Nature & Wildlife Thread

[addy1]

How nice of you to wait, I would also.

 

[j.w]

I vote let the babies grow up and fly away before any work done to that spot! So sweet!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Chickadees will eat seeds from your hands, I’ve done it before. They aren’t as afraid of humans as other birds.

Oh, that would be so fun!! I'm pretty sure that the only reason this little chick consented to sit on my finger was because otherwise he was a goner. We're so rural around here, not even the most 'habituated' critters are very tolerant of humans in their vicinity. It took 4 years for Mourning Doves to show up at our feeders...

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I went into the park today and it was filled with wildlife. Owls, Green Herons, Wood Ducks, and so much more.

Painted Turtles

Bay-breasted Warbler

unsure.

Song Sparrow, I think.

Plains Garter Snake. Believe it or not, this is supposed to be a path. Every few years, the vernal pool nearby floods over.

I also found this. An entire row of trees in the middle of the woods has been cleared out all the way from one end to the other. I'm not happy about this, because this was the most secluded part of the woods. This is where I always see Great-horned owls and deer. Well, I don't know what this is all about, but I've been hearing about plans for a paved bike path for years, so maybe this is where it's going. (Though, why not just use an existing trail?) Regardless, the park that I've known since I was a kid continues to change and become more and more unrecognizable. Also worth noting, the unused farm field connected to the park was supposed to be seeded as a prairie, but it's still a weedy farm field for now. Looks like plans have been pushed back. I'm wondering if the bike path is going to go through the prairie first and then into the woodland.

 

[Burd]

Here’s the latest on the baby Robins,

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Had a nice walk today. SO MANY BIRDS. Though, I didn't feel like photographing any, so here's a shot of the Pike River and a tree stump with fungus that had moss on it.

 

[Burd]

That last is a postcard for sure.

 

[j.w]

@JBtheExplorer Me too, agree w/ @Burd I love that last one so much! Would make a great hanging picture for a room!

 

[addy1]

Agree that last picture is great!

 

[Lisak1]

Fungus AND moss... something for everyone!

 

[Burd]

I finally saw the Oriole he comes in the early

morning and evening. I got the orange feeder free with some seed purchase

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I have a fun wildlife story. By "fun", I mean the opposite of fun.

I was just about to go to bed, literally, just now. My cat walks in my bedroom, and I notice it right away. She has a live mouse in her mouth. I know what's about to happen. She's done this before, but never in my bedroom. She finds them in the basement, grabs them and brings them upstairs to drop and play with. She always drops them in whatever room I'm in. Time immediately slows down. Everything is in slow motion. Like many times before, I beg "no, no, no, don't drop it!", but I'm even more concerned than usual, considering it's in my bedroom.

She drops it. Time speeds up. It runs under my bed. I quickly grab the flashlight next to me, get on the floor, and look under my bed. I don't see it. Neither does she. I decide to quickly get everything off my bed and onto my dresser in case the mouse tries to climb up on my bed. Just the thought of that is awful.

I remove two storage bags under my bed. No mouse to be found. I lift the rug in my room, which requires me to move my entire bed. No mouse under the rug. I look behind everything else in my room. No mouse. Ultimately, I figure it probably ran under my bed and out my door into the living room.

I start putting everything back. I put the rug back, I push my bed back into place. I grab a pillow and set it back on my bed. I notice a small lump in the pillowcase. I quickly realize it's probably just the corner of my pillow and I'm just being paranoid, but I decide I won't sleep unless I check my pillows. I grab the edge of my pillow case and lift up. I see a tail.

At this point, I'm horrified. I carry the pillow carefully outside while thinking that maybe all I saw was a shadowed wrinkle in the fabric. I rip the pillowcase off as fast as I possibly can, and there sits the mouse on my patio.

I'm not scared of mice, but I'm terrified of pillow mice. That's what nightmares are made of. Keep in mind, I wasn't even thinking to check my pillows. I assumed I got them off my bed before the mouse got in them. I had given up looking for it and was seconds away from going to bed. Had I not seen that tiny lump, I'd be laying down with a mouse next to my head right now. Thankfully, it wasn't the pillow I rest my head on, but that's not really comforting.

I come back inside and check my other pillow. No mouse. I know there was only one mouse, but there's no way I'd fall asleep tonight without checking. I still fully expect to be awake for awhile. In fact, I've spent the last ten minutes typing this story instead of going to bed.

 

[addy1]

Aww you found your cats toy............... nice of you to save it..................

 

[Lisak1]

They are fast fast fast! I'll never forget the time my mom opened the drawer under the stove and there sat a mouse. She was TERRIFIED. She jumped up on the kitchen chair and screamed for me to get the masking tape. She made me tape the whole drawer shut, covering all the cracks and then sent me to get my grandpa who lived down the street. He walked in the house, saw my mom still standing on the chair and the oven drawer taped shut and had to sit down, he was laughing so hard. He untaped the drawer and pulled it all the way out to show my mom that the whole back of the drawer is completely open. That mouse was probably out of that drawer before she even slammed it shut. Oh, he never let her live that one down!

Like you @JBtheExplorer I'm not afraid of them- I just don't like the element of surprise. And I for sure wouldn't want to find one in my bed!

 

[j.w]

Bet the cat gotta a good laugh outta this one and will be back w/another one. Cat prolly thought you were lovin every minute of the good hunt just as she would