What wildlife do you see on your rides?

[margo49]

On today's "riding my bike to ride my bike" ride I found myself riding along a swathe of stubble at the edge of a golden wheatfield (I guess they started and decided it was not ready or something)...
Suddenly a rustling sound caught my attention and I looked to see a gazelle. It leapt and bounded across the field. It was so graceful; hardly seemed to touch the ground. The only sound was the rustle of the wheat.
Then I heard the kingfisher's typical screaming and looked up to see no less than 3 kingfishers. I so love their colours. They also do that thing of having one of last year's chicks help digging out this year's nest hole in a bank, RoadRaven, it's not only bee-eaters.

I love this thread, in case you all hadn't already guessed

[betagirl]

I'm with tikiwi - pigeons.

Also squirrels that like to run out in the road in front of me. An occasional seagull if I'm by the lake. Canadian geese. Ducks.

For roadkill, usually oppossum and racoons. I saw a flat ground squirrel yesterday.

[Lise]

Yeah, like beta said. Dogs, too. Why do the little ones seem the most dangerous? They're like berserk squirrels. (This from the woman whose avatar is a dachshund... )

I'm envious of the beautiful animals and incredible countryside some of you get to see. Our lake Michigan is nothing shabby...but...you know. It's still Chicago. Which I love. But still...

[crazycanuck]

If i ride round the Swan river i often see Pelicans on top of light posts...(kiwi in oz..know what i'm on about?)

Now my question is why do pelicans like sitting atop light posts when the light post is quite small...

It's rather distracting trying not to ride into the river when looking up wondering what a pelican poo is like...

c

[colby]

Rollerbladers, recumbent bikers, walkers, joggers, girls with gum up their noses (yes, really)... oh, you meant non-humans

Lots of bunnies! Especially at dusk, that's prime bunny time to be running across the road, or right along it then darting to one side or the other (hopefully away from the bike...). Along the river we'll see ducks and geese, sometimes some squirrels or chipmunks or other small groundish creatures. One path to/from work includes horses and cows! In town, we'll see seagulls and other local birds. Right near our house, local dogs and cats, too.

Sometimes I feel so focused on the bike I don't take time to enjoy what's around me... I think I'll be more observant on the next few rides.

[maillotpois]

I completely forgot about Adam the 2-humped camel who lives on the road between Petaluma and Tomales. I think he takes the prize.

I've been buzzed by vultures ("Not yet guys!").

Deer: I've seen 2 stags fighting their way across a relatively suburban road. I heard a commotion on the hill above me and stopped and there they were right out of Wild Kingdom. It was actually a little scary to be that close.

DH and I rescued a turtle from the middle of the road once.

I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

We almost hit a skunk (living) at the beginning of the Mt. Tam Double last year. He was about to cross the road right in front of us. Now that would have been a miserable ride.

[Melody]

I don't usually see much wildlife other than your typical cat & dogs, however that said, this past weekend when I rode with everyone on the Alameda Creek Trail I saw a turkey... smack dab in the middle of the trail I slowly approached it since I had *no* idea where it was going to go.

Later on, I saw more turkeys just walking around on a hillside.

Mel

[jobob]

I almost hit a 4 - 5 foot rattlesnake who was crossing Mines Road as I was descending Mt. Hamilton last summer.

I wonder if it's any relation to the rattlesnake that was crossing Crothers Rd that I almost hit this past Sunday as I was descending the other side of Mt. Hamilton. Gahhhh.

Speaking of wildlife of sorts on Crothers Road, very near the location of the DMD Crothers Road rest stop there was a pasture with llamas. Maybe if they have the rest stop there again next year they could call it "Pet the Llama"?
Uh, or not.

[bouncybouncy]

have you ever drafted a bumbble-bee???



quite amusing...and not much help
***i was sure to keep him away from my boobs tho...hehe

[weathergal]

Domestic animals: Dogs, a few cats, more cattle than you can shake a stike at, horses, and on certain routes, sheep or goats.

Wild animals: Birds of many kinds, including phesants and hawks, a few deer, turtles, rabbits, and on my route to the northeast of my house; a prairie dog town.

Roadkill: Mostly bunnies and birds, but a couple of skunks, possums, and one really big snake.

[Bad JuJu]

bouncybouncy--I've never drafted a bumblebee, but I've seen a couple of dragonflies that I'd swear were drafting me! With the sun behind me, I saw their little shadows at my rear wheel. They stayed with me for maybe a tenth of a mile or so.

Other wildlife: turkeys, both wild and domestic, one peacock (must be somebody's pet), flock of guinea fowl, box turtles, blue herons, belted kingfishers, blue blue blue bluebirds, crows, vultures, one bald eagle, deer, an occasional hawk, bunnies, and assorted snakes, both venomous and non-.

Also, do carnivorous plants count? Here along the northern Gulf coast, we have the white pitcher plant, which supplements its diet with insects...yum!