Wild and Not So Wild World

Saw another coyote this morning about 20 feet from the house. Coyotes are an amazing animal; while every other predator in the world is losing distribution and population, coyotes are gaining. There are 1 million coyotes living within Los Angeles city limits. They will eat anything dead or alive, animal or vegetable, including poodles and other small rat dogs. When food is plentiful coyotes breed early in life and have large litters, when food is scarce they delay breeding and then have small liters. The Indians believed that coyotes would be that last animals left on earth.

when the cataclyism comes only roachs, coyotes, and keith richards will survive.

The day before Turkey Day I was on the road heading to the FL Panhadle. I stopped in Apopka for a quick dip in the Springs. While walking around the park, there were several flocks of wild turkeys roaming around. I'm glad they didn't understand the fate of their domesticated cousins - there were enough of them that could have easily ganged up on us to exact some sweet revenge.

Do turkeys fly???

Yes, turkeys do fly. They are ground forragers (meaning they spend most of their time on the ground looking for food). They are also very fast on their feet. We also saw some deer and a river otter! Kelly Park in Apopka - a very cool place to visit if you are in the Orlando area. It is part of the Wekiva River spring system.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/springs/orl-travel-rock-springs-state-reserve-story,0,5473339.story

While at work I heard something outside my window. On a ledge just outside my office this little guy (a hawk) was feasting on something. I couldn't tell what it was but I would guess it was a rat. He stayed there for about an hour and picked every piece of meat off the bones. Predtory birds are plentiful down here, but rarely do you get to see a wild one so close. I tapped on the window to get his attention but he was too preoccupied with his meal!

We had a Screech Owl (grey phase) in the barn today. He kept watching us as we walked back & forth in the barn. My decent camera has gone totally wonky so I couldn't get a decent pic of it.
~kele

The day I had the hawk outside my window it was also outside the Agency next to us, Laser Advertising. The owner came over and took some video (the shot taken from the inside window is from my desk). Totally over the top but also pretty cool...

http://bit.ly/coopershawk

Great video even if the soundtrack is a bit dramatic :lol:

Tom, I'm envious of your office window view - here's the view from my desk

My only wildlife is a roadkill Garfield!

If ya haven't met my Mom at a Tiki event, if you ever see her, take the opportunity to talk her up, she is quite a character, just turned 92. All the Sacramento Ohana know her cause she comes to visit me every year a couple of times and I usually throw a party when she is here, she has also been to Oasis a couple of times with me. Still lives by herself out in the mountains in Lakeside, Ca on 10 acres, big ranch house, swimming pool, and drives an SUV. She is only about 5 feet tall, but don't let the white hair, make-up, jewelry and her snappy outfits fool ya...she is lethal.

Last year she walks in her big bathroom that has a sliding glass door onto the pool covered by a floor length curtain. She sees the curtain moving and looks down to see a rattle snake getting ready to coil up. Most of us would have closed the snake in the bathroom and called someone over to kill it, but not my Mom...she closes the door with her and the snake facing off in the bathroom cause she doesn't want it to get in the rest of the house and not be able to find it. The snake is hissing at her, so she is looking around to try to think of something to kill it with...lipstick, hair spray...no...she grabs the toilet brush and as it strikes at her she beats it to death. She put it in a jar and took it to the local herpetologist who says it was a diamond back rattler. It was about 2 feet long.

Don't let her get near you with a toilet brush or you can kiss your arse goodbye.

Wow, reading your description made me think of Choctaw Bingo by James McMurtry. She sounds like she could fit right into that song. :)

On 2011-01-18 17:48, MadDogMike wrote:
Tom, I'm envious of your office window view

My window looks out onto the road and some condos...
but this is the back side...

Appropriate story for recent events!
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/specials/weirdflorida/blog/2011/01/lucky_dog_chihuahua_escapes_hu.html

While most of the country has been plagued by crappy weather South Florida has been fantastic. To celebrate many of my friends and I were getting the families together for a day at the beach. Sunny in the 80s with a slight breeze, Saturday was the perfect day to enjoy the warm waters and good friends. Little did we realize that it was Man-O-War breeding season...

We cancelled the day at the beach.

Holy Crap Tom!!! :o

At least they look pretty on the beach

Man of War. With a name like that I would cancel too.

I wonder how they congregate, if they have no propulsion/swimming abilities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o'_war

No need to look to outer space for aliens!

"zooids, attached to each other, incapable of independent survival, float is above the water, acting as a sail" Sounds like scy fy to me. Crazy wild life.

Driving up to my home the other day 3 or 4 pigeons take off at high speed from my neighbors roof. Right behind, a hawk, reaches out with claws and a big fluff of feathers floats away. Right now one pigeon has a nekked butt. It would have been so cool if the hawk had nailed it mid-air. Mother nature never stops amazin.'

I finally found out what has been taking 5 pound craps on my car!

A huge owl has been roosting on the wire over my car. It's a crappy picture, somewhat appropriate for such a crappy bird. I console myself with the hope that he will eat the gopher who gnawed my papaya tree off at the ground.

That owl has an attitude! Look how he is glaring at the camera!

Squid send this picture to GROG a couple of days ago. Seems they've had some visitors at the house of Sabu where Squid resides.

[ Edited by: GROG 2011-02-14 02:57 ]

On 2011-02-14 02:56, GROG wrote:
House of Sabu

Now that's a great name for a Tiki bar/restaurant

I agree Unga,

but I would be afraid to use the restroom in the House of Sabu.
:o

Jeff(btd)

Jus cut a hole in the upstairs floor and park a car under it. 5 lbs.

Sabu can always say a racoon did it.

Coon tracks in my backyard.

I saw a weasel run across the road in front of our house today. Looked a lot like a ferret, only brown with a darker tail.

On 2011-03-19 10:51, WaikikianMoeKele wrote:
I saw a weasel run across the road in front of our house today. Looked a lot like a ferret, only brown with a darker tail.

Correction, I now believe it was a mink.

Driving home last night, saw a coyote running up the street in Tujunga.

While riding my bike through my neighborhood, a squirrel panicked and ran directly in front of me. I rolled right over him with both wheels - but it didn't stop him from running away and straight up the closest tree.

(a la the movie "UP!")"SQUIRREL!" lol

SQUIRREL KILLER!!! :x

:lol:

we used to have wild parakeet flying around here but alas they seem to be no more.

Besides his carving thread I think this one is Toms faves.
He posted in August a pic of a lizard I was making friends with.
I feed him super meal worms I get at the pet store.
As the cool weather set in I didn't see him any more.Thought I lost him.
Well a few weeks ago as it's warming up he pops out & looks at me like
"I'm hungry wheres my worms".
So we're reacquainting & here's a new pic of him.

He stopped eating & starter acting weird.
He's got a new girl friend & hes in love now.
After I took his pic.
I asked his new lil girlfriend if I could
take her pic.
She struck a pose & smiled.

Lizard Whisperer

A while back I saw my owls fornicating in the back yard. Then about a month ago, there was the remains of a large hatched egg at the base of one of my tall trees. Here's what I saw this morning:

How cute! He's close to a foot tall and still fuzzy :)

"How cute" ?
Did you ask to take that pic ?
He doesn't look none to pleased.

I guess "cute" really isn't the apropriate word for something that looks like it could scratch your eyes out! :lol:

woke up this morning looked out the bathroom window and discovered these...


giant white-tailed northwest garden rats.

Mike,
Man that owl is still buggin me out
But most disappointing is no fornicatin pics.
Were you slow or was he fast ?
Well,
I witnessed a session & wanted to share it with y'all.

This guy is very aware when his girl is around.

So he commences to do his slinky dance
He gets low & slinks around like he's gonna sneak up on her.

Then he puts the bite on her.

Then she gives him the slip.

More biting

More slipping

We even had a casual voyeur cheering
from the grand stand.

More biting

A lil sweet talk

And we're done

Check out these 2 doves

They are watching the flower pot hanging on my balcony

Because inside of it is their freshly hatched chick

Come on Will - you need to put more info about your Dove factory! The pots are right next to where he hangs out in the afternoon. Literally the other side of the screen. The Doves started a while back and he has seen several litters grow up and return to have their own chicks. I've been harassing him for a while to post pics. Where are the images of the "first flight"?

Love the lizard story Will! :lol:

I have my ceramic kiln in a redneck gutted clothes dryer to protect it from the weather. But if I keep the door closed, the birds keep getting in there and trying to build a nest on top of the kiln. I'll open the door and there's a double handful of sticks, leaves, and grass. Somehow a kiln that reaches 1900 degress doesn't seem like a good place for bird eggs and combustibles!

I can't get this to down load a gif
but here's a few pics





This first flight scared the crap out of this lil guy

WOW. Closeups of the little birdies. Nice.
The rains we had last week caused a swallow nest above our front door to collapse to the ground, even though no rain ever fell on it. Might have been poor construction too. The eggs were shattered. BUT the parents just started rebuilding on the opposite corner. They aren't going to give up, how could they do that. Never give up. Today they were chattering away at each other, happy as could be, starting over again.

You guys ever try to snatch a butterfly
out of the air with a camera ?
Man that's hard to do.

Capturing butterflies or bats in mid-flight is 'pert-near impossible, nice ones Will.