What wildlife do you see on your rides?

[RubyTuesday]

I am sure this one has happened before, but I just about got myself a turkey dinner this morning. Poor little turkeys aren't very smart. I came around a corner on the bike trail and he jumped out of the weeds just as I came around the corner. Tom took off running straight down the bike path not knowing which way to go. Good thing one of us was willing to veer.

[PamNY]

I saw a great horned owl tonight, perched on a chimney at a house I cycle by several times a week. I have never seen one in the wild, or in the 'hood, before. Pretty cool. I stopped my bike immediately in front of "his house" just to gaze at him, but I guess he did not like that idea, and he flew away.

Wow, a GHO is a thrilling sight. Sorry he didn't hang around for you.

Makbike, you really hit the jackpot with wildlife!

[shootingstar]

We're in the Rocky Mountain area vacationing right now.

While cycling back on a road, I heard piercing whistle and on time, 6 different tiny prairie dogs shot out of their burrows in a ditch and raced over to the other side...5 ft. away. It was remarkable, all on time they scampered out, like a race.

Prairie dog is like tiny gopher and chipmunk hybrid. Very common in our area and in Calgary.

Yesterday while cycling near a lake, there were several groups of bighorn wild sheep with their kid babies feeding. Bighorn are the ones where the males have full curved back horns. Yea, I'll get a photo up soon..

[Owlie]

I had to stop to shoo a black rat snake off the trail. She was sunning herself, and I didn't want her to get hit. A mile or so later, I happened on a family of wild turkeys (I counted mom and two mostly-grown chicks). I've never seen them on the trail before, so that was kind of cool.

[BC2COCyclist]

When I lived in Vancouver, I'd regularly see Skunks...let's just say I SPED UP when I saw one of those. LOL

Now that I live near Denver, I see lots of birds and loads of Prairie Dogs. I love the Dogs...they crack me up!

[azfiddle]

Wednesday I rode at Saguaro NP, just before sunset with the edge of a thunderstorm threatening, but keeping it cloudy and cooler. I ran over Sonoran Whipsnake - just didn't see it in time. I also saw a Black Racer zip off the road and into the desert.

Saturday I rode between Willcox and Chiracahua N. Monument. We saw lots of birds, including Red-Tailed and Swainson's Hawks, Blue Grosbeaks, sky-larking Cassin's Sparrows, Turkey Vultures, Loggerhead Shrikes, and Eastern Meadowlark, among others. We also saw one dead Javalina, a few dead toads, tarantula and what was probably a Mojave Green rattlesnake. I was hoping to see an antelope though.

[azfiddle]

I saw another Sonoran Whipsnake today but fortunately did not run this one over. I stopped to try to get a picture but it slipped off the road and under the bushes.

Other than that, just the usual - a few whiptail lizards, Gila Woodpeckers, Mourning and White-winged Doves, Phainopeplas, Curve-billed Thrashers....

Not on a bike ride, but after supervising the 7th grade movie night at my school, I spotted a Hog-Nosed Skunk rambling about on the school grounds. Though there is a wash nearby, and we're not too far from some open desert, the school is surrounded by suburban housing and I was quite surprised to see it there! Other recent wildlife at the school: a pair of Roadrunners and a tarantula which I kept in my classroom for a week. (It got out, but I found it last night and let it back out).

[bmccasland]

Saw a hawk hunkered down on the ground right next to the Green River trail where I was riding today. She/he was laying flat, wings partially out, but her head was up and watching me. I've seen hawks do this when they're trying to hide a fresh kill. I was rolling along at a nice clip, when the brain registered, Hawk! I passed her before I could think to stop and try to get a photo with my cell phone. But I didn't want to scare her off either. She was gone when I passed the same spot on the return trip.

[withm]

Well I didn't actually see this, but I did see an owl in the last few weeks in the wild, so consider this a follow up.

This is a video of an owl coming in for a landing.

In. Slow. Motion.

Truly amazing. Enjoy.

http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/

[PamNY]

Wow! Great owl video. Thanks.

[gasew7]

Well I saw a yellow jacket INSIDE my jersey after he stung me under my arm. OUCH!!! He got inside my jersey during a ride Sat morning and decided to sting me after I was finished.

[azfiddle]

That's not the wildlife we want!

I did a short ride to park tonight in hopes of seeing some interesting birds, but a bunch of Mallards, a couple American Coots and one American Wigeon were all I saw. All pretty mundane.

[Owlie]

Well I saw a yellow jacket INSIDE my jersey after he stung me under my arm. OUCH!!! He got inside my jersey during a ride Sat morning and decided to sting me after I was finished.

Maybe it wanted a longer ride?

Lots of herons and a flock of geese on my last ride. The geese wanted to hang out in the middle of the trail...

[Blossom]

Hi, y'all! This is my first visit to this wonderful forum, and I have already learned a lot. About a month ago, I took my new Specialized Ariel Comp out for its first romp on our local Greenway. It was starting to get late when I realized I had been going around in circles for a while and was good and lost. I resolved to keep the sun on my left, no matter what, and eventually found my way back onto the main trail. Just as I was picking up the pace again, a huge gator came charging out of the weeds, stopped in the middle of the trail, hissed at me, and then crashed into the creek on the other side. He was at least 8 feet long, though he looked even bigger. The scary part is, I think I scared him more than he did me!

[PamNY]

The widowed mother hawk that I watch has started "dating." We are having a wonderful time watching her interactions with a very young male hawk (you can tell he's young by eye color).

The courtship started with brief visits to the nest last week; now they are both actively bringing sticks to the nest. Last night they were flying lazy circles together.

I don't know if this will turn out to be Mr. Right -- too early to say. But we are thrilled that she's staying in the territory so far.