MagiStream

Ospreys are the fishers, and they are big, white and gray

That reminds me, my mother and I were driving along next to the beach down here [Cocoa, I think] and an osprey decided to fly along next to us. It was so amazing, I forgot about our camera xD

TNHawke wrote:Please read it before you put any more consideration into penning up the coyote. Not to mention, where there's one, there's probably more. Shooting is a distasteful option, but please be well aware of what you're getting yourself into.

I'm aware that hybrids can occur, but the footprints, scat, and behavior do not match. Additionally, we think that the pup's family has already been eliminated. One of the neighbors was talking about having poisoned a large den.

I did contact our Department of Fish and Game and they gave me two solutions: either trap and keep it (per the class 3 permit, which I am already qualified to have) or shoot it. I would not be making a 'pet' out of it, simply saving its life. You can't really make pets out of wild animals, you can only share space with them and respect the fact that they ARE wild animals. I wouldn't make the mistake of treating this little guy like a dog because he isn't one, no more than I would treat Merlin like a domestic house cat. Merlin DOES have free roam of the house, but I've also had him since he was a kitten and he does have domestic genes. Even so, handling of that particular animal is different than having a domestic house cat. He gets meat, not cat food, has to have it or he doesn't maintain the proper weight and color. He goes to a zoo vet, not a pet vet, and they put him under if they have to work on him. He bites. HARD. The last person who tried handling him ended up with severe tendon damage in his hand.

Thus I maintain a wildlife license, attend any of the classes I can audit regarding wildlife management and wild animal keeping...and I don't treat them as pets.

Also --- it's mushroom hunting season, which means digging through leaf litter. Just GUESS what we ran into! IT was a beautiful full grown pygmy rattler with lovely rust colored markings curled up in the leaves:



Don't worry, we're not as close as the photo makes it appear. I was about 25 feet away and used maximum telephoto to take the photograph. Pretty, isn't he?

TxCat wrote: Also --- it's mushroom hunting season, which means digging through leaf litter. Just GUESS what we ran into! IT was a beautiful full grown pygmy rattler with lovely rust colored markings curled up in the leaves:
*snipt* Pretty, isn't he?

That is a very pretty dangerous animal!

How dangerous are they?

Batty wrote:That is a very pretty dangerous animal!

How dangerous are they?

According to the UofF reptile site, the pygmy rattler is venomous and can inflict a very painful bite but the bite is not dangerous or illness inducing for most people unless you happen to be one of the population which is sensitive to venom in the first place. The pygmy is non-aggressive and shy toward people. He will not advance or strike unless cornered or stepped upon.

Our most dangerous down here is the eastern diamondback, followed by the copperhead. Water moccasins as a group are aggressive and their bite painful but not life threatening. I've had one or two chase me across the yard and clear up to the porch.

Needless to say, we keep a snake bite kit in the truck and on the property within handy reach. Just guess who has venom sensitivity....

Tx, I pointed out that site, because it covers things like necessary space and feeding and care and such. Not that I was particularly worried about you trying to treat a wild coyote like a puppy dog. I know you've got some acreage, and feed your bobcat mix meat foods and stuff. Of all the places the 'yote could end up, yours would probably be among the better ones. I meant it more as a resource- and a warning to other readers. Sorry that I was wasn't clear about that.

TNHawke wrote:Tx, I pointed out that site, because it covers things like necessary space and feeding and care and such. Not that I was particularly worried about you trying to treat a wild coyote like a puppy dog. I know you've got some acreage, and feed your bobcat mix meat foods and stuff. Of all the places the 'yote could end up, yours would probably be among the better ones. I meant it more as a resource- and a warning to other readers. Sorry that I was wasn't clear about that.

Not at all I've been a little derpy the last few days...heat and humidity are not my friend.

For the curious:

We are required to follow these guidelines to keep Merlin (and a coyote):

Captive Wildlife Licenses

Merlin requires a Class II permit to keep because his percentage is higher than 50% (he was tested at the Boulder zoology clinic and the DNA analysis came back with an 85%/15% differentiation, which means that while he has SOME domesticated genes the majority of his make-up is not domestic). We would ordinarily not have been allowed to keep him in the house, but because he was raised that way there is an addendum in our permit allowing us to do so. He is not allowed free roam outside ever and we had to get him neutered so he could not reproduce. We had to sign an affidavit stating that if he were to escape, Fish and Wildlife could shoot him or put him down and we would not pursue damages.

The coyote is also class II.

These are the land and housing requirements for class IIs:

Class ii Applications

I'm required to maintain it on at least two and a half acres and to lease or own the land. We're exempt from the other regulations because of the types of animals being dealt with.

This article puts the regulations in layman's terms:

Wildlife Ownership Regulations for Florida

Owning or rehabilitating wildlife is definitely NOT for everyone. You have to have experience, you have to know what you're doing, and you have to be able to prove financial and social responsibility. We pay a hefty amount for that permit and the insurance to keep the animal we have. I'd do the same for the 'yote because he's either going to end up put down or in the hands of someone who thinks he's just another dog and can be treated as such.

I managed to find one of my pictures of the duck that I adored when at college several years ago. I know most if not all of the ducks were mallards, but I was never sure about this one. The picture doesn't do him/her justice since the wings do have a green sheen to them. He also walked more upright than the other ducks. I miss the little guy.



Has anyone seen a duck like that before. Some show on Animal Planet had one like that, but they never said what type of duck it was.

Ducky looks like a mixed breed. With the description of standing tall, I'm thinking part Indian Runner Duck, the head isn't shaped right for full Indian Runner. Then some sort of domestic malard, maybe the bibbed kind? Although I've seen domestic malards and Runners with large white patches before.



Here's my own conundrum. Been hearing these birds since spring, I can NOT get a good look at them, and I'm just not identifying the sounds they make (they remind me of a goldfinch, but I don't think that's what they are) I live in south-central Idaho, it's deserty here, but there is a creek and trees maybe 100 yards away down the canyon right behind the house. We're in town, surrounded by desert and farm land. I usually only encounter them first thing in the morning.
Any ideas?



Then, I came across this guy last night- scared the heck out of me at first, and then I was fascinated. He was a good inch or more long, had spikey legs, and his antennae had little orange balls on the ends (kind of adorable, actually). I let him go outside.
Spoilered because it's a bug.

Spoiler

On a normal, legal sized envelope for size comparison


First back view


Second back view


Side view

Thanks for any help!

I wasn't able to identify the bird by call because there's too many other background noises, but it reminded me of either a killdeer or a whipporwill (both of which are common in your area). You might visit the Cornell bird site and try to get an ID from there; they have a section where you can input things like shape, size, habitat, etc. and it will give you a listing of birds which might fit the description. You can then listen to their calls and ID it that way.

No idea what the bug is, though it's obviously some species of beetle. It reminds me of some of the pictures I've seen of Japanese beetles but the colors are wrong.

ETA:

This might be your guy.

The third one down, the burying or Sexton beetle.

Definitely not killdeer or any of the 'poorwill' family. I'm familiar with both. Killdeer never sit in trees, they're ground birds and make a very clear, piercing "kill-deer! Kill-deer!" sound, as well as a few chatters. They are distinctly sparrow shaped, not poorwill shaped. They flit like perching birds too.
I'll see if I can maybe get a better video tomorrow morning- if they're here. I'll take the wind chime down so there's less background noise.
I could use the Cornel site, but there's just so many 'perching song birds' to try to go through every one of them. Other than overall location in the country, there's so many different types of habitat right here, that I wouldn't be able to narrow it down that way.


I think you're right on the carrion beetle thing! The last ones I saw were around a dead coyote pup (got hit by a car) and MUCH smaller. I think they may have even been recently pupated.