Critters and wildlife in your area - post your pics

[BGpa]

Found on reddit while researching "outcross project"...promised El Nino related sightings, so...

Magical Mobulas! | San Diego Whale Watch

A dense fog bank hid the horizon for most of our trip, but once it lifted, we struck gold — a friendly fever of Spinetail Devil Rays (Spinetail Mobulas). What

sdwhalewatch.com

 

[DobieDesire]

CDFW News | CDFW Seeks Public Comment on Draft Bobcat Conservation Plan

CDFW is now accepting public comments on the just-released draft California Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan. The 133-page draft management plan was developed over five years alongside the California Bobcat Population Monitoring Project’s Report of Findings released in August.

wildlife.ca.gov

I hope they don't allow bobcat hunting again, the more the humans 'manage' wildlife, the more they screw things up.

 

[Sunje]

CDFW News | CDFW Seeks Public Comment on Draft Bobcat Conservation Plan

CDFW is now accepting public comments on the just-released draft California Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan. The 133-page draft management plan was developed over five years alongside the California Bobcat Population Monitoring Project’s Report of Findings released in August.

wildlife.ca.gov

I hope they don't allow bobcat hunting again, the more the humans 'manage' wildlife, the more they screw things up.

CPW and the Colorado state gov't has made a complete mess of the whole wolf intro thing. Now on the "ballot" for next month is an amendment (or whatever) limiting hunting overall. While bears all around the state are literally starving to death b/c there are too many of them and there is not enough food. And now CPW is spending its resources either trapping/releasing or killing problem bears in liberal hotbeds like Aspen b/c they are so desperate for food they are breaking into homes. Better to be killed quickly by a hunter's bullet than slowly starve during the winter. So many of them will this year.

 

[GennyB]

CPW and the Colorado state gov't has made a complete mess of the whole wolf intro thing. Now on the "ballot" for next month is an amendment (or whatever) limiting hunting overall. While bears all around the state are literally starving to death b/c there are too many of them and there is not enough food. And now CPW is spending its resources either trapping/releasing or killing problem bears in liberal hotbeds like Aspen b/c they are so desperate for food they are breaking into homes. Better to be killed quickly by a hunter's bullet than slowly starve during the winter. So many of them will this year.

Not trying to go political here but that's what happens when government gets too big. Politicians get greedy and make decisions based on who going to put the most money in their pocket.
Back in the 70's the Director of the St. Louis zoo founded The Endangered Wolf Center. that is credited for saving wolves everywhere. At the time wolves were in danger of extinction. Today, every Mexican wolf can trace their roots back to the wolf. center.
So my point is educated, caring people can help clean up the mess we've made if they keep money grubbing fingers out of the till.

 

[GennyB]

Egrets having a party at one of our ponds.

 

[BGpa]

Not trying to go political here but that's what happens when government gets too big. Politicians get greedy and make decisions based on who going to put the most money in their pocket.
Back in the 70's the Director of the St. Louis zoo founded The Endangered Wolf Center. that is credited for saving wolves everywhere. At the time wolves were in danger of extinction. Today, every Mexican wolf can trace their roots back to the wolf. center.
So my point is educated, caring people can help clean up the mess we've made if they keep money grubbing fingers out of the till.

I agree there is value in saving endangered species but its also true it can become a political weapon used by NIMBYs or even those trying to drive out landownsers. See the YellowStone series.

Here in SoCal I remember when animal right and crazy cat ladies banded together to stop hunting mountain lions.

I used to see a herd of 100+ CA Whitetail in Laguna Meadows.
Now you are lucky to see sign or scat, anywhere and the cats have moved into the suburbs for prey.

More stories later...ask me about the nice young ranger who said; "oh there is a mountain lion seen walking the park trail behind your campsite, but dont worry we are keeping an eye on it..."

Momma Bear and I circled around and checked out, with two toddlers and dog in back and tent camper in tow.

At that time CA Parks prohibited possession of handguns, even by LEO off duty campers in park.

Look up the elderly hiker killed by mountain lion just north of same park a year later...

 

[Ravenbird]

Turkeys on the way to town the other day.

 

[BGpa]

Mmmm, harvest time for some Thanksgiving Roast Birb!

(Am I a bad man?)

 

[JanS]

(Am I a bad man?

Oh lots of people hunt them and it is delicious. Hubby would start but we've been waiting for the population to come up in this area.

I'm not sure what happened to our boy Harold since he was hanging out this spring, then disappeared all of a sudden. He stayed here all summer last year, even after the girls went away to nest.

 

[Ravenbird]

I'd much rather have one of these for dinner than a store-bought one. We processed about 10 young roosters when we first got chickens. They weren't meat chickens, so they were smaller and not the big breasted ones like store chickens. But never ever in my whole life have I eaten better flavored chicken than those we raised on complete free range.

 

[JanS]

Bad photo since the sun was exactly in the wrong position but there were two hawks out here going after blue jays for a few hours this morning. Of course I was cheering the hawks on hoping they drive the darn blue jays out of here for the winter. Have I mentioned that I hate blue jays? LOL

 

[MyBuddy]

Have I mentioned that I hate blue jays? LOL

Only many times!

 

[DobieDesire]

Deer season ended yesterday evening, in our zone, at 6:50 pm. I do believe that all the bucks we see, that visit our property, made it through unscathed.

 

[BGpa]

Bad photo since the sun was exactly in the wrong position but there were two hawks out here going after blue jays for a few hours this morning. Of course I was cheering the hawks on hoping they drive the darn blue jays out of here for the winter. Have I mentioned that I hate blue jays? LOL
View attachment 164131

I feel the same way about crows!

 

[JanS]

I feel the same way about crows!

They are in the same family as jays. I do like crows though because they behave themselves here.

Deer season ended yesterday evening, in our zone, at 6:50 pm

Wow and it doesn't start until Nov 7 here.

 

[BGpa]

No sightings except some songs and eye shine down at the tree crossing in moonlight, but plenty of sign and scat. You can tell whats fruiting by the coyote scat. Date palm, manzanita apples...

 

[BGpa]

No sightings except some songs and eye shine down at the tree crossing in moonlight, but plenty of sign and scat. You can tell whats fruiting by the coyote scat. Date palm, manzanita apples...

The yellow stuff is from coyote melon, most likely or ripening prickly pears...

Stop and smell the coyote melons

There was an autumn softness in the air as I day hiked with a friend along a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail near Warner Springs.“What’s that smell?” he asked as we scuffed along the well-worn path.When I realized he…

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

there is a patch of melon a few miles up the drainage to the south...but given how much of it on these hills, my guess is this is most likely prickly pear.

@Gelcoater you might find this interesting: it covers some of the desert you know around here:

 

[Ravenbird]

You can tell whats fruiting by the coyote scat.

We have tons of juniper berries ripening. Coyote poop will soon be full of it. The dogs like them too. Actually I think every critter seems to like them.

 

[Gelcoater]

The yellow stuff is from coyote melon, most likely or ripening prickly pears...

Stop and smell the coyote melons

There was an autumn softness in the air as I day hiked with a friend along a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail near Warner Springs.“What’s that smell?” he asked as we scuffed along the well-worn path.When I realized he…

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

there is a patch of melon a few miles up the drainage to the south...but given how much of it on these hills, my guess is this is most likely prickly pear.

@Gelcoater you might find this interesting: it covers some of the desert you know around here:

Have never seen that here local. Or in the hills of Yorba Linda back when there were still hills and not houses
I have seen it down in Temecula.
We were at a wedding venue owned by an old San Diego surfer dude.

He had all the cool stuff down there, those melons just pop up here and there. He has giant oaks, and those giant boulders the are are known for have the tell tale signs of native habitation. Holes worn into the rock where they grind grains.
He also had a native plant I wasn’t familiar with that also just pops up here and there.
Had white trumpet flowers and prickly balls growing.
If you know, you know.
If you don’t it’s called by several names.
My wife has an app on her phone that tells what plant something is and how well it is or isn’t growing if you point the camera at it.
Jamestown weed. Or Jimsonweed.


It’s poisonous to dogs, and if a human eats enough of it it will kill.
Apparently in small doses it will send people into a high that lasts a couple weeks, and the person will have no memory of any of their shenanigans while they were high.
Natives used to use it in ceremony.

Oddities & Curiosities: The Colonial Case of the Mysterious Jimson Weed | Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

wydaily.com

 

[GennyB]

They are in the same family as jays. I do like crows though because they behave themselves here.

While crows are annoying they serve a purpose for me. They keep the hawks at bay so my chickens don't have to worry about getting attacked. Jays however are just a**holes. Chasing off good birds, emptying the feeders all over the ground and we can't forget the hideous noise they make. I'm VERY grateful that we don't see near as many of them out here in the boonies!