What we commonly experience depends a great deal on where we live, I guess. Eagles and cranes and woodpeckers are common to me.
Pumas, mountain lions, panthers- whatever you call them, are a different thing to me. I was thrilled a couple of years ago to see one cross the road ahead of my car at dusk in high desert a few miles outside Bend, Oregon.
I remember once in the woods coming upon two snakes joined together. I was about 12 years old, and I confess with regret that I killed them both. In our family we routinely killed snakes, even those that are beneficial to farmers. It is inexplicable to me now- we got the instructions from my father- I guess he developed the compulsion in North Dakota where he grew up, probably from his father.