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3 hours ago, SkyenAutowegCaptain said:

It makes sense that species don't migrate laterally across oceans, particularly east to west against the prevailing wind. Also if some dolid make it across on a boat there may not be suitable food plants. 

Dolid?  I tried searching that term and came up empty handed.  What are dolid?

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2 hours ago, Muledeer said:

Dolid?  I tried searching that term and came up empty handed.  What are dolid?

I think that's a mistake. Makes sense as, "if some do make it across". I could be wrong, though...

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@Muledeer, that was a typo:P, it should say did

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The dolid are a new life form first seen in Norway apparently.  Originally inanimate they have sprung to life, and are being blown over here from the US.

 

 See the source image

 

I disturbed a big toad when I was doing some garden tidying.  I was thrilled to see it and am always glad when my garden has wildlife living in it, except for rats.  I draw the line there.

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7 hours ago, Mz Terry said:

dolid

Short for donald lid, no doubt.

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8 hours ago, Mz Terry said:

The dolid are a new life form first seen in Originally inanimate they have sprung to life, and are being blown over here from the US.

 

 See the source image

 

 

I think you found Trump's secret hair farm. Probably explains why he wants to move it to Greenland. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not older, but I'm sneaking in here to drop photos of cute deers from my vacation

 

Screen-Shot-2019-09-04-at-12-13-28-PM.pnScreen-Shot-2019-09-04-at-12-14-34-PM.pnScreen-Shot-2019-09-04-at-12-15-05-PM.pnScreen-Shot-2019-09-04-at-12-12-08-PM.pn

 

There were two adults and four babies. They couldn't have cared less about me.

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Great shots.

 

I saw a three-legged deer the other day. It looked to me as though the doe had been born like that. The lack of one leg didn't seem to hinder her too much as she had two very healthy fawns in tow. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was really pleased to see a tiny little wren scurry along the garden bench, searching for little spiders and mites.  I haven't spotted a wren in the garden for a while.

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The other day, I watched an osprey pluck a fish out of a creek. It was one of those "right time, right place" kind of moments. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I took Little Dog for a walk in a very humid park this morning, the rain held off, and a young cormorant was standing drying its wings off in a very heraldic pose.  No camera with me, alas, but this is quite like it:

 

Spoiler

See the source image

 

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Two people were injured by a bull elk in Colorado yesterday

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-people-injured-colorado-elk-attack-captured-video-n1059851

 

This really does happen.  One time I read of a man who was almost gored to death by a bull elk in Utah.  And, about 20 years ago, a friend showed me a video of an elk chasing him away.  It is mating season (The Rut), and bull elk are seeking their breeding cows.  They are easily agitated.  They are also bugling and that screaming sound carries for long distances.  Earlier this week. I saw a beautiful large bull standing alongside the highway.  Elk are skittish, and they gather in large herds.  I believe they are the smartest species of all cervids.

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A young willow warbler or chiffchaff has been visiting the garden bird bath recently.  Such a pretty, delicate little bird.  It is never still and sways its body slightly all the time.  Soon this tiny bird will migrate to Africa. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a few encounters with nature today.

 

1. I went to my local nature park for my morning walk and this time I saw 2 deer cross the path about 10 yards from me. Looked like a mother with a youngling (but older than a fawn). I don't think they were mule deer. Maybe white-tailed deer. I stopped and they saw me, but didn't run. They just faded into the woods and undergrowth. I also saw a chipmunk up pretty close, as well as the usual squirrels and birds there.

 

2. A woodpecker has been hammering at my house. I heard the noise yesterday, too, but thought it was a neighbor working on his house. Then I heard it again today, so I went out to check and found a woodpecker pecking at a metal grating up under the eaves on one side of my house. I chased it off. Then a little while later I heard it again. Found it was doing the same thing at another grating farther down, so I chased it off again. There are plenty of trees around for it to hammer at! :P 

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@daveb, that woodpecker is doing you a favour. Lots of insects, spiders etc hide in gratings, so it's just cleaning them for you :P

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I saw a very large bull moose going solo while driving into town yesterday.  I've been watching the cows roaming my land lately, and they are getting rounded up this week.  Watching the calves nurse, I was amazed how hard they hit the cow's udder to get the milk to release.  The cow just stands there while the large calf repeatedly hits her in the udder with its head, all the time happily wagging its tail whenever it gets a sip of milk.  It probably feels good to the cow and the calf.  I have really appreciated my electric fence wire I installed around my trailer and yard - so far, it has kept all the cattle out of my way and saved my from having to clean up after them.

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7 hours ago, SkyenAutowegCaptain said:

@daveb, that woodpecker is doing you a favour. Lots of insects, spiders etc hide in gratings, so it's just cleaning them for you :P

As hard as it was hitting them my concern was potential damage that allows bigger things to get through.

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Today, I had a jay in the garden that was digging up ( with beak) nuts that the squirrels had buried. Clever jay.

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I've been watching a live feeder cam from the Czech Republic and have been loving it! It's extremely active and I've been enjoying seeing new species of birds. 

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They're lovely @NimaToad and I agree about that sky in the third one. I took a sky pic the other day. I'll try to put it up.

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About an hour ago, I watched a  herd of elk running through the ranch.  They emerged from the woods, crossed the highway, then jumped my fence and ran down the hill and across the river and up the hill on the other side, then they vanished back into the forest.  There were cows with calves, and at least one bull,  I heard him bugle but didn't see him.  They ran in a single file and I counted about 21 animals.  After most of them crossed the river and got up the hillside, they stopped and waited for the slower members of the herd to catch up before running into the forest.  It all played out so quickly I didn't have time to locate the camera or even the binoculars.  I'm sure glad I was wearing my eyeglasses.

 

Twenty animals is about the typical size of our local elk herds.  Mule deer roam in packs herds of 2-6 animals, and the moose are solitary or cow-calf pairs.  I rarely see the elk because they do not like interacting with humans.  No wonder, especially since it's hunting season.

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Saw a grey wagtail in the park today.  Such a poorly named bird as it is very yellow underneath.  It is a delicate looking bird and true to its name, wags its tail constantly.  Not my photo - it was too quick for me.

 

Spoiler

See the source image

 

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I absolutely love birds, especially birds of prey.  Unfortunately I hardly ever see anything besides turkey vultures, although they are pretty cool in their own way. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a deer interaction tonight.  It was almost like a nature movie playing in real time.

 

I looked out the window, at sunset (and moonrise, tonight) and saw Elsa laying in front of the  BBQ grill.  Behind her, a doe and fawn deer carefully approached, perhaps 50 feet away.  She was unaware of the approaching cervids.  The deer saw me, (and Elsa), then slowly and carefully approached.   How long would it take for them to interact?   Would the dog give chase?  Would the dog even notice until after they had passed?   This whole scene took about 5-10 minutes to play out.  Elsa finally did notice them, got up and took about ten steps toward them but never barked.  The deer ran off and joined another doe and fawn waiting on the perimeter.   Elsa just sat there, apparently content the intrusion was thwarted.

Not tonight's photo, but here are some file photos of our local deer:

PICT1320.jpg

  

HUNT0013.jpg

 

SUNP0031.jpg

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On 11/8/2019 at 7:19 PM, Muledeer said:

I had a deer interaction tonight.  It was almost like a nature movie playing in real time.

That is such a cool story.  I would love to meet Elsa someday.

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I went a walk along the estuary at low tide this morning. I love the mud flats. They look brown at first glance but as the clouds change, all sorts of colours almost magically appear. There were plenty of newly- in birds on the flats or waiting in the creeks for the tide to turn. I saw redshank, godwits, curlews, oystercatchers, teal, mallards , lapwings and a couple of widgeon  and further out, shellduck. No pintails yet. I really like them- they look so stately as they glide along. It's strange that the last time I saw curlew and oystercatchers was in June.  They were constantly calling ,  breeding in Yorkshire, nesting in the heather on the hills, Perhaps these are the same ones, come a couple of hundred miles south for the winter.

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