Local Wildlife?

[faerywings]

I love this time of year so much! I love being outside and seeing the wildlife all around me.
Yesterday, I got to see some baby bunnies out of their nest. ♥ Their nest is next to my house and I had seen some tiny noses poking out when I was gardening over the weekend. In the afternoon, they were snuggled together in the sun about 2 feet from their den. There are 4 babies and are so adorable. I also saw my first toad on the patio. It's not the same one that lived there for the past few years. That one, I named him Tif, was a chonker. This guy was much (much!) smaller.
We also have lots of squirrels, chipmunks, and groundhogs that we see every day. Deer come through the yard next to us often. During the Covid lockdown, my son put up a trail came behind our house and we spent way too much time looking at the videos of the squirrels being utterly ridiculous. (Granted, we did have a lot of time to do that ) We also got to see a bunch of nocturnal animals- possums, foxes, raccoons, bears, and coyotes.

What kind of wildlife do you see where you live? Do you scrap photos of them? I'd love to hear about them and see what you scrap!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I know you love wildlife, Chris. So do we. We have lots of deer right now. Almost every night, we see them. They seem to love to hang out by the side of our house. We think that's their "crossing". We always see lots of shining eyes at night when we're coming home. We have wild turkeys (not right now, but at certain seasons) and the big ducks are back by our pond. They've had their babies and they're SO cute the way they waddle after their mommas. It rained yesterday and the crickets were so beautiful last night. They really put on quite a symphony. We could hear them inside our house. I also love to hear the coyotes crying at night. Some nights, they're especially beautiful. We have lots of huge hawks that glide around - we've not sighted an eagle yet, but these hawks look like eagles - they're huge and so beautiful flying overhead. Of course, you know the sweet story of the goats and their herd dogs visiting us.

 

[AnaSantos]

What I most like to observe at this time of year are the storks that come to nest here in my area. The less good part is that they love to nest on electricity poles, high voltage ones, which doesn't allow a very pretty picture.

 

[Jeannette]

I love the birds, we have some storks nearby which are very nice, but I really like watching all birds. Also I love the wild cows and horses, deer and wild boars. Of course the Netherlands is rather small. Wild cows and horses are not free to go wherever they want. We have some wolves in the Netherlands. Farmers hate them, because they go after the sheep, but I would love to see them in their wild habitat. I wish I would live in a country where there would be much more wildlife, but you can't have it all right

 

[faerywings]

I know you love wildlife, Chris. So do we. We have lots of deer right now. Almost every night, we see them. They seem to love to hang out by the side of our house. We think that's their "crossing". We always see lots of shining eyes at night when we're coming home. We have wild turkeys (not right now, but at certain seasons) and the big ducks are back by our pond. They've had their babies and they're SO cute the way they waddle after their mommas. It rained yesterday and the crickets were so beautiful last night. They really put on quite a symphony. We could hear them inside our house. I also love to hear the coyotes crying at night. Some nights, they're especially beautiful. We have lots of huge hawks that glide around - we've not sighted an eagle yet, but these hawks look like eagles - they're huge and so beautiful flying overhead. Of course, you know the sweet story of the goats and their herd dogs visiting us.

I can't wait until it's warm enough to hear the crickets at night. Isn't that sound so soothing?
There are bald eagles here. In the past few years, there have been nests and babies. I haven't seen them myself but a local nature group posts photos on FB all the time. A couple of years ago, I saw a red-tailed hawk that took my breath away.

 

[faerywings]

What I most like to observe at this time of year are the storks that come to nest here in my area. The less good part is that they love to nest on electricity poles, high voltage ones, which doesn't allow a very pretty picture.

They must look so cool! I hope that one day you get a good photo of them on the ground and not on the wires

 

[faerywings]

I love the birds, we have some storks nearby which are very nice, but I really like watching all birds. Also I love the wild cows and horses, deer and wild boars. Of course the Netherlands is rather small. Wild cows and horses are not free to go wherever they want. We have some wolves in the Netherlands. Farmers hate them, because they go after the sheep, but I would love to see them in their wild habitat. I wish I would live in a country where there would be much more wildlife, but you can't have it all right

wait, what?? You have wild boars? Are they dangerous?
I am really lucky that I see a wide variety of wildlife but I have never seen a boar.

Baby bunny update: We have 6! We thought there were only 4 but yesterday we saw 6 of them on the lawn. We watch them from the window and it makes me anxious. I look around to make sure nothing comes out of the woods/sky toward them.
Gary (DH) got a video of them yesterday hopping about, they are super cute!

 

[LSlycord]

We have a bunny in our backyard. Most of the wildlife stays in the preserve and only ventures into our yard on occasion. We have lots of birds in the preserve and they fly through our yard. Cardinals, hawks, bluebirds, robins, woodpeckers. We also have anoles running around at our feet constantly. You can’t walk across the patio without seeing them. Here we never hear crickets but we hear tree frogs all the time.

I’m anxious to see what we get in our yard in Palm Coast. We are fencing the yard for the dogs so hopefully that will keep the wild boars and the bobcats out. (Yes, they both are down there in the area.). And I’m going to try to feed some birds.

 

[bcgal00]

I don't know the names of all the birds and ducks yet in our area, some are all year but others just pass thru for a week or two. Ones I recognize and have seen are pelican, sparrow, meadowlark, killdeer, swallow, blackbird, merganser, grebe, goose, coot, siskin, grouse, woodpeckers, sandpiper, eagles, hawks, owls, robin, bluebird, crane, wren, grosbeak, vulture, finch, nuthatch, snipe, northern harrier, wood duck, heron, chukar, cormorant.

Bigger animals include coyotes, big horn sheep, rattlesnakes, pikas, beavers, owls, otters and bears.

What I don't see around here much are rabbits or squirrels.

 

[LSlycord]

I don't know the names of all the birds and ducks yet in our area, some are all year but others just pass thru for a week or two. Ones I recognize and have seen are pelican, sparrow, meadowlark, killdeer, swallow, blackbird, merganser, grebe, goose, coot, siskin, grouse, woodpeckers, sandpiper, eagles, hawks, owls, robin, bluebird, crane, wren, grosbeak, vulture, finch, nuthatch, snipe, northern harrier, wood duck, heron, chukar, cormorant.

Bigger animals include coyotes, big horn sheep, rattlesnakes, pikas, beavers, owls, otters and bears.

What I don't see around here much are rabbits or squirrels.

I think if I were a rabbit or squirrel, I would be scarce at your place too!

 

[faerywings]

ITA with Linda!!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I can't wait until it's warm enough to hear the crickets at night. Isn't that sound so soothing?
There are bald eagles here. In the past few years, there have been nests and babies. I haven't seen them myself but a local nature group posts photos on FB all the time. A couple of years ago, I saw a red-tailed hawk that took my breath away.

I LOVE the crickets, Chris! They soothe my soul. One of the guys said he spotted an eagle, but we couldn't verify it - I'm sure there are some in this area. That hawk must have been gorgeous. When we lived in Florida, we had a resident red-tailed hawk that came back every year and perched in "his" tree right outside our lanai. There have also been bears spotted on the property and some kind of huge wildcat. I forgot about those. No wild boars, yet.

 

[AnaSantos]

They must look so cool! I hope that one day you get a good photo of them on the ground and not on the wires

I hope so, they are so many and so beautiful.

 

[faerywings]

Quick update, we are down to two bunnies. The drop in temps overnight wasn't good for them. Gary was able to bring the two that were alive to the wildlife rescue. Hopefully she will be able to get them warmed and healthy

 

[Veronika]

I live in a big city on the outskirts in a "green district" - we have a lot of greenery and water around us.
At the moment, wild boars are also roaming the gardens here, foxes, raccoons and birds breed - tits, magpies, crows, robins, sparrows

 

[VickiStegall]

I also love the sound of crickets. We have possums, skunks, bunnies and birds frequently in our yard - in the middle of the city. Of course Oklahoma cities aren't on the scale of NYC or London lol I know the names of some of the birds but not all - just your typical garden variety with some hawks and owls. We do have coyotes and deer as well.

 

[AZK]

There was a lot of excitement in my township a few months ago as a pair of bald eagles were discovered nesting in a local nature preserve whose primary appeal is the fact that it's also a nesting area for blue heron. Other than that, we have the usual assortment of suburban wildlife. Coyotes and foxes are becoming more visible. And while I love to see them, I'm not really happy about the deer and rabbits so lose to my home as something is eating my hostas for the second year in a row.

 

[melscrap]

I love my little slice of suburbia. We have cockatoos, noisy miners, indian mynahs and magpies in the garden year round, and the occasional kookaburra chorus in the mornings too. In autumn the camellias attract rainbow lorikeets and in winter we get king parrots feasting on the magnolias.
I've recently discovered a baby blue-tongue lizard in the front garden. Very occasionally an adult blue-tongue suns himself in the back garden (I've only seen him 3 times in 7 years) but to have the baby in the garden too is just so special! It's a good thing my cat is super lazy and prefers sleeping in the sun on kiddo's bed instead of chasing lizards!
The other day hubby disturbed a little possum in the palm tree in our front garden when he tried to trim the dead leaves. So now the palm tree looks tatty and the possum is happy.
I often hear frogs calling to each other, and also powerful owls, but hardly ever see them.

 

[faerywings]

I live in a big city on the outskirts in a "green district" - we have a lot of greenery and water around us.
At the moment, wild boars are also roaming the gardens here, foxes, raccoons and birds breed - tits, magpies, crows, robins, sparrows

I still cannot get over the idea of wild boars roaming around. yikes. But I guess that it's not much different than having bears wander in my yard. People tend to freak out when I say that but we are used to them.

 

[faerywings]

There was a lot of excitement in my township a few months ago as a pair of bald eagles were discovered nesting in a local nature preserve whose primary appeal is the fact that it's also a nesting area for blue heron. Other than that, we have the usual assortment of suburban wildlife. Coyotes and foxes are becoming more visible. And while I love to see them, I'm not really happy about the deer and rabbits so lose to my home as something is eating my hostas for the second year in a row.

That's so cool! We have a bunch of eagle watchers that post on our local Wildlife FB page. There have been baby bald eagles in the last couple of years but I haven't seen them in person.
My son showed me where he has seen a blue heron by the beaver lodge where we hike. I saw a glimpse of the heron once but every other time I have been back there -- nothing. pfft. It might be because I am usually hiking with DH and our two dogs and we make a lot of noise.
Have you tried coyote urine spray on the hostas? My MIL used that on her plants. The deer usually leave my hostas alone, last year was the first year one of them got nibbled and it came back this year

 

[faerywings]

@melscrap Is the lizard a skink? They get pretty big, don't they? I love that your DH left the possum in the tree even if the tree looks a bit run down still. And kookaburras- I would love to see them♥

 

[AZK]

That's so cool! We have a bunch of eagle watchers that post on our local Wildlife FB page. There have been baby bald eagles in the last couple of years but I haven't seen them in person.
My son showed me where he has seen a blue heron by the beaver lodge where we hike. I saw a glimpse of the heron once but every other time I have been back there -- nothing. pfft. It might be because I am usually hiking with DH and our two dogs and we make a lot of noise.
Have you tried coyote urine spray on the hostas? My MIL used that on her plants. The deer usually leave my hostas alone, last year was the first year one of them got nibbled and it came back this year

This year I'm trying a spray called Plantskydd that was recommended by the garden writer in our local newspaper. It's a blood-based product so it stains the leaves red (and smells!) but that's supposed to fade. It's supposed to last several months, so we'll see.

 

[faerywings]

LMK if it works, Angie, good luck!

 

[LSlycord]

We had a brown shoulder hawk come sit on the fence right outside our lanai this morning. She spends a lot of time in the preserve but this is the first time she sat on the fence.

 

[melscrap]

@melscrap Is the lizard a skink? They get pretty big, don't they? I love that your DH left the possum in the tree even if the tree looks a bit run down still. And kookaburras- I would love to see them♥

Yes, it is a skink. They do get pretty big - up to 30". This little guy still ha a lot of growing to do... He's just longer than an oak leaf now.

.

 

[faerywings]

He is soooo darn cute, Mel!

 

[WendyPage]

I love this time of year too! I make myself sit outside each evening(brains are dumb sometimes & I have to fight with mine) so I can watch the hummingbirds, we have 3 that come back each year. We're in an apartment but at the back of the building on the ground floor, very close to several large forest preserve areas,etc. The church is only about 30 feet away and it's very quiet back here. We see all sorts of birds, bunnies, etc. We have coyotes that come through every now and then and every once in awhile a fox. Couple years ago a turkey strolled through, lol. I have a little mouse that hangs out with me in the evening on the patio, they're SO tiny!

 

[faerywings]

Wendy, I love living near the woods too. I love that you have a little mouse that you chat with. When brains are dumb (mine is very often too, so I can relate to the difficulty of making it behave) there's nothing better than talking out with the critters around you