Tagged With: Mammals

Deer and Heron

Deer and Heron

Deer and Heron

I went out to the woods next to my building this afternoon, towards the end of the day. After wandering around there a while without finding much of interest, I went down towards the tiny pond on the other side of the building and came across this white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and great blue heron (Ardea herodias) sharing the watering hole together. The picture isn’t great but I’m happy I was able to get a picture of both of them before the both decided I had ruined the party and they left.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

I was up before sunrise this morning and wasn’t really looking outside until after Cathy got up. When she came down and went into the kitchen, she called me (quietly) and said there was a fox on our back patio. She had put some old sunflower seeds out on the ground, thinking they would be eaten by squirrels and birds, but the fox was happily eating them. After a while it moved away to the back of the yard and then curled up in the grass for a while. Unfortunately it did that in a spot mostly hidden by a tree. I didn’t want to go outside, as that would surely have scared it off. Eventually it got up and walked around a little before taking off for parts unknown. I suppose if we had a small dog I’d be more worried about seeing the fox, but as it is, it made us glad.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

I worked from home this morning and a little before 1:00 PM Dorothy called me and said there were two red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in our back yard. At first they were a little hard to get a straight view of, because they were off to the side, but then they moved across to the middle of the yard. This one stopped and sat, while the other walked right along beside the fence. Eventually, this one joined the other and they sat in a sunny spot in the bushes at the bottom of the garden. It was a cool day, just above freezing, and fairly windy, but out of the wind and in the sun, I imagine it was fairly pleasant for anyone or anything wearing a fox coat.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Red Fox

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

We have foxes in our neighborhood. We also have dogs in the neighborhood, including the escape artist next door. So, you’d think we’d have fewer rabbits (i.e. Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus). I haven’t seen four or five at once this year, as I have some springs. I have seen three in the yard at once and it’s still early. This one startled me as I was walking around taking pictures in the rain this afternoon. I worked at home today so I was able to get out earlier than I normally do. The rain meant it was darker than normal for this time of day (3:35 PM) but I was able to get pretty close and get a reasonable shot of this fellow. Don’t tell him that Mr. McGregor is coming.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

White-tailed Deer

White-tailed Deer

White-tailed Deer

We were in the dining room finishing up dinner this evening. Dorothy has gotten home and I fixed Thai curry for her (and all of us). Dorothy noticed this deer walking across the back yard and I grabbed my camera. I figured that when I opened the back door she would run off but she only seemed mildly interested in my presence. At first she was behind a big bush but she wondered out and I was able to get a few pictures. Then she sauntered back across the lawn and into the neighbor’s yard.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on White-tailed Deer

Baby Cottontail

Baby Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Baby Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

I was in the back yard photographing a few different insects this afternoon. I started with a little, green sweat bee on a weed by the patio, but those didn’t turn out very well. Simply not enough light to get a short enough exposure. Then I got down on the ground and took a bunch of pictures of some little leaf hoppers (Family Cicadellidae). Those turned out well enough, although the little critters are pretty small so it’s hard to get a good, sharp photo with the equipment that I have. Also, they were somewhat back lit, so getting the proper exposure was tricky.

Then Dorothy and I were over near the gooseberry bush and while Dorothy was picking gooseberries for some individual pies for dessert, I was able to get close to this little, baby eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). It’s hard to get the scale from this picture but the little bunny could easily fit on the palm of my hand. At first he was underneath the leaves of the wild violets that are everywhere in the yard. Then slowly he came out and I was able to get a bunch of good pictures from fairly close range.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Baby Cottontail

Oh, Deer

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Cathy and I took a walk in the park this afternoon, going about four miles in all, including a wrong turn that added a half mile or so to it. I took a bit of a fall early on, when the somewhat muddy path and the moss covering it allowed my foot to move sideways suddenly. I ended up on my back, having rolled to protect my camera and I laid there long enough for Cathy to get a photo of me. We saw that the bald eagle nest is occupied again this year, which is nice to see, even if it was too far away to get a reasonable photo. During our off-trail bit, after taking the wrong path and trying to take a short cut back we happened to see two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), including this one, quite close but through the undergrowth.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Oh, Deer

Squirrel Chewing on Antlers

Squirrel Chewing on Antlers

Squirrel Chewing on Antlers

We have some antlers, collected over the years. A few of them Dorothy had hanging in her room for a while. Other have been out back on the side of the patio, along with some sea shells. We also have a beaver skull that showed up in our yard a while back. We have no idea where it came from, as it was very clean and dry, although relatively full and intact otherwise. This morning Cathy looked out the kitchen door and saw this squirrel chewing on the antlers. They’re a good source of calcium and that’s where they generally go in the wild as part of the cycle of life. It’s not the sharpest photo you’ll ever see, having been taken at a sharp angle through the regular glass of the kitchen door.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Squirrel Chewing on Antlers