myself on a female cardinal over the weekend!

A fox crossed the road in front of me on Monday while biking down 2A in Lexington.

Yesterday was turtle day. I stopped twice along the ride to move a turtle off the road. The first one was fairly large, the size of a dessert plate. It was sitting on the yellow center line. I moved it across the road and wished it good luck. The second one was rather cute. It was a baby and fit nicely in the palm of my hand. It would have taken it an eon to cross the road. I gave it a helping hand and moved it across the road. Again, I wished it good luck. It has a lot of growing to do. I hope it survives.

Today was rabbit day. The Eastern Cottontails, big and small, were out in force. I don't recall a ride where I encountered so many rabbits.

Pam, where do you see waxwings in NY?? I love them.

Love raptors too. We have lots of bald eagles around here--I mean, on the bike trails as well as in the general region.

Last night I saw not one, but two deer! One was a fawn that stepped up to the edge of the road as I approached. I talked to her and asked her kindly to wait for me to pass, and she turned around and went back into the woods :p Later on a large beautiful buck bounded across the road in front of me! I was far enough away that I was able to enjoy watching him.

Seems that right now all I see are deer, at least on the bike. When hiking last weekend I saw several salamanders peeking out from under a rock as I crossed a stream on a mountain bike trail. They probably thought I couldn't see them ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by makbike

Yesterday was turtle day. I stopped twice along the ride to move a turtle off the road.

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Yes, what is it with turtles all of a sudden??? There must be a huge migration between Kentucky and Illinois. Ha! Ha! I must've seen six box turtles on my ride yesterday. I also saw wild turkeys, deer, rabbits and squirrels. The critters were busy early in the morning.