Muledeer Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 After looking at all of these posted Jays, I believe the birds I saw on Friday were actually a pair of Stellar Jays. They must have been passing through, because I have only seen mountain bluebirds bearing blue plumage at that location. I saw four elk today. Two cows and a calf crossing the river, then a large bull followed them about ten minutes later. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Surely on AVEN the most common one is the David Jay 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 15 hours ago, Skycaptain said: Surely on AVEN the most common one is the David Jay Maybe cited, but rarely sighted though. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I just had a pleasant surprise. Driving along a wooded country lane near home and a Sika Deer crossed in front of me. I've never seen one in the wild before 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elftober Country Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 51 minutes ago, Skycaptain said: I just had a pleasant surprise. Driving along a wooded country lane near home and a Sika Deer crossed in front of me. I've never seen one in the wild before I'm guessing the deer was luckier than the pheasant from the other week! 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Muledeer Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 5 hours ago, Skycaptain said: I just had a pleasant surprise. Driving along a wooded country lane near home and a Sika Deer crossed in front of me. I've never seen one in the wild before I just googled that species and realized I had already researched them last summer when I saw some large spotted deer on my property, which turned out to be just Mule deer fawns. Sika Deer are an introduced species to Britain. They are native to Japan and eastern Asia. Do you have a native species of deer? How about other large ungulates like elk or moose? 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 We don't have native large ungulates. I think we have native deer, but species have been introduced into Britain since the Roman times (rabbits) if not before, so remembering which are native and which are introductions gets confusing. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tja Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Saw a beautiful bald eagle fly across the highway, as I was driving. Never saw one, in person, before. Majestic! Off topic: Sent you a PM, @Skycaptain. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Myssterry Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 @Muledeer The UK native deer are the roe and the red. Fallow deer were introduced in the 11th Century or possibly earlier, so are regarded as native now. The deer rut is happening now, mainly posturing and the males pushing each other, but the red deer fight for real and can fight until one male is mortally injured. The autumn colours are developing. The pic is of a tulip tree in the local park. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LVG Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I love tulip trees. Their flowers are so interesting. I'm considering getting a tattoo of one in the future. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Saw a loon today. It let us get up real close. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoAmy Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I always thought that snipes weren't real and were just a silly hoax (i.e. snipe hunt). Turns out they are a thing. Saw this one this past weekend at a park not too far from my house. It's a Wilson's Snipe. I also continue to be amazed at the variety of birds here in Texas especially since many species migrate through here in the spring and fall. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 On 10/16/2017 at 7:50 PM, daveb said: Saw a loon today. It let us get up real close. Maybe it wasn't a loon? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blackthorn Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 I love the autumn colours. The local woods are beautiful at the moment. Two robins visited the garden today. Not sure if they were a pair or competing for territory! I saw a nuthatch in my garden the other day - first time I have had one visit, though I have seen them in nearby woods before. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LVG Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 I saw a praying mantis today. Such an amazing insect. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
teatree Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Out walking in the woods yesterday with my dogs, I spied a HUGE wasp nest attached to a rather spindly tree. I didn't have my phone on me so couldn't take a picture, but it was at least two feet deep and and maybe 15 inches across. (Sorry, can't think in metric....) I stood for a bit and admired all the lovely whorls--nature is so amazing. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoAmy Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 We had a perfect day in Houston today so I went for a bike ride after work. Saw my first ever American Kestrel. It was during the "golden hour" so he had a nice glow. And I had packed my camera in my backpack so I was able to capture the moment. The variety of birds in the park behind my neighborhood continues to impress me. Seems like I see something new nearly every time I go there! 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Muledeer Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 A Mule deer doe and her two fawns have been sharing my surroundings with me all summer, but in the last few weeks we have become quite friendly. They are not afraid of me or my German Shepherd. The dog lets them be and doesn't even bark at them anymore. These deer are not quite tame enough to hand feed, but they don't run away like most deer and as long as we are about 25 feet apart, they just hang out and watch us. The fawns are very cute and they have lost their spots by now. Yesterday I watched the whole family graze on my lawn for about ten minutes. It is the only green grass left in the area and I am amazed that they can still find enough to eat as it has been heavily grazed by wildlife and livestock . I have a ton of photos so will be posting them when I get the chance. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LVG Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 Caught this guy wandering my neighborhood. Sorry the quality sucks. Phone camera zooms are crap. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elftober Country Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 14 hours ago, LVG said: Caught this guy wandering my neighborhood. Sorry the quality sucks. Phone camera zooms are crap. Oh my god! That's amazing I'm out in the countryside this week. There are lots of Jays around. I'll try and get a half decent photo to post 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elftober Country Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Not exactly exciting, but I found this little dude when I was collecting logs... Spoiler 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 4 hours ago, October Country said: Not exactly exciting, but I found this little dude I know one AVENite that probably loves that. Here's a photo of the bird I saw in Montreal that I thought was a loon. Anyone know what it is? 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoAmy Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 @daveb Double-crested Cormorant It will be headed south soon if it hasn't already. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 OK. It looks different from the double-crested cormorant pics I can find - they don't show a white throat. And the bird we saw didn't appear to have any crests. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoAmy Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Juveniles (1st year) have the white throat. And they don't have a crest so not sure why they are called that! Often the juveniles of many birds are a different color making them difficult to ID. Breeding and nonbreeding plumage makes for variations that add to the ID challenge as well. I use the Sibley guide to Birds for ID of north american birds. Its one of the better books you can buy. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LVG Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Also, Cornell University's All About Birds website is an amazing reference for birds. They feature everything from sound clips to different plumage pictures. They also have an app called Merlin. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Thanks, @GeoAmy and @LVG! (I do better with west coast birds of North America) but I'm still a rank amateur 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elftober Country Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 I had a pretty interesting day, yesterday. I saw a fox and a stoat (or weasel) not sure which? Spoiler Q. What's the difference between a stoat and weasel?A. A Weasel is weasily wecognised and a stoat is stoataly different 3 Also went to the Eden Project, here are a couple of pics... Spoiler 1 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 @October Country, Yays for the pictures for the gag 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Myssterry Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Was excited to see a small flock of redwings in the garden trees. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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