Backyard critters

[wj73]

Beautiful pictures! 

[tomterp]

I see a fresh carcass in the backyard, though the flies found it first.  Must have been some drama last night.

Update - it was about a quarter of a fawn.   

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Bummer.  I guess coyotes can't live off frappuccinos alone. 

I see a fresh carcass in the backyard, though the flies found it first.  Must have been some drama last night.

Update - it was about a quarter of a fawn.   

[wj73]

Mother Nature is not sentimental. 

[varoadking]

Today's visitor:

[mitlen]

Today's visitor:

Very cool.

[GburgNatsFan]

I'm terrible at identifying raptors, but I'm gonna say it's a sharp shinned hawk.

Very cool.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I'm terrible at identifying raptors, but I'm gonna say it's a sharp shinned hawk.

for a second, I thought it was a Cheney.

[GburgNatsFan]

Raptor, not carrion bird.

for a second, I thought it was a Cheney.

[varoadking]

I'm terrible at identifying raptors, but I'm gonna say it's a sharp shinned hawk.

Sounds good to me... 

[nats2playoffs]

Raptor, not carrion bird.

[tomterp]

Want to save human lives?  Reintroduce cougars to areas of the country where they have been exterminated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/07/20/the-surprising-reason-mountain-lions-killer-instincts-could-save-human-lives/

Prugh and her colleagues considered some of the costs of new cougar populations, including about $2.35 million worth of lost livestock and an unknown number of lost pets (though cougars, she noted, are “deer specialists,” and probably wouldn’t consider a house cat worth their time). Fewer than 30 people would be killed by cougars over 30 years, their study estimated.

“Having cougars in the east looks like it would actually save about five times as many lives through reducing deer-vehicle collisions as they would actually kill,” she said. “People don’t stay awake at night worrying about crashing into a deer the next day, even though it could easily happen. But they might stay awake at night worrying about a cougar jumping on their back as they’re walking through their neighborhood.”

The chances of that happening are extremely low, she said. But, she added, “People’s fear doesn’t really track the statistics well.”

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but there is no shortage of cougars in DC...

[nats2playoffs]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but there is no shortage of cougars in DC...

[mitlen]

(Image removed from quote.)

Shoot, they aren't cougars.    They're "young chicks".     

[Mathguy]

Mitlen - you are showing your age

Shoot, they aren't cougars.    They're "young chicks".     

[mitlen]

Mitlen - you are showing your age

Every day.   

[1995hoo]

Our neighbors' Bradford pears are generating more birdcrap than ever this year and it's making our hydrangea's leaves look nasty, to say nothing of the sidewalk. Any ideas for how to scare away all those birds, short of cutting down the trees (a nice option over the winter, maybe, but one beyond my control).

[tomterp]

I was sitting in my screened in porch a couple of weeks ago watching an afternoon Nats game, and there was a sudden crashing of brush 20 feet away in my bradford pear tree.  My view was obscured by another tree but I saw a large indeterminate bird of prey falling to the ground with some prey in its talons.  By the time I could get through the house and around to the side there was no sign of the drama that had unfolded.

Not sure if the intended (real?) victim was a squirrel or bird, or something else, but maybe you just need to rent a raptor.

[whytev]

I was sitting in my screened in porch a couple of weeks ago watching an afternoon Nats game, and there was a sudden crashing of brush 20 feet away in my bradford pear tree.  My view was obscured by another tree but I saw a large indeterminate bird of prey falling to the ground with some prey in its talons.  By the time I could get through the house and around to the side there was no sign of the drama that had unfolded.

Not sure if the intended (real?) victim was a squirrel or bird, or something else, but maybe you just need to rent a raptor.

You totally can rent a raptor!

[1995hoo]

Our neighbors' Bradford pears are generating more birdcrap than ever this year and it's making our hydrangea's leaves look nasty, to say nothing of the sidewalk. Any ideas for how to scare away all those birds, short of cutting down the trees (a nice option over the winter, maybe, but one beyond my control).

Part of the problem will be solved this fall: The new neighbors to the left are going to cut theirs down and replace it with something else. Now we just have to convince the people on the right to do the same. Maybe if we offer to chip in.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Good thing you aren't here...the missus just bought a 25 pound bag of safflower seeds for the pigeons. 

Some of them now have names 

Our neighbors' Bradford pears are generating more birdcrap than ever this year and it's making our hydrangea's leaves look nasty, to say nothing of the sidewalk. Any ideas for how to scare away all those birds, short of cutting down the trees (a nice option over the winter, maybe, but one beyond my control).

[varoadking]

"Let's plant some catnip," she said. "It'll be fun," she said. And then the addicts moved in and the neighborhood's never been the same.



This made me think of AtBC's alley...

[GburgNatsFan]

Unloaded three 25# safflower, one 40# black oil sunflower, and two 20# woodpecker blends from the back of the Accord yesterday. Sigh.

Good thing you aren't here...the missus just bought a 25 pound bag of safflower seeds for the pigeons. 

Some of them now have names 

[Minty Fresh]

I think we're having an uh-oh moment. 

So two weeks ago, I was coaching my son's soccer game at a soccer complex across a major state route from my house but an easy walk nonetheless.  The Police were called to deal with a fox that wandered into the complex - never became aggressive or anything but didn't seem to be frightened by the presence of a large crowd of people either.

On Monday, we had a fox wandering down our street in the middle of the day - and, in fact, sat and sunned himself (or herself) on our neighbor's front porch.  This particular fox looked much smaller and a bit mal-nourished as well as the typical "bushy" tail associated with red fox was not present.  It definitely looked ill.  Called wildlife control organizations and by the time people could respond the fox was gone.

This morning when I left for work, there was a much healthier looking fox sitting on our back patio.  It ran away when it saw me so it makes me think that this is not the same fox from Monday and is likely in better shape because it has a healthy fear of humans.

My wife just posted this pic of our literal back yard to Facebook:



That's three fox sightings and now this pic of what looks like a fox on the right and a WHAT THE freak IS THAT on the left.  Any help?  Bobcat?

It should be noted that our neighbors across the street from us recently purchased chickens and the fox started showing up. 

What's the plural of fox?