Critters and wildlife in your area - post your pics

[MyBuddy]

Did you try submitting a photo to the Merlin app for ID?

No, I did not! Good thought!

So I tried it and the first picture I had the app identify was the last picture with the wings spread out as he was taking off and this is what it gave me!

I think this one is darn close! And it's pretty funny that it's actually called in Merlin. Now I've never even heard of this one. But that sure looks like that bird with a speckled breast and the coloring. Now I tried a couple of other pictures and every time it came up with this...


. This one doesn't look anything like my Hawk and every picture I put in afterwards show the same one! So I don't get it. I don't know if it just can't tell from the pictures cuz they're not the greatest. But the first try may have been an easier to identify with the wings spread out. But I tried to do that same picture again and came up with Sharp-shinned hawk again! LOL So I don't know. I'm going to go with the Merlin. LOL

Let's do a side by side


My guy looks more brown. This guy looks like his wings are a tinge of blue. I looked up Google pictures of a Merlin hawk in flight and now I don't think it's that at all. This is really hard! LOL Whadda think??

 

[LifeofRubie]

I love seeing our Coyotes! I spotted this guy about 15 seconds before the dogs did. I think this is his 'route' although can't say I've seen him cross the road and get a bit closer to the ruckus, before.

He just trots down the sidewalk, checking things out. Crosses through intersections like he owns the place. Cars politely stop and allow him to do so peep Rubie's nose through the fence around the 43s mark

Probably less than 2 minutes before this, I saw our neighbor with his off leash dog (one of two neighbors who walk their dogs off leash) walking by the front of the house I'm certain the coyote would avoid at all costs but she, the dog, does have a tendency to approach (I've always been able to "NO" her into staying away from Rubie, who's leash I usually hold).

 

[Ravenbird]

Urban coyotes - I remember going to work one morning in Santa Fe and one was trotting down the sidewalk next to a busy thoroughfare with 4 lanes of traffic whizzing by. Acted like he owned the place.

 

[Ddski5]

My daughter goes to Nicholls University in Thibodaux- South Louisiana, more or less 1hr south of me. She works at an Italian pizza place that is on the side of a bayou/small river. She was getting off from a long night of work, went outside into the rain and saw this guy in the parking lot…..

It was sooo funny when she FaceTimed me. LOL!!!

 

[MyBuddy]

love seeing our Coyotes

Completely different here! After the two attacked Kali, they are not my friend. Good thing out here they are much more skittish and avoid humans. It would be a bit unnerving to see them casually 'owning' the streets. I think they get very brave living in a neighborhood. I actually have not seen one here since that day with Kali, but I always walk with a firearm in case. LOVE animals! But protect my own!

 

[Ravenbird]

went outside into the rain and saw this guy in the parking lot

Nope, just nope!

 

[MyBuddy]

Yesterday I went out with my golf cart pulling a wagon to the back of the property. If I go somewhat fast it's pretty noisy. Especially when I'm pulling my wagon. As I was heading out to the back I was looking around as usual and, as I always say, I can tell when something is out of place. When you look at this everyday you just know.

So as I was driving to the back my eye caught something under the trees that was gray in color and looked like a big rock. As I sped by I thought to myself, there's no rock under there. LOL so on the way back I kept an eye out and lo and behold this is what I found.

 

[LifeofRubie]

Completely different here! After the two attacked Kali, they are not my friend. Good thing out here they are much more skittish and avoid humans. It would be a bit unnerving to see them casually 'owning' the streets. I think they get very brave living in a neighborhood. I actually have not seen one here since that day with Kali, but I always walk with a firearm in case. LOVE animals! But protect my own!

I can imagine I'd have different feeling if we went through something like that! It seems they leave the bigger dogs alone, luckily. We were out doing our evening walk a couple of days ago and our resident coyote was on the next block ahead of us but headed straight toward us. He turned down our street so we did up being walking about 1/4 of a block behind him until we got home. He did stop and look at us a couple of time (we would stop as well to keep the distance between us) but he kept moving away from us. Walked right past the front of our house where a giant bunny was hanging out Our bunnies are eating EVERYTHING this year (anything new I plant, mums, hostas, grasses, you name it) so I was a bit bummed about that...

 

[JanS]

She was getting off from a long night of work, went outside into the rain and saw this guy in the parking lot…..

Holy cow if I ever moved to a place like that after living here all my life it would be a big adjustment to get used to the critters in other areas.

 

[Ddski5]

Hahaha….yeah Jan, based on your previous thoughts, I think you would be terrified of alligators.

My daughter was hackling and cackling on FaceTime soo bad, I had to yell at her to calm down.

So funny.

 

[MyBuddy]

My daughter goes to Nicholls University in Thibodaux- South Louisiana, more or less 1hr south of me. She works at an Italian pizza place that is on the side of a bayou/small river. She was getting off from a long night of work, went outside into the rain and saw this guy in the parking lot…..

It was sooo funny when she FaceTimed me. LOL!!!

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Doesn't he know that he has to park parallel with the yellow lines?

 

[MyBuddy]

There's something about a hawk and an owl or maybe it's just anything with that huge wingspan that I just love. The grace in their movement is so beautiful! Turkey vultures are very common here and I like seeing them too even though they have an unusually ugly face. LOL
But when I see a hawk of any kind I'm always excited. I'm not sure what kind this is and trying to get a video of them is so difficult when the sun is shining in your face and they're pretty far away. I've got a little gif and a couple of screenshots off the video.

 

[LifeofRubie]

The place we went for a hike over the weekend is a smaller forest preserve but the houses, nay, mansions, surrounding it are spaced apart and generally have yards measured in acres and it's quite wooded.

Within a few minutes of our hikes, we saw a BEAUTIFUL buck run across the path. Toward the end of our hike, we came across the same buck, a younger buck, a doe, and her twins from a previous year.

We watched them all for quite a while without disturbing them. The buck's were a bit too deep in the brush to get a good picture but the doe was doing her best to avoid them for the time being

 

[Gpcoguy]

 

[Gpcoguy]

 

[Ravenbird]

Awesome herd of elk! Is that near your house?

 

[Gpcoguy]

Awesome herd of elk! Is that near your house?

Yeah, not far. A few miles away. Havent seen any on my property yet this year but I have tracks and droppings

 

[Gpcoguy]

 

[LifeofRubie]

Just saw a coyote with quite an unfortunate case of mange. Pretty sure she was hairless from the chest back and even sported a 'rat tail.'

Did some reading and sounds like once it gets that bad, they will often succumb to cold temps and we have an arctic front moving in. I know it's nature but makes me feel so bad for her.

 

[MyBuddy]

I know it's nature but makes me feel so bad for her.

Oh, I can't tell you how many times I've said that to myself. Trying to convince myself, let it be. It's nature. Maybe you could call animal control or somebody more with wildlife to see if they can capture it and treat it. Probably a slim chance but...