What Did You See In Your Yard Today?

[Falcon Ranchero]

Dumb squirrel getting too close to the garage (grandma's yard). Went up the oak tree, so I was tryina scare him off by asserting dominance by shaking the branches and shooing it away with my grandfather's old cane. Back in December 2019 - January 2020 me and him had an all-out war against the squirrels 'cause they were really being pests. All I can say is, during that time, a lot of squirrels died. My grandfather was pretty quick with his cane, not gonna lie.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, stavanzer said:

Our Resident California Scrub Jay, has a Beak like this one. He's been in our yard for over 5 years now.

We call him "Mr. Beak". He is mated, and we used to see Mrs. Beak, but I have not seen her in a while.

I wonder how he's able to eat with that.

Pretty good exercise in "adapt, improvise, and overcome" 'I'd say.

[Falcon Ranchero]

17 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I wonder how he's able to eat with that.

Pretty good exercise in "adapt, improvise, and overcome" 'I'd say.

I think it's because they use the beak to pry open pine cones, and use their tongue to pick out the seeds.

[bogger44]

Was getting ready to fry up a couple eggs for breakfast when I looked out the patio door and saw a mama with two fawns in the backyard.  A third fawn popped in right after taking the pic.

Edited August 12, 2024 by bogger44

[stavanzer]

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I wonder how he's able to eat with that.

Pretty good exercise in "adapt, improvise, and overcome" 'I'd say.

We leave out lots of Peanuts, for him.

[Phirewriter]

Albino deer a few days ago as I was leaving for work. We also have cranes, ducks, wild turkeys, turtles, (we're not too far from a river) plus the usual variety of critters nesting on the property. Coyotes make an appearance in late summer thru early winter. Edit: I'd like to point out that a local wildlife group was able to track the deer and take her to a preserve. Definitely better than try to survive in the wild being so visible.

Edited August 12, 2024 by Phirewriter
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[stavanzer]

Phirewriter.

You sure get better wildlife than I do.

I get only Scrub Jays, Mourning Doves, Feral Cats and the odd Crow.

[JollySipper]

Alan, how big do the crows get in SoCal? Here they are over a foot tall, at least.......... I heard the crows were smaller out west.

[slusher]

5 hours ago, bogger44 said:

Was getting ready to fry up a couple eggs for breakfast when I looked out the patio door and saw a mama with two fawns in the backyard.  A third fawn popped in right after taking the pic.

Great picture Tony!

 

[slusher]

33 minutes ago, Phirewriter said:

Albino deer a few days ago as I was leaving for work. We also have cranes, ducks, wild turkeys, turtles, (we're not too far from a river) plus the usual variety of critters nesting on the property. Coyotes make an appearance in late summer thru early winter. Edit: I'd like to point out that a local wildlife group was able to track the deer and take her to a preserve. Definitely better than try to survive in the wild being so visible.

Great picture!

[StevenGuthmiller]

22 hours ago, LDO said:

A stray cat. There have been a couple that lounge around on my porch, but run off when I walk up. I can only guess that concrete in the shade is a relief from August weather in Texas. I started setting out food and water. Today I put out food and one was eating within a few seconds. He must have been hiding out, waiting for dinner. I know plenty of people would not approve of feeding strays, but they have no malice. They’re just trying to survive. 

Why not?

People feed their birds, squirrels, etc.

Aren’t they “just strays” as well?

 

 

 

 

Steve

[slusher]

11 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Why not?

People feed their birds, squirrels, etc.

Aren’t they “just strays” as well?

 

 

 

 

Steve

So true Steve!

[Tim W. SoCal]

9 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Our Resident California Scrub Jay, has a Beak like this one.

 

9 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Our Resident California Scrub Jay, has a Beak like this one.

It looks like he needs to be introduced to something like a cuttlebone!...

[stavanzer]

1 hour ago, JollySipper said:

Alan, how big do the crows get in SoCal? Here they are over a foot tall, at least.......... I heard the crows were smaller out west.

Depends.

We get Crows and Ravens, both. I can't tell the difference, but my wife can.  The Ravens get to be bigger than the crows, and I've seen some 14"-16" Ravens. Some Crows are almost that big. The Ones in Town are smaller than the ones out in the fields.  (The Fields are never more than 10-15 miles from the center of town in Bakersfield)

[redscampi]

I was in the attic yesterday morning and kept hearing a little bleating noise. There are sheep in the pasture behind us, so I didn't really pay attention too much. But then a bit later I walked out to the trash can and saw this little guy that had been abandoned by his mother. He was filthy and skin and bones and the herd had left him behind. Some of them have been having twins and even triplets, so some don't get to nurse. I don't think this one was going to survive. Anyway, we now have a new pet...He's cleaned up a bit here and had something to drink.

[slusher]

Cute you can get nutrients to bottle feed  him to ensure he lives..

[von Zipper]

A mama bear with 3 babies caught on one of my surveillance cams

[Ace-Garageguy]

Just more trash in mine, and a nice pile of dog poo right by the mailbox.  

[Falcon Ranchero]

Came across a mole mound (grandma’s yard) but then the dirt started moving so there was actually a mole there as I was watching. Going to check the mound periodically tomorrow to see if I can play some whack a mole.

[TonyK]

Shove a hose down there with the water full blast. That's the way I catch them. Doesn't always work but if you saw it move you probably could've got him right then.

[ChrisBcritter]

We get a lot of roadrunners around here, a fair number of cute hummingbirds, and our share of mice. Then a couple weeks ago this happened in the garage: I picked up the bottle of rodent repellent to spray under the hood of my boss's Bronco. After shaking the bottle, I put it up on the header panel and started spraying - and ONLY then I spotted it:

GDM thing had gotten itself caught on the label. ? No idea how I didn't get bitten other than somebody up there likes me (or just watches over fools).

I'll skip the rest of the details other that to say it is now an ex-serpent.

 

[redscampi]

On 8/12/2024 at 9:14 PM, slusher said:

Cute you can get nutrients to bottle feed  him to ensure he lives..

Thanks Carl. You are right. This isn't the first orphan we've taken in and likely will not be the last. We're hoping to get him weaned then we'll see if the herd will let him back in or not.

[redscampi]

17 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Came across a mole mound (grandma’s yard) but then the dirt started moving so there was actually a mole there as I was watching. Going to check the mound periodically tomorrow to see if I can play some whack a mole.

When I was a kid we were sitting at the dinner table eating as the sun was going down. My dad looked out the picture window into our back yard just as a mole began to push dirt up in the lawn. He ran out and grabbed a spade and decapitated that little monster while we were all watching. Funny the things you remember...

[stitchdup]

I dont get much in my yard because i dont actually have one, but my mother yard gets loads of critters from hedgehogs through to stoats (the stoats are being trapped to be sent away as they are an invasive species that has no predators locally) but mostly its song birds, mice, voles, shrews and hundreds of butterflies. Out the front is more impressive as its the beach where we get seals, various whales, dolphin, sillocks, caithes and cod. we had a walrus a few years ago and about ten years ago a suspected polar bear carcass which turned out to be a cow. we get a lot of rare birds too as we're on the migration route and the last few years when canada hs been on fire we get their geese. and we sometimes see sea eagles as theres a breeding pair on a nearby island

[TarheelRick]

On 8/12/2024 at 6:22 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

Why not?

People feed their birds, squirrels, etc.

Aren’t they “just strays” as well?

 

The problem with that is the stray cats around my yard try to feed themselves on the birds and squirrels. It also seems as if every stray cat that shows up is 'fully-loaded' and downloads a litter of six to ten kittens. Once they are weaned she disappears to repeat the process. At one time, before my parents passed there were 28 cats of different ages running around the yard. They slowly disappeared: highway, car engine fans, serious maladies from in-breeding, stray dogs, and the occasional Coyote. Mom regularly fed them and would not let Dad get rid of them. I hated to come home because of the cat tracks all over my car and the scratches down the door where they slipped and tried to dig into the door.