Local Wildlife

[Forest Flitter]

How's the wildlife in your area? What's your favorite animal to spot when you're out? Any interesting stories about wildlife around you? 

Right now, there's a pair of red-tailed hawks building a nest in one of the trees in my yard. They're gorgeous, and it's so interesting to see them flying around! They have this amusing habit of breaking small branches off of my neighbors' trees and building up the nest with those, instead of just picking them up off the ground. It's super cool to see such big birds flying around, especially since I live closer to the city than most of our wildlife likes to wander. 

[Kanchii]

That's so cool there are hawks building a nest in your yard!

Growing up we often had families of deer in our back yard, the babies were soooo cute all long legs and spotted! I've also seen quite a few coyotes wandering around, and of course the racoons that are EVERYWHERE. I also saw all manner of birds just driving around, or on my walks with my dog - different haws, falcons, kites, etc. Rattlesnakes... A bunch of fun stuff! That was all just north of San Francisco.

[Forest Flitter]

That's so cool there are hawks building a nest in your yard!

Growing up we often had families of deer in our back yard, the babies were soooo cute all long legs and spotted! I've also seen quite a few coyotes wandering around, and of course the racoons that are EVERYWHERE. I also saw all manner of birds just driving around, or on my walks with my dog - different haws, falcons, kites, etc. Rattlesnakes... A bunch of fun stuff! That was all just north of San Francisco.

that's so awesome! I love deer. 

[SpaceButtPonies]

I mainly live in the city, but while walking to a friends house I did see two baby alligators just chilling in the sun. What surprised me the most was, I was at her apartment complex. They had a little pond with a small fountain and that's where they were lol. Kinda hey how ya doing?

[Princess Lala]

I live in NE Texas! It has a rainy heavily tree'd temperate climate (hahah nope my area isn't a desert that's a few hours west of me and the plains are far north of me xD) so we have most animals in North America plus a few southern animals! The weather is mostly rainy in spring and summer with cold dry winters. Summers aren't that hot but can reach near 35°C like most places in the US in August. The grass we have here is mostly St Augustine but I have felt softergrasses in the wild, especially in the forests! We have most NA plants in the forest including morel mushrooms but no black raspberries! We have a lot of natural oak, maple, pine, horse apple, black walnut, honey locust, and elm trees here. The lakes and rivers are muddy, can't see the bottom, but they aren't swamy either. The dirt where I live is mostly chalk.

Spoiler

Animal's include all the most generic NA wildlife you can think of from deer, mice, turtles, fox, snakes, squirrels, rabbit, most bugs in NA you can think of. We don't have any types of moose, turkey, bears, wolves, mountain lions, nothing extreme like that but we have lots of cool wild lizards, rattlesnakes, geckos, and even armidillos! I keep hearing a few rivers near the east border have alligators but I've never seen any! I miss living in Florida because of the alligators, I'm always on the lookout here.

One thing to do here is birdwatch. I love it! Being far south so many birds come down here for the winter so its neat to see my local birds along with some pretty northern birds that migrate! 

My favorite thing to do here is in September through Fall and Winter. I say this because of the huge monarch butterfly migration! They are everywhere since my area of the city I lice in is covered in crepe myrtles! You will see orange clouds in the sky like birds and they will land on you! I love it.

My absolute favorite thing ever is going to the beach here- we DO have one this far north, but its approx 85myo! x'D We have a formation in Grayson county with an exposure to the upper Cretaceous about an hour north and also 2 hours northeast of me, it contains tons of ancient ocean fossils the same time as the dinosaurs! I LOVE that I live in NE Texas and I can look for black shark teeth like I used to back in Florida! Its a luxury!

I love Texas because if I go in either direction a few hours, it will feel like a different state with a different biome! So where I live (NE Texas) looks pretty much like most NE/ Great Lake States. Its crazy because I've got slightly swampy areas with lots of pine trees to my east, a desert-like climate with more western animals 3 hours in a straight line to the west, flat plain feilds a few hours to my north, and cozy beaches 6 hours exactly south of me! So diverse!

[Forest Flitter]

I mainly live in the city, but while walking to a friends house I did see two baby alligators just chilling in the sun. What surprised me the most was, I was at her apartment complex. They had a little pond with a small fountain and that's where they were lol. Kinda hey how ya doing?

oooh, little alligators! how cute!! I love seeing them around, though I never see them in North GA. 

I live in NE Texas! It has a rainy heavily tree'd temperate climate (hahah nope my area isn't a desert that's a few hours west of me and the plains are far north of me xD) so we have most animals in North America plus a few southern animals! The weather is mostly rainy in spring and summer with cold dry winters. Summers aren't that hot but can reach near 35°C like most places in the US in August. The grass we have here is mostly St Augustine but I have felt softergrasses in the wild, especially in the forests! We have most NA plants in the forest including morel mushrooms but no black raspberries! We have a lot of natural oak, maple, pine, horse apple, black walnut, honey locust, and elm trees here. The lakes and rivers are muddy, can't see the bottom, but they aren't swamy either. The dirt where I live is mostly chalk.

Spoiler

Animal's include all the most generic NA wildlife you can think of from deer, mice, turtles, fox, snakes, squirrels, rabbit, most bugs in NA you can think of. We don't have any types of moose, turkey, bears, wolves, mountain lions, nothing extreme like that but we have lots of cool wild lizards, rattlesnakes, geckos, and even armidillos! I keep hearing a few rivers near the east border have alligators but I've never seen any! I miss living in Florida because of the alligators, I'm always on the lookout here.

One thing to do here is birdwatch. I love it! Being far south so many birds come down here for the winter so its neat to see my local birds along with some pretty northern birds that migrate! 

My favorite thing to do here is in September through Fall and Winter. I say this because of the huge monarch butterfly migration! They are everywhere since my area of the city I lice in is covered in crepe myrtles! You will see orange clouds in the sky like birds and they will land on you! I love it.

My absolute favorite thing ever is going to the beach here- we DO have one this far north, but its approx 85myo! x'D We have a formation in Grayson county with an exposure to the upper Cretaceous about an hour north and also 2 hours northeast of me, it contains tons of ancient ocean fossils the same time as the dinosaurs! I LOVE that I live in NE Texas and I can look for black shark teeth like I used to back in Florida! Its a luxury!

I love Texas because if I go in either direction a few hours, it will feel like a different state with a different biome! So where I live (NE Texas) looks pretty much like most NE/ Great Lake States. Its crazy because I've got slightly swampy areas with lots of pine trees to my east, a desert-like climate with more western animals 3 hours in a straight line to the west, flat plain feilds a few hours to my north, and cozy beaches 6 hours exactly south of me! So diverse!

Texas is awesome! It's so cool that you can see migrating butterflies like that. I've loved butterflies all my life! a year or two back, I found a hawkmoth as big as my hand that fell out of migration and was passing away. Though sad, I was so excited to see something I'd never seen before! It was so so soft and gentle, despite being so large.

 I've been to San Antonio and it's so beachy over there, it's awesome that things are so diverse! In North GA, all you really get is pine trees, red clay, more pine trees, more red clay, and the occasional coyote, mountain lion, and turtle. And more pines. And a teeny bit more red clay. And mountains. I love the mountains, though <3

[LadyMoondancer]

Living in the middle of the city, I don't see much.  But I do sometimes see hummingbirds, and there are always tons of gulls and crows around.  I carry peanuts around for the crows and they've begun to recognize me.  It's an awesome feeling when you make eye contact with a crow across the street and it immediately flies over.

Once I was waiting for a bus downtown in the evening and this tiny mouse jumped out of a raised flowerbed in front of a building and started digging little crumbs out of the sidewalk.  So cute!  I wouldn't have dreamed anything was living there.

[shadowlark]

Used to see these guys every day on my drive to work

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[zombienixon]

Not much of anything around, living near a city.  Most of what I see are stray cats around my apartment complex, and from time to time, you'll see some geese on the road next to my apartments. Go out into the more rural areas and you'll see the occasional deer bolt out in front of you.

[Honeycomb]

We have some amazingly beautiful butterflies in the summer, really big and brightly colored. No idea what they are. And all kinds of huge insects, such as really long and gross centipedes.
I think porcupines can also be found in the mountains surrounding my city, but I have never seen on, just in restaurant cages. Not much else, I think.

[Tulips]

We get the usual possums and snakes here most often. The park down the street has families of ducks that would swim in the school pool until the council created a pond for them. Tawny Frogmouths also raise their families in the area every few years, and I remember Flying Foxes used to fly over the neighbourhood quite frequently years ago (but not so much lately).

At the moment though Brushturkeys are everywhere in our suburb!

The most exciting thing we've ever had was a Koala in the front yard. I've been to places that have Wallabies on their front lawns but we're too close to the city for that. 

I mainly live in the city, but while walking to a friends house I did see two baby alligators just chilling in the sun. What surprised me the most was, I was at her apartment complex. They had a little pond with a small fountain and that's where they were lol. Kinda hey how ya doing?

That is so cool, but also kinda scary lol.

[BlackCurtains]

Incoming spam

I live in SW Florida and there's water everywhere including a lake across the street. The swale that runs through our backyard is also quite wide and deep when it's full of water. There are at least two gators living in it that we know of. The wooded areas are where the bobcats live. They aren't afraid of people and one time when my cats were outside on the lanai (it's screened in) they came nose-to-nose with one. We also have a lot of coyotes that run in small packs and the occasional black bear.

Reptiles everywhere. Lizards, tortoise, turtles and snakes. Lizards and snakes in the house are common. I've seen non-native iguanas twice. People release their pets and they thrive here. I think one of the Keys is overrun with them. Frogs are everywhere too. You get used to having to check between door frames or inside windows for them.

Then there are the birds! Sandhill Cranes, Wood Storks, Spoonbills, Ibis (white, black & scarlet), Heron, Egrets, Black vultures, Turkey vultures, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Pelicans, Seagulls, Ducks, an array of songbirds... did I forget anyone?

They like our yard. I don't have pictures of everything and I've spammed some of these before.

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Sometimes they want to come in

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These are two of my favorite pics I've taken.

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And to breakup the bird spam, a little bandit.

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[Princess Lala]

Ahhhh LOVING all these Florida posts! KEEP THE PIC SPAM COMING! These pictures have brought a smile and tears to eyes!(个_个) I miss Florida wildlife so much, I wish I could afford to move back! I love the little egrets that always lived in my yard *I used to let my dads dog chase them!* I also miss the alligators and raccoons that invaded our oak tree! OMG and I miss when my dad and little sister used to go out at night and find geckos on our walls outside! We also had toads and all those anoles running about.

[SpaceButtPonies]

Ohh what beautiful pictures! I also live in FL but I don't see this much wild life! Though where I work there is a duck that visits every day to the store just to say hello!
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[ringwraith10]

Where I currently live there's a sad lack of wildlife (probably due to the huge number of stray cats everywhere -- I rarely even see squirrels!), but I do occasionally see some birds that are usually found farther south, like cormorants. I used to live up in the mountains and we had so much wildlife there I was super spoiled! We had a bear that would come and sit on our trash can every night. He would literally just sit on it and crush it every night, and we'd habitually pop it back into shape the next morning like it was no big deal. My mom still lives up in the mountains but she never sees bears anymore (though she actually lives farther into bear country -- so much so that in her neighborhood she's not allowed to have bird feeders and things).

I take wildlife photography when I can; you can check it out here: http://ringwraith10.deviantart.com/