BS: Wildlife sightings

Subject: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Raptor
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 05:44 PM

Today Myself and 50 other Birders observed a Pomarine Jaeger as wall as Little Gulls with the usual birds in the bay of lake Simcoe in Barrie Ont.

Later this aft. I saw an Ermine(Short Tailed Weasle) on my back deck.

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: greg stephens
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 05:47 PM

Blue tit at the peanuts.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 05:50 PM

Bear two days ago.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: bobad
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 06:40 PM

Great flocks of Canada geese heading south for the winter....smart birds.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: leftydee
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 07:59 PM

Hen Baldpate on Lake St Clair (Detroit) this AM. Several small flocks of Buffleheads and Ruddy Ducks. The migrants are late, still haven't seen any Canvasbacks this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Joybell
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 07:59 PM

Millions of Caper White Butterflies in Western Victoria, Australia. They migrate South, from the interior, in Spring hoping to find their caterpiller foodplant that has never grown here. Lovely creatures. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: MickyMan
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 08:02 PM

A Fisher here in the CT suburbs on Columbus Day Weekend ... at night of course.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Mooh
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 08:17 PM

Redtail hawks, one roadkill (they're usually good at avoiding vehicles), the other cruising low over a pasture along highway eight west (Ontario) this morning.

At Canadian Thanksgiving my youngest and I stood and watched a bald eagle circle over the west side of Sky Lake (Bruce County) for several minutes.

Turkey vultures near Benmiller (Huron County) this week.

Rainbow trout in Colpoy's Creek (Bruce County) last weekend.

Rosie The Wonder Dog at my feet right now.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: kendall
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 08:27 PM

A flock of 6 wild turkeys on my back lawn

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Beer
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 10:02 PM

Red Wings flying but going no where. Coyoties 3-1
Beer

Oh! Lots of mallards, common and hooded merganser's getting ready to depart.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 10:04 PM

Least Weasel, over the summer, DOA via cat.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: GUEST,Ingrid Frances Stark
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 10:52 PM

Great Blue Heron, Little Green Heron, wild mink, Belted Kingfishers, at various times throughout the summer on the creek out front.
Red fox in a back yard on Madison's west side last week.

Ingrid

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: open mike
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 04:01 AM

the cat(s) brought in a flying squirrel
i would much rather have seen it alive!@!

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Hand-Pulled Boy
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 02:42 PM

Spider in the bath.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 02:46 PM

Saw a beautiful henway today.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Don Firth
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 02:53 PM

Squirrels 'til hell won't have it. I live a few blocks from a fairly sizable park. Yeah, spider crawling across the kitchen ceiling here.

Bottle of Wild Turkey in the cupboard.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Mooh
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 03:02 PM

Peace...Geez, that brought back memories! Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: ard mhacha
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 03:18 PM

Winter visitors,Colourful Shovelers arrived on the Lough to join the wide variety of other feathered friends, and I look forward to my favourites the Swallows and Swifts, that will have to wait until early April, no harm in wishing away the winter.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: ranger1
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 03:28 PM

Cardinal, mourning dove, junco, chickadees and eurasian house sparrows at the feeder today. Four loons at Willard Beach last weekend, only about 25 feet off shore.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 03:44 PM

"Geez, that brought back memories! Mooh."

LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: GUEST,UK Gardener
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 05:57 PM

A three inch long pink, hairy caterpillar crawling out of the top of my pyjama bottoms. I kid you not. I only felt the tickling when it reached the wiast of my pj's, because I pulled out the waist to investigate and there it was. Which meant it had crawled up my entire leg first to get there. Have googled images of pink hairy caterpillars and not found the little critter.

Sorry to say to all insect lovers, that in shock I flicked it to the floor and smashed it to bits with the side of a flip flop.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: jimmyt
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 06:04 PM

Peace, I also spotted a henweigh along with a piecost this morning at the edge of the clearing.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Joybell
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 06:41 PM

Little Swamp Wallaby with Joey in native raspberries up the road a bit. 3 kinds of honey-eaters, including fledglings, in our bottle-brushes. Nankeen Kestrels courting overhead. Magpie youngsters tormenting parents for hand-outs. Brush-tailed Possum, outside the window at night, with back-riding golden baby. I love this thread. Thank you Raptor. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: bobad
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 06:49 PM

Joybell

From the sounds of it you are full in the throes of spring, a wonderful and joyous time.

We here in Canada are entering the dark and cold days of autumn which will lead into the frigid bleakness of winter, alas.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Micca
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 07:02 PM

Ranger1 it is wicked to mock the deprived!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 07:12 PM

Here...couple white tail deer, LOTS of pronghorn, road kill of all sorts, mostly rabbits, eagles, crows, red tail hawks.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: MaineDog
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 07:20 PM

Most recent sighting: cow moose and 3 calves obstructing the highway in interior southern Maine.

More frequently: Blue herons, seals, ospreys, and eagles! (The crows make a great racket when the eagle approaches.)
MD

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 07:22 PM

"We here in Canada are entering the dark and cold days of autumn which will lead into the frigid bleakness of winter, alas."

Thanks for cheering me up, bobad.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: artbrooks
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 07:41 PM

Sandhill cranes stopping for a break on their trip South. The usual roadrunners playing silly buggers all over the place.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Alice
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 08:09 PM

Wolves seen by a friend in the foothills at the edge of town (her back yard). Moving up from Yellowstone probably.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: bobad
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 08:14 PM

Alice

Were'nt those wolves introduced into Yellowstone from Canada? Maybe they're heading back home.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: JennyO
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 08:41 PM

Wagtail looking for pickings in the lawn after we mowed it.

Magpies noisy in the morning.

Currawongs noisy in the afternoon.

A Coel calling in the middle of the night.

Lots and lots of spider webs - some full of baby spiders.

A wasp flew in a narrow opening at the bottom of the bathroom window, then couldn't find it's way out, so I had to sit on the toilet with it buzzing near me, till I could take action to remove it. I did try to encourage it to find a way out, but it didn't want to know. So I reluctantly had to resort to fly spray in the end.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 08:43 PM

Vespidae--a whole family of nasty little bastards without whom we could not live but with whom we cannot live.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: JennyO
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 08:46 PM

True unfortunately, Bruce. They may not mean me any harm, but I don't intend sticking around long enough to find out.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 09:04 PM

I had a run-in with a nest one time. Got stung a number of times--as did my grandfather and dog. I know all God's creatures have a right to live. That particular group of God's little creatures were wiped out that evening. They went to their great reward in the sky. I do not go outta my way to harm insects or animals. But sting me or snap at me and that's it. I am like that with spiders, mosquitoes, dogs and cats, also. Besides, wasps outta be livin' outside in the fresh air, not in your walls. IMO, of course.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: JennyO
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 09:38 PM

My ex-husband would give wasps a very wide berth since he had had an anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting when he was a child. If he saw one close, he would literally run! So why did a family of mud-dauber wasps choose OUR walls to build their nests?

I'm the same with wildlife that attacks me - quite happy to slap a mosquito or do away with aggressive jumping ants that have got me a few times! With other critters, I try to relocate them from the house if it's at all possible, or just keep away from them if they're outside. F'rinstance, I've seen redback spiders in my garden, but I think we can happily coexist. They tend to run away and hide, so I am just careful where I put my hands, and wear gloves when I'm gardening.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 09:49 PM

I go outta my way to relocate Daddy-long-legs, spiders, most anything. However, when the spiders in the place started to show up ten to fifteen times everyday, and I'd been bitten a number of times, I turned for advice to my trusted friend, Mr Raid. (Canada generally has no spiders that are poisonous. I understand that Australia has a gang of them.) Anyway, I pushed his button for about six weeks every five days or so and now the spiders are gone. (I would spray in the morning before I left for twelve hours, return and open the windows and leave for another four or so hours.) As to allergic reactions: they are BAD. Big-time bad. I know you likely don't need the advice, but if you have any friends who react violently to vespidae stings, there are epipens available from druggists via a doctor's prescription. They are a life-saving necessity for some folks. Simple jab to the thigh--through the pants or dress--and the allergic reaction gets held up enough to save a person's life.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: open mike
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 11:06 PM

epi pen kits (epinepherine) come with anti-histimine tablets or pills
too--best to keep some benedryl on hand is susceptible to such things.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Peace
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 11:13 PM

Good add-on open mike. Glad one of us is thinkin'.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Kaleea
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 02:39 AM

Termites on my 3rd floor balcony door! (sliding glass door) Dozens of 'em. Then a few ants decided to wander about into the living room & onto a couple of the baby's toys. Sorry critter lovers, but I squished them & called the landlord about the termites.
   Then I saw lots of wildlife while coming & going from the laundry room today, they were quite excited, jumping up & down hooting & hollaring at football players on the television. They were 2 legged critters in an apartment below.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: gnu
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 08:11 AM

I was on a nature observation outing from Thursday to Saturday and saw a slew of black bear, Virginia white-tailed deer (including a "grampa" close to three hundred pounds), moose, coyotes, partridge, hawks, owls, eagles, etcetera, BUT, at about twenty minutes before sunrise one morning, I saw a marten that I thought was a cross fox until it ran for cover with a loping gait. I swear it was at least two feet from nose to arse. It was in winter colour but I couldn't see the chest. I told some neighbours about it and an old fellah said he would have to see it to belive it - a polite way of saying I was exagerating which, of course, is polite for "bullshitting". Can't say as I blame him because I wouldn't believe me either if I hadn't seen it.

For those who don't know how "tall" this tale is, a big Pine Marten would tip the scales at 3 or 4 pounds whereas this one had to be over 10 pounds. Not only that, but when I told the old fellah he was eating the last of some moose carrion, the old fellah said, "Yup, it would take a good sized Marten to bring down a moose.", referring to the fact that Martens do not ususally eat carrion. Very polite fellah.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: ranger1
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 09:49 AM

Are you sure it wasn't a fisher, Gnu? Size sounds right for one and they aren't too fussy about what they eat.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 10:47 AM

Great blue heron fishing for frogs under the Cummings Bridge in downtown Ottawa.

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL THINGS DULL AND UGLY (Eric Idle)
From: Micca
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 11:32 AM

Especially for Peace and JennyO, and Ranger1

All Things Dull and Ugly
From Monty Python sings
Tune all things bright and Beautiful

All things dull and ugly,
All creatures short and squat,
All things rude and nasty,
The Lord God made the lot.

Each little snake that poisons,
Each little wasp that stings,
He made their brutish venom,
He gave the bastards wings.

All things sick and cancerous,
All evil great and small,
All things foul and dangerous,
The Lord God made them all.

Each nasty little hornet,
Each beastly little squid,
Who made the spiky urchin?
Who made the sharks? He did!

All things scabbed and ulcerous,
All pox both great and small,
Putrid, foul and gangrenous,
The Lord God made them all.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: gnu
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 11:45 AM

ranger1... doesn't a fisher usually have whitish coloured fur on the insides and backs of the thighs? Would it be dark brown and have a really bushy tail about a foot long, maybe a bit more?

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: LilyFestre
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 03:21 PM

Most recently I have seen several flocks of turkeys, rabbits, possums, dozens of white-tailed deer (4 in my front yard on Wednesday...approximately 60 feet from the house eating from the apple tree), a baby coyote and a flock of turkey buzzards.

I have only ever seen turkey buzzards in groups of two or three but the other day I stopped to take a photo of one sitting on a stump in a swamp when it flew into a tree. I noticed there were several in the tree....and then on the other size of the pond, sitting in evergreen trees, were many more. They started flying and swooping in groups....it was almost eerie. I video taped some of it....strange...very strange.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: kendall
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 03:29 PM

Our turkeys now number 8

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 03:32 PM

We live on a pond and see all kinds of wildlife on a daily basis. Most common are the ducks and geese of course (damn Canadian geese!). There are some magnificent blue heron that visit.

The other day we had a baby snapping turtle on the front walk. We often see racoon, possum and skunks. About a year ago we had a wild turkey make a home in next door woods.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: bobad
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 03:47 PM

gnu

The fishers we have in our area are the size you describe and are uniformally a dark charcoally colour with a distinctive large bushy tail. They are, as is the marten, a member of the weasel family.

Subject: RE: BS: Wildlife sightings
From: sapper82
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 04:35 PM

Nuthatch up the road and Kingfishers are not rare round here!