Not my backyard. Kind of hard to see but there is a family of river otters almost right in the center of picture.
SF
SF
Backyard Wildlife
- Thread starter Canuck from Kansas
- Start date
Not in hibernation yet? Bummer...
oakbrookjeff
Steelhead
Four bucks and a small flock of geese at my house today.
Little rascal is probably starved after several days of high wind. What I couldn't photograph were the birds in the brushy Cottonwood in the yard behind me: Cedar Waxwings, Juncos, a Starling, Collared Doves and the Coopers Hawk that strafed the tree while I was watching. Those are acrobatic raptors!
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Looked out this morning to see a group of deer walking through my neighbor's back yard. Grabbed my camera and tripod and tried to chase them back toward my trailcam. They were not interested in going back into my yard but didn't care too much about me being around. At times they would walk right toward me which can be a little sketchy. Would have been nice to have a bit more light, but fun to chase them around for a while.
Really wish the focus was on the far buck instead of the little juniper.
Really wish the focus was on the far buck instead of the little juniper.
the_chemist
Life of the Party
Backyard wildlife, January 2026. The boys are back. Several blacktail does and their fawns pass through my yard several times a day. They have worn their own game trails in my yard. But the bucks that wandered through during the fall rut have been AWOL since before Thanksgiving. I feared that they may be come part of the food chain: through exhaustion, a run-in with a car, or harvested.
But the top two bucks are back. In fact, the top buck has taken to napping about 30 feet from my office window. With the rut over, the bucks have been mingling with the does and their fawns in a very low-key fashion, very laid back when compared to the intensity of fall.
It appears that the second-ranking buck has also survived.
Both bucks appear to be in good shape and if they can avoid traffic, they may make it to next breeding season.
Steve
But the top two bucks are back. In fact, the top buck has taken to napping about 30 feet from my office window. With the rut over, the bucks have been mingling with the does and their fawns in a very low-key fashion, very laid back when compared to the intensity of fall.
It appears that the second-ranking buck has also survived.
Both bucks appear to be in good shape and if they can avoid traffic, they may make it to next breeding season.
Steve
Comical and entertaining. We throw millet out every morning and they visit throughout the day.
Anyone here into backyard birding? I have not been but historically. I’ve enjoyed the Woodpeckers and Owls that we see on my property but have not paid much attention to other species that are around outside of an appreciation of their calls while out and about. Although I’ve used the Merlin app before, @Cabezon clued me in on the fact it will also help identify species with calls as well on a tuna trip last September. Since then, my wife and I have been using it almost daily while out in the yard playing with the dogs. 50+ species identified so far, probably 75%-80% verified by sight. We have a small stream/greenway with no development on one side of our property and a lightly developed (1 house) 9 acre parcel on another so plenty of habitat around. The bigger adjacent parcel borders the water and one corner of our property is about 300-400 yards from a small sound estuary so we pick up the occasional water bird too. Pretty fun. Really interested to see if some new species start showing in the spring.
A short list listening this afternoon before dinner playing ball with the hounds. Nothing new. We’ve heard these all before.
A short list listening this afternoon before dinner playing ball with the hounds. Nothing new. We’ve heard these all before.
Backyard birding is part of it for me. We have multiple black oil sunflower seed feeders, a suet feeder, hummer feeder and I spread a mixed seed blend on the ground for the seed eaters.
You have a nice start on your backyard birds. A suet feeder is nice for bringing in the flickers and woodpeckers plus others like chickadees and nuthatches like it too. And, these guys bring in others like Cooper’s hawk. We have also had a barred owl sit on the seed feeders.
You have a nice start on your backyard birds. A suet feeder is nice for bringing in the flickers and woodpeckers plus others like chickadees and nuthatches like it too. And, these guys bring in others like Cooper’s hawk. We have also had a barred owl sit on the seed feeders.
Does anyone have two distinct sizes of Juncos? We have, what I'll call, the regular sized migratory Oregon Juncos and then we have a more local nesting pair that are on year 3 or 4 that are smaller. They are adult birds, just smaller. Both the male & female.
Our indoor cat chirps more for them than any other bird. And the small male Junco often sits on the fence post that's only about 30' from our back slider and pretty much yells at the cat.
Our indoor cat chirps more for them than any other bird. And the small male Junco often sits on the fence post that's only about 30' from our back slider and pretty much yells at the cat.