Critters and wildlife in your area - post your pics
- Thread starter Oh Little Oji
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BG1
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PS: I've been carefully walking by every day or two, grabbing a pic to see how its going...got two or maybe three chicks huddled in there...
I blocked off the trail headed in, and avoiding paying too much attention so some robber bird might notice...
Debated putting a hummingbird feeder in a dozen yards further on, as its been dry, blooms passing but we got some wet and other wild flowers are opening nearby.
Mama's got this...
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BG1
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Its so cool that Google has species id based on photod-
I've been playing around lately doing same on Grok3 that comes built with the X app, or that you can download standalone as phone app or on PC:
I have to fool around with the basic photo tools including crop to minimize background, and its neat to see what the AI derives from descriptions and data elsewhere to come up with its own explanation. Or add stuff to the photo: "viking theme"...
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BG1
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You know that AI's do hallucinate...make stuff up...here is "adjust to doberman style", x2...Its so cool that Google has species id based on photod-
I've been playing around lately doing same on Grok3 that comes built with the X app, or that you can download standalone as phone app or on PC:
I have to fool around with the basic photo tools including crop to minimize background, and its neat to see what the AI derives from descriptions and data elsewhere to come up with its own explanation. Or add stuff to the photo: "viking theme"...
But sorry mods, I digress...
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BG1
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I think you are fine. These tiny birds are fierce warriors when it comes to feeding territory, I read. Mama has seemed to accept me quietly walking by bending over checking on eggs ever couple days, and now there are chicks...Wow. Now it scares me that we could have disrupted it without even knowing!
So I'm staying away so the mockingbirds and other predators dont notice her guarding behsvior...
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BG1
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Good eating!
There are flocks of these back home along the river on city land, along with deer that cross from MN to ND by swimming or ice...
Am I a bad man to be salivating?
PS: the city has a limited special bow permit for deer that sells out when opened, once s year...
We have lots of turkeys around here but I never see them close to the house. Those toms must have a death wish!
LOL they started opening a spring and fall season here but spring season is over. Next year hubby might have to buy a license though.
BG1
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So these two showed up, perched and calling "hoot hoot" high above and ten yards over from Mama Anna's a
Two years ago a breeding pair of Red shouldered hawks built a nest on a nearby fork of the same tall eucalyptus you see here.
Maybe the GH owls will renovate?
Two years ago a breeding pair of Red shouldered hawks built a nest on a nearby fork of the same tall eucalyptus you see here.
Maybe the GH owls will renovate?
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BG1
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Crows HATE owls as they will take sleeping crows right off a branch in the roost tree.
I've actually seen a GH take a Barn Owl of f a branch 25' away while walking the dogs in the moonlight. Caught the motion out of corner of my eye, tirned; A screech, a burst of feathers and the silent flight of the GH gliding downhill wings spread like a stealth bomber with the limp lifeless barn owl in its talons... Magic!
I've actually seen a GH take a Barn Owl of f a branch 25' away while walking the dogs in the moonlight. Caught the motion out of corner of my eye, tirned; A screech, a burst of feathers and the silent flight of the GH gliding downhill wings spread like a stealth bomber with the limp lifeless barn owl in its talons... Magic!
No biggie. Just a little mouse. In my water room.
This is a small room we created that is heated, has hot and cold water and where I store everything in the winter that shouldn't freeze. 
The door is kept closed almost all the time. All winter of course because it's heated. When I walked in the other day, right about where that green muck bucket is sat a little mouse. He must have snuck in when the door was open one day. I ran out and got that green bucket and a broom and scooped him up!
He was a little slow and I think maybe because there's nothing to eat in there and he might have been pretty hungry. I set him free out in the woods and told him to never come back.
This is a small room we created that is heated, has hot and cold water and where I store everything in the winter that shouldn't freeze. The door is kept closed almost all the time. All winter of course because it's heated. When I walked in the other day, right about where that green muck bucket is sat a little mouse.
He must have snuck in when the door was open one day. I ran out and got that green bucket and a broom and scooped him up! He was a little slow and I think maybe because there's nothing to eat in there and he might have been pretty hungry. I set him free out in the woods and told him to never come back.
@MyBuddy you can put snow fencing around the bunny nests to keep Annie out....that is what we used to do. EVERY year, the bunnies would make a nest in the MIDDLE of our backyard in IL! Kinda a pain to mow around, but just until the babies are gone. One day, our boy Dallas came in the house, and our female was following him closely, as if he had a treat in his mouth....yep....it was a baby bunny 
just the foot was hanging out of his mouth. I promptly took him back outside, and said DROP! He let it go, but it was already gone...
just the foot was hanging out of his mouth. I promptly took him back outside, and said DROP! He let it go, but it was already gone...
I might try that next time. This time I just kept her away from that area and they were gone in no time. And she was pretty good about it. Every once in awhile I catch her looking over there and kind of creeping but never getting close. My husband just mowed over there last night and I had to go and check before he did. The Nest was empty and someone must have gotten the Dead one. Because everything was gone.
That's pretty interesting but it does make sense. Just this morning I was wishing a hawk or two would come into the yard to pick those lousy squirrels off the bird feeder or scare the blue jays away when they're like flies coming to dead meat. I can chase them (the jays) away, but they're back a second later.
Here we have ravens and they hate hawks because hawks will take raven chicks for dinner. Any time I see a hawk overhead I watch for a minute and sure enough one or two ravens will appear and start diving at it. I love hawks but since they are a danger to the chickens I love that the ravens drive them off my area.
We have cormorants here in TN, but I discovered them in Illinois...I would take my dogs to a local park that had a pond, and one day a black bird dove out of the sky and went under water! I watched the bubbles go across the pond, then it surfaced! I googled what bird does that, and learned about cormorants. I was obsessed with them! I went every morning to watch them in the trees, and watch them fish. Here are photos I took back in 2013 - I am sure I had a regular camera at the time, not just my cell phone.
