Backyard Wildlife
- Thread starter Canuck from Kansas
- Start date
the_chemist
Life of the Party
Solo seagull hanging out in the woods. Weird.
SilverFly
Legend
Saw some activity in the shallows on the opposite bank. Pretty sure these are peamouth chub on their spawning run. Cool to watch. Was hoping to get some feeding shots of the kingfishers and osprey that were hanging around but they must've been full. There were hundreds of them running within a few feet of the bank. Sometimes on the bank.
A few crappy video stills.
A few crappy video stills.
Getting my new lawn mowed by Sr and Jr.
SF
SF
One of those fat Seniors was in my fenced backyard. My little Boston Terrier chased it, and the rabbit panicked, acted trapped and just went back and forth and the dog got hold of its hind foot for a second.
I’ve never seen a dog puff out his chest so proud of himself for not closing the deal. I do have to hand it him, it was pretty impressive. Siwwy wabbit.
My 14 year old jack Russell mix caught a full grown possum in the yard at 4:45 am when I let him out while getting ready for work last week. There was a lot of shrieking and hissing and snarling from both of them and I had to lift my dog off it by the withers. He'd pinned the poor bastard on its back and was biting and shaking it as much as he could. He picked up a couple of scratches on one leg, but could have been much worse. The possum ran off and I der the fence into the neighbors yard.
My dog was so damn pleased with himself, walking around, acting like THE MAN for 3 full day afterwards. He still make several laps around the yard every morning just to see if his frenemy is back.
The first time my Son's Jack caught a mouse and he witnessed the characteristic "beating rodent senseless against the ground" procedure, he called me at work with this report:
"Sadie caught a mouse. Holy shit Dad, she's brutal." 200# attitude in a 9# body.. My Lab even deferred to her.
"Sadie caught a mouse. Holy shit Dad, she's brutal." 200# attitude in a 9# body.. My Lab even deferred to her.
That's a difference between a real terrier like a Jack Russell and what is a terrier basically in name only, the Boston terrier. Not that Bostons know that, though. I've hunted along Jack Russells and I know they're vicious little killers, I have seen it first hand. Still cute, though, little Wishbones.
For sure, go old little guy! Possums do have some mean-looking teeth and can be super snarly but they aren't quite as "athletic" as a dog. Even a small 14-year-old dog, apparently!
This year the bachelor pad is outside our bedroom. Six bucks sitting out there this morning. This first image shows 5 of them - the hardest to see one is 2nd from the left behind the branch except his rump.
Number 6 is next to one of my serviceberry trees - damn things knocked the fence off it and ate the top third last week.
As I was watching the left most guy got up, did some ball licking, scratching, had a snack, laid back down and continued grooming.
As I was eating lunch I noticed they moved to the other side of the house and started eating my sulphur buckwheat. They must love the flowers on those things. This is the closest we have come to seeing them bloom. Chased him off before he got all of them. Love watching them but wish I could better control what they eat! Anyone know of a better spray than Deer Stopper?
Number 6 is next to one of my serviceberry trees - damn things knocked the fence off it and ate the top third last week.
As I was watching the left most guy got up, did some ball licking, scratching, had a snack, laid back down and continued grooming.
As I was eating lunch I noticed they moved to the other side of the house and started eating my sulphur buckwheat. They must love the flowers on those things. This is the closest we have come to seeing them bloom. Chased him off before he got all of them. Love watching them but wish I could better control what they eat! Anyone know of a better spray than Deer Stopper?
Like @CanoeGuy, My property is a deer superhighway, including dining options, rest rooms, and motels, for the local deer population. They carve trails through the yard to bare earth, treat the vegetation like fast-food restaurants, leave piles of scat, and nap in quiet nooks and crannies. Early yesterday morning, two bucks wandered past my home office window with that stiff-legged gait of top bucks. I reached for my camera but they never turned around and I decided to forego rump shots. Near the end of the day, the two big bucks from the morning, joined by a third, rambled in the opposite direction through my yard as they headed back to a stream where I suspect that they spend the night. [Note, these Westside deer are earlier in the antler-production process than @CanoeGuy's.]
They browsed on the shrubs along the property line
and grazed in new grass blades.
Due to the thick antler base being laid down, these three will have impressive racks by late summer, at least for Westside suburban bucks.
While I have seen a few almost-yearlings wandering through lately, the does have largely disappeared for the last week. And the ones that I have seen are “waddling” as they walk. Fawns should be showing up soon.
Steve
They browsed on the shrubs along the property line
and grazed in new grass blades.
Due to the thick antler base being laid down, these three will have impressive racks by late summer, at least for Westside suburban bucks.
While I have seen a few almost-yearlings wandering through lately, the does have largely disappeared for the last week. And the ones that I have seen are “waddling” as they walk. Fawns should be showing up soon.
Steve
As predicted, the first fawn of the season trotted past my window this afternoon. The tiny fawn and its mom were moving too quickly for me to shoot pics from my office window, but I managed to click a few pictures from my bedroom window as the fawn and the doe trotted toward the creek near our house. The fawn was SOOO tiny.
Steve
tkww
Life of the Party
The black-necked stilt is a favorite bird of mine. The bright, long legs always stand out. I hiked into a lake earlier this year and a small flock of maybe 10 of them circled around the lake several times. This one popped up behind the house.
The eggs didn't hatch in close proximity, so a couple of goslings hung by while mom worked on getting the other eggs to hatch. The next morning they ventured out a little with dad, who's been banded.
A springer took a few tries to jump over the weir. Unfortunately the shallow water just above spooked it and it spilled back over.
The eggs didn't hatch in close proximity, so a couple of goslings hung by while mom worked on getting the other eggs to hatch. The next morning they ventured out a little with dad, who's been banded.
A springer took a few tries to jump over the weir. Unfortunately the shallow water just above spooked it and it spilled back over.
With my Aussie mix constantly roaming our fenced back yard and the daily appearance of barred owls on my property, I was surprised to find this guy just lounging in my grass yesterday afternoon. Totally relaxed without a care in the world. I think he’s f’ing with my dog who is fast, but not fast enough. Our resident rabbits just run him around the bushes a few times to get him to give up.
That look says “where’s that useless mutt of yours….can he come out and play?
That look says “where’s that useless mutt of yours….can he come out and play?
Black tail buck in the burbs’.
Dual lawnmowers. 5 and 2 horsepower models.
SF
SF
And no fossil fuels required...
Steve
And free fertilizer
First bull of the season in the field... Just now
Due to their abundance, deer have carved preferred paths through my yard as they transit between the creek below my property and the upland meadows and forests above. Other mammals also use those trails, albeit far more episodically, such as coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. I haven't seen (or heard) coyotes for several years. I had a few glimpses of a fox in early spring. And a few times in recent weeks, I've seen this guy
waddle along the trail. When we first moved in, one neighbor was leaving out dog food and that attracted a "gaze" of raccoons. These regularly raided a strawberry patch that I had planted. They would wake me up in the middle of the night with the noise of their fights. After the neighbor stopped feeding, they dispersed and I haven't seen a raccoon in many years until this spring.
Steve
waddle along the trail. When we first moved in, one neighbor was leaving out dog food and that attracted a "gaze" of raccoons. These regularly raided a strawberry patch that I had planted. They would wake me up in the middle of the night with the noise of their fights. After the neighbor stopped feeding, they dispersed and I haven't seen a raccoon in many years until this spring.
Steve