What wildlife do you see on your rides?

[spokewench]

Thanks, Fiddle! Now that I'm biking more consistantly, I hope to venture out again and do more than my little weekday 1 hour rides.

I love Catalina State Park. You can bike through there? I've only done walk/run for a fundraising/training program.

Catalina Park is not really a fun place to ride a mountain bike; but it can be done if you like to walk a lot or you are like a trials rider.

[Desert Tortoise]

This morning I saw one of those very common large black birds, I think it's called Great-tailed Grackle. Its large and has that very shiny, iridescent black plumage.

Seeing the bird was no biggy but seeing it carrying a little bird in it's claws, land on a power pole and start breakfast was unusual. At first I slowed down to stop and watch but then little downy feathers started falling towards me so I sped up to avoid them and watched upwind from the bird.

The funny part of all this is it was one power pole from where I saw the owls a month ago.

[azfiddle]

Yes - Great Tailed Grackle would be right. It's surprising and somewhat macabre sometimes, what some birds will eat. Big flycatchers have been known to take hummingirds at feeders...

[missjean]

This is from a number of years ago. He was small, but he was ready to put up a big fight!

[HillSlugger]

This is from a number of years ago. He was small, but he was ready to put up a big fight!

Crawfish?

[missjean]

Crawfish?

Yes.

[PamNY]

The funny part of all this is it was one power pole from where I saw the owls a month ago.

You've clearly found an important patch of power poles. Interesting (if slightly unpleasant) thing to see.

[Desert Tortoise]

Yes, I think I have found a good patch. And the funny thing is it happens near the top of the hour. The owls were at 5:55am and the grackle was at 8:55 am.

I know it sounds gruesome, one bird eating another but around here it is commonplace to see animals with other animals in their mouths so it doesn't bother me too much. Roadrunners with lizards dangling from their beaks or hawks carrying something furry. The most fantastic of those was years ago when I first moved out here(and it was much more rural) was a hawk carrying a live snake in the air. The snake was actually moving in the claws. I was driving in my car and actually stopped in mid road to watch for the few seconds he was in my sight. Can't do that today, too many cars now.

[Catrin]

Awesome ride today! The best part of my ride was riding very slowly through a herd of young deer - there were 8 of them that were lining the bike path I was riding on to a park close to me - the only thing I can think of was there must have been something tasty there!. They just froze and watched me - they seemed ok with me on the bike, thought it might spook them if I stopped so I just kept moving as slowly as I possible could. How often does that happen? Priceless, for sure.

That park does have a large deer population, and this year in particular they have seemed to become quite used to cyclists as they haven't seemed as skittish as they once were. Personally I wish they were more skittish, I figure that increases the chances of their getting hit by a car...

[PamNY]

Catrin, the deer sound wonderful. I agree with you they might be safer if they were more skittish.

I got very lucky with a kestrel today -- just sat and posed for me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8867349...th/6501892455/

[7rider]

I got very lucky with a kestrel today -- just sat and posed for me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8867349...th/6501892455/

What a beauty!

I was riding up a MUT in the dark tonight, coming home from work. I have a new light on my helmet that allows me to put a bright beam where I look. I heard a noise off my right shoulder and I glanced over (hoping the noise wasn't a couple of punk kids from the nearby apartment building, which I've had to deal with a few times before). My light illuminated 3 deer, just feet off the trail, walking - not running - away from me. Cool to see 'em. Cool to have the light to do that.

[PamNY]

Saw a bald eagle today! It's not unusual for them to show up in NYC, but I'd never been lucky enough to spot an adult. I had my favorite redtail hawk in sight when the eagle soared overhead.

And I'd just seen the kestrel on my ride up the river, so it was a good bird day.

[azfiddle]

Nice! I love eagles. I saw a Prairie Falcon about a week ago, and Cooper's Hawks on every ride lately.

[meganm]

I drove the route of the Moab Century the day before I rode it in 2006 and saw a mountain lion (at least I think it was one). I'm really glad that I didn't see it from the bike!!!

[goldfinch]

Today I saw a bobcat, armadillo, two coyotes and four javelinas. Good day for wildlife.