What wildlife do you see on your rides?

[7rider]

Happy Birthday!

I was heading up a slight incline (too slight to call it a hill ) 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!

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]

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]

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]

I've never seen a real roadrunner, from my point of view they ARE a rare and lovely creature.

[firenze11]

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]

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.

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]

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.