MagiStream

I have really cool wildlife in the desert of arizona.By far my most favorite are the local hummingbirds that stop by my yard ever day. And funny thing is,theres this one same Green hummingbird that have been coming back eveeyday for a month now,around the same time. I think iys my Nana in disguise,but you never know. I hate it when people kill deers for fun and are not gonna eat them. If you shoot an innocent deer or buck,please just eat it so it was sacrificed well and not killed for ammusement. I lived in Maryland and I had a deer in our backyard once. Actually,our whole backyard is a forest,no lie. I hear foxes in there and birds and deer even crawl into our backyard Which is why I miss there. I love wildlife so much!

Dad and I just saw three does in the hayfield. I actually couldn't see one, even with binoculars, until I saw it's white butt flash And I agree with BMF, hunting for no reason is horrible. My dad hunts, but we always eat what we can.

I think Bambi Burgers and jerky are the best thing we get from a deer.

I don't have the pics off the camera yet, but yesterday on our way to run errands we saw a beautiful box turtle crossing our path (it's not really a road, just much traveled tire tracks worn to sugar sand). Since they're slow, Dee got out of the truck and caught it for me so I could get a better look at it.

His shell was perfect, so glossy and healthy looking and un-chipped by impacts. He had bright green splotch markings on his front legs and face, a gorgeous iridescent green-yellow striping by the eyes. He didn't seem afraid of us either, though he pooped all over the front seat.

I wanted desperately to keep him but knew we didn't have a habitat set up so we let him go on the other side of the track where he could crawl safely away into the woods.

Our other find was rather peculiar: a single vulture feather next to the grocery store in an empty lot. I know you're not supposed to gather them or keep them, but I couldn't resist. In the tradition in which I was raised vultures carry very powerful magic.

Also seen on the way home: a couple of big spring turkeys with bright red combs and the blues and greens showing on the feathers around their throats; we also saw a couple of fuzzy-headed turkey buzzards (which means they're juveniles) and another red bellied woodpecker. A strange crested songbird with a bright yellow rump flew too fast for us to identify it. Anyone know what it might have been? It was NOT a female cardinal, it was smaller than that and brighter.

I love my college because it's up in the mountains, and is a total haven for wildlife.

We have lots of groundhogs. I know they're technically pests, but they live in the big dell out in front of the dining hall so they don't really bother anybody. They're so cute! I love the way they walk--it's like a paunchy waddle. We also have so many deer it's absurd. I was walking back from the library at 5:00 AM and I nearly ran into (literally, I was less than five feet from them) a mother and her baby. They just causally sauntered off...

Also, a luna moth fell on me the other day. I really like them, because they have fuzzy and cute bodies, and look surprisingly exotic for something that lives in North America. The moth was just flapping its wings pathetically, but couldn't fly. I shooed it into a bush so it wouldn't get stepped on. However, what I didn't know is that Luna moths apparently only live for a week, just to mate...they don't even have mouths. How sad.

On our drive out to Cedar Key, I saw a plethora of wildlife. While I've often observed the herons and cranes in an urban environment --- they like the retention ponds and drainage ditches for our roads here in Florida --- I've never gotten the chance to observe them where they belong, in the marshes. You could see each had staked out a bit of territory which they vigorously defended with all sorts of posturing. The threat displays over, they would then return to their fishing and wading.

I got a new bird to add to my life list: the fish crow. They're only discernible from regular crows by an ear whorl pattern and by the nasal cawing sound they make. These were huge and bold. One of them flew up to a second story balcony on a hotel and tried to make off with someone's swim trunks! Just what he would have done with them, I don't know.

Pelicans, brown and white, abounded. These are awkward on the ground and often beg for fish from the tourists. In the air, they're magnificent flyers though I didn't see any with a full bill much to my disappointment.

The boat tailed grackles were hilarious. We stopped at a roadside stand to purchase some herbs and a nice batch of freshly harvested clams. One grackle had found something interesting to eat --- or else the two men at the back were feeding them peanuts --- and three more came to investigate. They got into a big row over whatever it was and clowned about for several minutes before the original decided he'd had enough and glided off with his prize.

I don't know as the clams exactly count as wildlife, since we were going to eat them, but they're fascinating. I'd never had fresh, live clams before. When they warm up, the muscles relax and the shells open. If, however, you frighten them by tapping on them or accidentally create vibrations they can detect, their little shells snap shut audibly. As a last resort, they will throw a stream of sea water at you.

Snake warning! I hope none of you a phobic.

Some photos of snakes a fellow rescuer had in care. All these snake have been released into the wild since I took these photos.

Yellow faced whip-tailed snake.

Yellow Faced Whip Snake by battyden, on Flickr
This fellow is fully grown, about 16 inches long and a danger if you are a baby gecko or skink. Venomous, but not to humans.

Australian coral snake

Coral Snake by battyden, on Flickr
Venomous but not dangerous. Not to be confused with the North American coral snake which is highly dangerous. This little Aussie snake is quite quiet - you really have to work hard to make one grumpy enough to bite, and even if it does it'll be a "dry" warning bite. It takes a lot of energy to make venom so they don't waste it on non-foods.

Blue-bellied black snake

Blue-bellied black snake by battyden, on Flickr
Not as common as the much larger red-bellied black snake. This fellow is quite venomous and will make you very ill if it bites. It is quite timid, though, and unlikely to attack. 99% of the people bitten by this snake were trying to kill it at the time. The bit chunk you can see taken out of this snake's neck is courtesy of a hoe.

Western Brown snake

Western Brown Snake by battyden, on Flickr
This cute little snake is a baby, only 18 inches long. See him curled up there? That's him about to strike at my camera. Brown snakes are dangerously aggressive and massively venomous. A bite from this little snake would put me in hospital ICU. A bite from an adult will put you in the morgue if you don't get the antivenin in time. I have never been so nervous about photographing an animal before - this bloke scared me. And that takes some doing.

I've got a few things to report from the last few days.

There are SO many marmots, it's insane. And the babies, who are already young adults are coming out. I'm not sure which are cuter, the smaller babies, or the big fat adults!
It's kind of sad, the way they run and poof up their tails remind me of my old pet ferrets. But I've never seen a marmot do a war dance.

I got to SEE mule deer in the Rocky Creek canyon the other day! I've seen tracks and poop before, but this time I actually got to see the actual deer. I could see three, and it looked like one may have been a buck with just little fuzzy bumps for antlers.

I had Sam, my pet raven, on the back of my bicycle the same day that I saw the deer. I was afraid the raven nest I came across a few weeks ago had been abandoned. But under that bridge, they were there! And they were confused about Sam's presence. They kept giving a 'greeting' call along with a 'mild warning' because I was human and the dog was with us and we were close to Sam. Sam, however, was afraid. He ended up sitting on my arm making nervous sounds until we left. He didn't like them at all. Of course... Sam's afraid of ducks and sparrows and robins, especially if they fly overhead. But he'll pounce on the downed dove! I don't understand him...

I thought I'd seen a few other more interesting birds, but none are coming to mind right now.
Oh! Brewers and red-winged blackbirds are all back in town.


edit: I remembered the other neat find!

I saw a grey and yellow Western Garter Snake on my bike ride on Friday. I was amazed that she was out, it was only like 40 degrees outside (maybe warmer, but the wind chill was insane). My dog almost stepped on her! At first, I was afraid she already had been stepped on, or worse, run over by a bicycle (including mine), but she was just really cold and probably the pavement of the bike path was warmer than the dirt and grass.
So, of course I HAD to pick her up. *snerk* And while she was musking (kuz I've yet to meet a garter that didn't when handled directly from the wild) she everted her cloaca, and that's how I figure it was a girl. I held her until she was a bit warmer- and she settled right into my hands once she realized I wasn't going to hurt her, and my hands were warm. She did some lazy tongue tasting of the air and my fingers. Finally, I put her down on the other side of the path under the cover of some bunch grass. I was amazed at her camouflage, visually, she disappeared right into it- if I hadn't known she was there, I never would have seen her.

I'm sitting here watching a group of blackbirds searching the yard for bugs or whatever. Five or six of them are lined up across the yard and they're doing a search. Several others are following behind. When one finds something it flies away to the nest, I suppose, and one of the ones behind moves up to take its place in the line. This isn't something I've ever seen before.

Yay (maybe) for intrusive wildlife!

When we took a hike through a sinkhole Saturday, I noticed what looked like a horned lizard on one of the logs. It wasn't one of our anoles as it was considerably bigger than they usually get. Problem is, horned lizards are desert dwellers and therefore not generally found in the rich tropical and semi-tropical environment of the sink hole.

As it skittered up the tree, I caught a glimpse of its bright cobalt blue belly. That trait allowed us to identify it:

a variety of western fence lizard

Pshawraven took a picture of it for me, since I wasn't quick enough but they're still in the camera.

I also saw a really interesting bug with a bright 'caution red' beginning and end but a clear middle. Don't know what he was and he moved too fast for me to get the insect expert in the family to look, but he was colorful. Probably would taste bad to birds, too. That's the only reason I can think of for such outrageous colors.