Nature Watchers

[chonsigirl]

Do you watch the birds and animals in your backyard/front yard all the time? Do you look forward to certain ones returning, and watch out for them daily?

We have 2 baby woodchucks in our backyard now, they've been here about 3 weeks or more. Mama woodchuck still keeps the burrow under our shed, and one youngster came out about 3 weeks ago. We thought that was it, and lo and behold, a smaller sibling came out a week later. They are fearless little ones, walk past the glass sliding doors for a peek (kitty inside is now known as a harmless distraction :wah:) and they go on their rounds. My backyard has lots of birds that come, and squirrels, and they all just forage around and make a serene scene out the glass.

But while taking my walk today, I was turning the corner more than a block from home, and teenagers were chasing the mother woodchuck down the street. She knew me, and ran past into the woods. Oh, I yelled at the kids to stop it, what a mean thing to do. I will sit and wait now to see if she returns, the young are able to take care of themselves, but it upset the balance of nature in my backyard-and the young ones will not know where she went. I will worry until she returns.

[minks]

chonsigirl;890323 wrote: Do you watch the birds and animals in your backyard/front yard all the time? Do you look forward to certain ones returning, and watch out for them daily?

We have 2 baby woodchucks in our backyard now, they've been here about 3 weeks or more. Mama woodchuck still keeps the burrow under our shed, and one youngster came out about 3 weeks ago. We thought that was it, and lo and behold, a smaller sibling came out a week later. They are fearless little ones, walk past the glass sliding doors for a peek (kitty inside is now known as a harmless distraction :wah:) and they go on their rounds. My backyard has lots of birds that come, and squirrels, and they all just forage around and make a serene scene out the glass.

But while taking my walk today, I was turning the corner more than a block from home, and teenagers were chasing the mother woodchuck down the street. She knew me, and ran past into the woods. Oh, I yelled at the kids to stop it, what a mean thing to do. I will sit and wait now to see if she returns, the young are able to take care of themselves, but it upset the balance of nature in my backyard-and the young ones will not know where she went. I will worry until she returns.


Darn teens.

I enjoy the black squirrels around here, come spring often I find peanut shells in my garden or grass. They are so full of energy and they drive my dogs crazy when they scurry across the front lawn.

[911]

I have a bird that make noises like my dog whinning when he wants to come inside. He stays in most of the time but when we go to work he has to go outside and sometimes he whines. I'm always running to the window to see what's wrong with him and he'll be on the other side of the house. :-5

I have a lot of Mourning Doves and, OK, it's nature, but they are some of the stupidest birds around! They even try to steal my pup's treats while he's eating them. They walk the road like they own it and won't move until you nearly run them over.:rolleyes:

[RedGlitter]

Damned kids. Hopefully Mom Chuck will return to the little ones. Oh, that makes me mad to hear that!

We have rabbits. Desert cottontails. They have a warren somewhere around our acre and they hang out in the scrub. My mom and I used to call them our little bun-buns.:-4

They have evening conventions in our yard, sometimes as many as maybe 10 or 12. It makes me happy to know they like it here and whenever I see just that little bit of wild nature in my yard, I feel blessed.

We used to have a covey of pigeons, no exaggeration to say about 40 birds at a time would descend on the feeders we left for them. We had to stop though because they were pooping on the air conditioning unit. I miss them a lot.

Right now we have a pigeon family nesting on top of our swamp cooler, under the eave. I sit right by the vent when I'm at the computer like now, and I can hear them rustle and coo. I'm too short to see over the swamp cooler so I haven't gotten a look yet but I suspect a nest.

In the summer, we have bats. I keep wanting to build a few bathouses for them but have never gotten around to it.

We have mourning doves and redwing blackbirds which to me, they're pretty much the song of the desert. I can't imagine not hearing them every day.

Sometimes we'll see a roadrunner or (even more rarely) a few quail but sadly, that's not often anymore.



Attached files

[Accountable]

I put out big dollops of peanut butter for the squirrels. I think there are a couple of families because sometimes they play, sometimes it's definitely not playing. A few mourning doves, some sparrows, and the occassional sapsucker come to hang out. Some big black birds dive bomb anything that moves. :wah:

[Victoria]

When I lived in surrey (GB) we had foxes come into the back garden, then they had cubs who would play on the kids tire swing and drink from the paddling pool.

We got the kids up late at night a couple of times to watch them we sat on cushions noses against the french doors and I made the kids hot chocolate.

It was magical.

Then my nieghbour complained they were ruining his flower beds and tried to get the council to gas them. Miserable sod !

[RedGlitter]

Victoria;890497 wrote: When I lived in surrey (GB) we had foxes come into the back garden, then they had cubs who would play on the kids tire swing and drink from the paddling pool.

We got the kids up late at night a couple of times to watch them we sat on cushions noses against the french doors and I made the kids hot chocolate.

It was magical.

Then my nieghbour complained they were ruining his flower beds and tried to get the council to gas them. Miserable sod !


Wow! How cool was that! To have foxes right at your door!

I agree about your neighbor. Miserable is right....I know some of those people. I hope he lost and they didn't hurt the foxes....?

[chonsigirl]

The foxes sound so cool. It is like that with the animals, it is magical to watch them as they live their lives outside the window.

We used to have a little chipmunk, and we feed him sunflower seeds left on the steps that go up into the yard. He burrowed under the house for his winter sleep, and we would see him again in the spring.

[along-for-the-ride]

My hubby and I are definately nature watchers. It is a joy to spot rabbits and woodpeckers and hummingbirds and squirrels and deer outside.

Attached files