Backyard critters

[HalfSmokes]

Owls are the best birds.  We have more in the way of hawks, eagles and falcons up here - I'd love a larger owl population.

After living in Dalghren with an osprey pole/nest in my yard, I'm partial to them - I always love watching them dive for food

[Terpfan76]

Owls are great.  We sleep with the windows upon in season and it's always neat to hear the calls at night.  Rare to see them however.

I was at a cook out in WV and there was a huge Red Tail Hawk flying around. It was really cool to watch.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I thought you were going to say you were at a cookout in WV and the owl was delicious.

[Obed_Marsh]

Something eat my second floor balcany potted plants and spread dirt everywhere. I cannot figure that one out. It isn't like there is a staircase.

[GburgNatsFan]

Squirrels can make an incredible mess out of potted plants.

Something eat my second floor balcany potted plants and spread dirt everywhere. I cannot figure that one out. It isn't like there is a staircase.

[tomterp]

Something eat my second floor balcany potted plants and spread dirt everywhere. I cannot figure that one out. It isn't like there is a staircase.

Squirrels do that commonly.  Burying nuts in the soil, looking for nuts, whatever squirrels do.

[Obed_Marsh]

Really? The flowers were maybe 10" high and they ate an entire pot while I was gone for 10 days. I guess I need to put out the plastic Owl.

[GburgNatsFan]

They dig them out. When they find soft dirt, they go to town.

Really? The flowers were maybe 10" high and they ate an entire pot while I was gone for 10 days. I guess I need to put out the plastic Owl.

[Minty Fresh]

Really? The flowers were maybe 10" high and they ate an entire pot while I was gone for 10 days. I guess I need to put out the plastic Owl.

Or adopt an owl. 

[Obed_Marsh]

Well hells bells. I think I missed my window to get a varmint AR.

[CALSGR8]

Or adopt an owl. 

If you go to Florida Atlantic you can adopt an owl! 

[tomterp]

Really? The flowers were maybe 10" high and they ate an entire pot while I was gone for 10 days. I guess I need to put out the plastic Owl.

Do you have a branch/limb near your balcony?  Typically they need a pathway to get there.  They have really nice leaping ability horizontally, but not vertically.

[GburgNatsFan]

Of course, they can run right up the side of the building. Maybe not on vinyl siding, but definitely on brick.

Do you have a branch/limb near your balcony?  Typically they need a pathway to get there.  They have really nice leaping ability horizontally, but not vertically.

[1995hoo]

Squirrels can make an incredible mess out of potted plants.

We had a dead plant sitting outside on a chair at the end of winter and one of the squirrels pulled it out of the dirt and left the plant lying next to the flowerpot. Don't know what he was burying.

[Frau Mau]

They dig in my potted plants and planters, seems to be spring and fall. Maybe that's why we keep having oak trees sprout in them.

[Obed_Marsh]

Do you have a branch/limb near your balcony?

Not directly. Although sometimes they come up a neighbors tree and across the roof tops of the row houses. I saw one lounging on my skylight although I could count the number of them I have seen up there on one hand in the last five years. I don't know how he would have gotten down once he was on the balcony though.

[GburgNatsFan]

If the siding is brick, it needs nothing else.

Not directly. Although sometimes they come up a neighbors tree and across the roof tops of the row houses. I saw one lounging on my skylight although I could count the number of them I have seen up there on one hand in the last five years. I don't know how he would have gotten down once he was on the balcony though.

[Obed_Marsh]

Huh. Agile little batards.

[GburgNatsFan]

Cockroaches and squirrels will survive the nuclear winter.

Huh. Agile little batards.

[GburgNatsFan]

There's a yearling buck, two does, and three spotted fawns eating birdseed 20 feet outside my living room window.  That's the last time we fill the feeders at night.

Bastards. I can't plant anything anymore. All three of those fawns were born in my yard this year. It's amazing how still they can lay... I scared one up today while mowing the lawn. I wasn't a five feet from it's hiding spot.

[1995hoo]

This morning our deck featured two squirrels, a cardinal, and what I assume were two bluebirds based on their color (every time I tried to get a picture, the birds would sense my movement through the window and fly away). Turning into a menagerie out there. The birds were a really beautiful deep blue color, though they looked bigger than what I found online when I did a search for "bluebird." Maybe they were blue jays. Noticeably bigger than the cardinal. I'm no expert on birds other than cleaning their crap off my cars, so I'm not sure what they were other than that I loved seeing the blue color.

[CALSGR8]

Probably Blue Jay

[1995hoo]

Yeah, I think they were blue jays. I did a search after posting that before and the color pattern in the picture you posted is similar to what these birds had, and the breast/belly area was grey like that.

Ms1995hoo says she threw them some bread, but they flew away when she opened the door (no surprise) and then the squirrels came along and ate the bread before the birds came back.

[Kevrock]

If they were acting like jerks they were Blue Jays.

[CALSGR8]

If they were acting like jerks they were Blue Jays.

 http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120828&content_id=37481932&vkey=pr_tor&c_id=tor