[sygazelle]

I live in a house above a golf course and adjacent to open space. From time to time, we get various critters passing through our yard. That got me thinking. What about a thread focusing on photos taken from our yards or from the windows of our houses of the animals and birds that pass through. Given that we live all over, it should be interesting what kind of animals will appear on this thread.

This is not meant to replace or compete with the current pet thread. It's more for non-pet animals and birds that pass through your yard.

I have no idea if other forum members will find this interesting, but I am fascinated by it so I can't wait to see your photos.


I'll start with a photo that I took just today of a bobcat. The raccoons already tore up my lawn. This bobcat seemed to sense a gopher or something under the lawn and focused for several minutes before leaving frustrated that he couldn't get it.

[M_Six]

Oh, now you've done it. I have a shit ton of pics of various critters that have passed by our windows.

Raccoon acting all innocent.


Baby Fox and Raccoon. The raccoon stole a bowl of cat food we put out for one of our outdoor cats, then the baby fox joined the feast.


Another shot of the fox kit.


Couple of raccoon buddies hanging out in a tree out back.

[gimmethemuumuu]

Several deer in our back yard a few years ago, woods-side. Early on, they’d roam through in the winter in larger groups. Commonly, they bed down just inside the wooded area at the back of the house.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Oh, now you've done it. I have a shit ton of pics of various critters that have passed by our windows.

Raccoon acting all innocent.
Attachment 3618738

Baby Fox and Raccoon. The raccoon stole a bowl of cat food we put out for one of our outdoor cats, then the baby fox joined the feast.
Attachment 3618739

Another shot of the fox kit.
Attachment 3618741

Couple of raccoon buddies hanging out in a tree out back.
Attachment 3618740

Awesome photos. I gave up taking photos with my Sony DSLR with proper lenses a year ago. I gave the equipment to my daughter since she showed an interest. I've decided to simplify my life a bit and just use my iphone camera. You really have a knack for it. Thanks for sharing.

[Vindicator3]

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[2000cs]

Have seen but not photographed fox, rabbit, opossum, trash panda, woodchuck, bald eagle, geese, ducks of various type, and all sorts of smaller birds. Also carp in the lake, minnows. With the exception of lake life, usually alerted by our dog, making it impossible to get the photo as the critters exit. (Security cams are set to not be triggered by small animals, else I’d be getting alarms constantly at night)

[Josh-PA]

We've done a ton of naturalizing for our just under an acre sized property and it's amazing how many animals we've been able to attract. We've been here about 18 yrs and so far we've spotted 121 species of birds either in or over the yard. All the standard mammals of: cottontail, gray, red & flying squirrel, raccoon, possum, skunk, red fox and deer + some snake species, box turtle, salamanders, frogs & toads. Here are a couple of my fav pics:

[Vindicator3]

This is from summer 2020 - same tree as the owl above (the owl was April of this year). We see a snake now and again, but always on the ground. Working from home due to the pandemic I was taking a video conference out on my patio when I heard an unusual rustling in the tree (not normal squirrel activity) and this guy had clearly dropped down from a higher branch to a lower one. I got a little bit of video and a couple of shots, all with just my phone. First time I'd seen one of these up in a tree, presumably hunting eggs.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Vindicator3

This is from summer 2020 - same tree as the owl above (the owl was April of this year). We see a snake now and again, but always on the ground. Working from home due to the pandemic I was taking a video conference out on my patio when I heard an unusual rustling in the tree (not normal squirrel activity) and this guy had clearly dropped down from a higher branch to a lower one. I got a little bit of video and a couple of shots, all with just my phone. First time I'd seen one of these up in a tree, presumably hunting eggs.

Do you know what kind of snake?

[sygazelle]

We have a lot of quail in our area. I love it in the spring with the baby quail come visiting.

[Vindicator3]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Do you know what kind of snake?

Black rat snake. Very common in these parts, and beneficial to have around. They can grow to a pretty impressive size at least for this part of the world.

[M_Six]

Deer looking at a cat in the bird feeder.

[3798j]

We're on a 1.5 acre lot next to a pasture with a pond. So it has an assortment of things passing through. Snapping turtles, deer, Canadian geese, woodpeckers and more...

[spazzyfry123]

I’m terrible at taking pictures. I was laughing as just yesterday a group was talking about how many pictures/videos they have on their phones. Many had tens of thousands (how??), whereas I have …drumroll… 61.

Anyway, needless to say, I don’t have any pictures. Will have to start snapping. But, we see all kinds on our property. Deer (real nice 10 point the other day), turkey, coyote, hawk, eagle, bear, snake, chicken, goat, woodpecker, bobcat, owl, rabbit, crazy spiders… regular zoo out here.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

I’m terrible at taking pictures. I was laughing as just yesterday a group was talking about how many pictures/videos they have on their phones. Many had tens of thousands (how??), whereas I have …drumroll… 61.

Anyway, needless to say, I don’t have any pictures. Will have to start snapping. But, we see all kinds on our property. Deer (real nice 10 point the other day), turkey, coyote, hawk, eagle, bear, snake, chicken, goat, woodpecker, bobcat, owl, rabbit, crazy spiders… regular zoo out here.

Go for it. I'd love to see them.

[Esteban]

I'm not much at taking pictures (lots of nice ones in this thread), don't even have a camera other than my phone, which is pretty old, but I have seen squirrels, raccoons, possums, and a coyote or two. Several different kinds of birds, just small ones, nothing big. Sorry, no pics, except for an occasional one of my cat in the pet thread.

[SpeedBuggy]

Six Point buck standing in our backyard couple of weeks ago. He was escorting a doe that was just out of sight. Didn't realize there was another buck and doe at the other end of our property until they started moving along.

Usually have a lot of evidence of deer crossing thru our back yard, first time seeing this many and especially a couple of bucks.

[GarySL]

Nice three point (you count the number of points on only one antler)

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by GarySL

Nice three point (you count the number of points on only one antler)

I asked my neighbor about that the other day when I saw a buck with four points on each antler. He said just the opposite, that it's the total number of points. So now I'm back to being confused.

UPDATE: Apparently the answer is "either/or."

How many points on a buck?

It's rutting season, and as a result it seems like deer have been everywhere. It's the time of year males get to show off their antlers, and as a result I've had several discussions about how many "points" a buck has. A point is each tine on the antler, including the brow tine, which sticks straight up near the base of the antlers. Someone will say they saw a four-point buck, and the debate is whether that means four tines total or four tines on each side.

A little research has shown that traditionally you count all the points on the antlers. This makes sense to me, since antlers are not always even on both sides, so it may be possible to have a seven pointer who has three tines on one side and four on another. The confusion comes in the fact that some hunters, particularly on the west coast, use the other method. So what is traditionally called an eight point buck could also be called a western four pointer. Follow all that?

[mc-m3]

Birds and bear eating suet.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by mc-m3

Birds and bear eating suet.

Wow, you came to play. A bear! The birds are cool too. Thanks for sharing.

[M-technik-3]