Nature & Wildlife Thread

[j.w]

I found a huge moth just like this one on the road today. He had been hit by a car but could still fly. I moved him over to the grassy treed area hoping he would be ok. He was about 6" wide.
I did not take this photo. Found it online of the exact same kind of moth. It's called a polyphemus moth . Bringing my camera from now on.

 

[Burd]

Here’s a one legged Starling, she posed so nice for the pic. she was feeding hey baby on my feeder. She hops around on one leg, I don’t see any kind of nub there, my vet put stainless feet on a cockatoo that had to have its legs amputated. It would be nice fitting her with a fake leg.

 

[j.w]

Ah that would be nice to do for the bird @Burd but would be hard to catch and then hard to monitor if it was doing ok w/it when it flies away. Looks like it's doing ok w/just one leg so far especially since it found your feeders.

 

[Burd]

Yes. She’s pretty aggressive up on the feeder too. Lol. Maybe need to make a handicap area on the feeder.

 

[C-Note]

I have so many hummingbirds at our new place that I'm considering starting a Go Fund Me page to manage their feeding costs . I fill 3 feeders with 1.25 cups of nectar each, and it's only 4-5 days before they are drained. It's insanity! I'll watch the little guys sit down, belly up to the bar, and drink for over a full minute. I'm like, "How does that much nectar FIT in that little bird??" But they are lovely, and fun to watch. We get Rufous hummingbirds here, which are really small, and BRIGHT orange. Very cool.

On the flip side, we also have more garter snakes than I care for in the garden. Every time I step out there to weed, harvest, water, etc. at least 4 snakes will go darting off in every direction. Sometimes they go into the backyard as well, and I hate when my dogs find them. I know their bites aren't too harmful, but French Bulldogs are small and, well... not super smart. I worry about a snake striking them right in the eye or something. I should also mention, these aren't "normal" garter snakes that just scurry off when you shoo them away. These Northwestern ones (red and brown) will often decide to turn and strike repeatedly, and stand their ground. I don't like it one bit!

We've had Stellar's Jays and Robins building nests and raising their young all over our property this Spring. I've enjoyed that a lot. Neighbors have sighted bears, cougars, and coyotes up here--I'm always on the lookout but have not seen them with my own eyes yet.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I had no plans of hiking today, but before I knew it, I was.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Well, JB, sometimes when the wilderness calls you just have to go.

 

[Burd]

Here’s a toad sporting a black color. At first I thought it was a black rock.

 

[Burd]

Rocky. Lol pizza crusts are her fave.

 

[JamieB]

I never have a camera handy when I see cool critters. Had a pair of redcap woodpeckers chatting up a storm, lots of pretty butterflies, the norm. However a note for folks in the south with cats: bobcat fever is a parasite carried by lone star ticks that kills +75% of all cats, treatment is expensive and not guaranteed, so keep your tick prevention up!

 

[Burd]

The sparrows are finally out, now I can continue on siding the back, the front had the robins nest, lol. Now I can continue. This fell down in the sparrow house, it’s their egg. Look how small the bird would be when it hatches.

 

[MrB]

That is definitely teenie weenie. Now if they would just stay that small, I wouldn't mind what they do to my deck. Haha

 

[JBtheExplorer]

The sparrows are finally out, now I can continue on siding the back, the front had the robins nest, lol. Now I can continue. This fell down in the sparrow house, it’s their egg. Look how small the bird would be when it hatches. View attachment 121621

That reminds me to check my nest box again so I can remove the sparrow eggs if they've laid any yet.

 

[Burd]

Just put a few more up. I like the sparrows around, in the winter they muster out the cold when most take off. I like seeing them around.
Equal opportunity housing at Burds. Lol

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Just put a few more up. I like the sparrows around, in the winter they muster out the cold when most take off. I like seeing them around.
Equal opportunity housing at Burds. Lol

I have 12 nest boxes. Instead of taking an empty one, they threw out my Tree Swallow eggs, so now they'll get theirs thrown out. They have a habit of taking over nests from native birds. They'll even kill Tree Swallows. I hate everything about them.