Wildlife you have seen in your backyard

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shoemak38
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Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:55 pm
Location: Southern New Hamphire

Wildlife you have seen in your backyard

Post by shoemak38 »

Okay, I know I live in New Hampshire (my sister-in-law from New York City calls it the boonies). However, I live within 3 miles of a Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart etc. So I finally

see the bear, (about 200 feet away) in the neighbors yard this morning while getting the newspaper. On top of the beaver, Fox, turkeys (20 in our neighborhood flock), deer (yeah we all got those now) and moose tracks haven't seen the moose I figured maybe it's time we do a new thread on animals we've seen in our or our neighbors yards this year. As I'm getting paranoid that my sister-in-law's label that I live in the boonies may be correct.



Okay, so you big-city suburbanites please help me out here and tell me you seen the same animals as I'm getting nervous here as I would hate to need to change my name to Larry or Darrell or Bubba or something like that.
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snorkelqueen
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Location: california

Post by snorkelqueen »

Well I live 3 miles from the beach in Southern California and actually have a neighborhood squirrel who drives the labradors nuts (no pun intended) but that's about it! I'd love to live in the "boonies" though!
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vi lover
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Location: Richmond, Virginia

Post by vi lover »

Live just south of Lexington Kentucky. In a subdivision, but WAY BACK and up against a woods.

Similarly - we get deer and turkeys in abundance. I fished a skunk out of my swimming pool the first year we lived here. Fox live in the neighborhood.

Only really NEW animal for me was a pretty large Coyote. Didn't like seeing that - we've got small dogs that love to be outside.
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jmq
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Location: NJ

Post by jmq »

Last winter: a raptor of some sort enjoying a meal (possibly a Coopers Hawk?)

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rpplano
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Location: Plano, Texas

Post by rpplano »

We live in the middle of a large suburb, but last winter I saw 2 coyotes in our front yard, we have resident squirrels and rabbits every day. We have also been visited by possums, neighboring area has a bobcat on the loose. Nearby college had a cougar sighting on their running track. The draught has brought them all in closer to us looking for food and water. A co-worker is having an influx of poisonous snakes coming up into her yard. Nature has a way of coping, but snakes make it a problem. We need a mongoose!
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2muchsnow
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Post by 2muchsnow »

Live in a 1950s era neighborhood on the east bench above Salt Lake City. Have had mule deer in the back yard, squirrels, doves, quail, chukar (hungarian partridge), skunks. There are coyotes around every once in a while. Every the winter I can look directly above my house on the mountain and see the Elk herd that get's pushed down when the snow is deep. Have also recently run into mountain lion tracks - that's the scariest. It's the mountain lion you don't see that you should be worried about.
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lprof
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Location: Florida

Post by lprof »

My neighborhood is two miles from a small, necessities type, strip mall. We live on 1 1/2 acres in the county, about ten miles from the center of Gainesville. Our property backs onto a wooded area. We see many small to medium reptiles and animals. There are alligators, coyotes, poisonous snakes, turkeys and bears in the area, but I have not seen them. Foxes have been seen cutting through our fenced pool area but not this year. We can report the following sightings:

Rabbits, Black Racer and Garter Snakes, Many white tailed deer... two fawns this year, Raccoons, O'Possums, Many birds... finches, cardinals, cat birds, wrens, doves, nut hatches, chickadees, thrushes, crows, black birds, buzzards, hawks, woodpeckers, owls, a Crayfish, Armadillos, Sand Hill Cranes, an Otter, Lizards and Skinks, Squirrels, Mice.

Edited: I forgot the bluejays and the hummers!
Last edited by lprof on Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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toes in the sand
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Post by toes in the sand »

Deer, possum, racoon, coyote, fox, skunk and squirrel(somebody come take the tree and ground squirrels please!)not to mention the hawks, owls, bats, blue jays, hummingbirds and twice/year we are visited by various canary. We are lucky to live in a suburban neighborhood with a field beyond our back fence. The deer population is growing substantially each year. The bird population thinned when our neighbors with the birdhouses moved but we have brought many back.
"got a drink in my hand and my toes in the sand"
greyhoundmom
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Location: Columbia South Carolina

Post by greyhoundmom »

We moved into a new subdivision, one of the first sold homes five years ago. A red fox in our back yard early a.m. for a week (I was always up at 3:00 a.m....insommenia. She was sitting under a back tree and I thought, that's a really big cat! She came in from a dip under the fence. Also, family gathering on the back deck and a huge hawk swoops down to grab a squirrel out of a nest...national geographic moment for sure!
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waterguy
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Location: Green Bay ,WI

Post by waterguy »

At the house deer, turkeys, rabbits, pheasents and fox
at the lake house 60 miles north all those plus bear and wolves
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liamsaunt
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Post by liamsaunt »

I live in a small house with a small yard on a busy street not far from a major road quite close to Boston. Despite that, I have deer in my yard often. A large family of cottontails live here too. There was an article in my local paper about how the cottontail is endangered in this area. John and I were wondering if they want to designate our yard as a nature preserve for bunnies because they are surely thriving here!

We have a pair of redtail hawks that visit from time to time (they go after the rabbits, yuck), as well as wild turkeys (lots), herons, cardinals, orioles, etc. I once had a raccoon come after me in the yard :shock: We used to have skunks around but I think my lawn service treats for the grubs they love so much now. They never sprayed me so I didn't mind them too much anyway. Oh, and last year I had a pair of ducks build a nest and lay eggs under my deck :?

My sister lives five minutes from me, same town but in a quieter neighborhood that backs up to woodlands. She has coyotes in her yard on a regular basis. And last week she had to evict a raccoon family from her attic!

Tell your sister in law that animals are everywhere, not just the boonies! :D
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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shoemak38
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Location: Southern New Hamphire

Post by shoemak38 »

No peasants, around the house nor wolves however I do have a couple of ferocious tomato eating chipmunks. They ate half our crop this year. I guess I didn't mention our feathered friends. We have a nesting pair of hawks last 7 to 8 years watching the young fly around is always fun while floating in the pool.

so I guess I can keep my first name :? Bubba Shoe does not sound right :roll:
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GidgetPicklebrain
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Location: Frederick, MD

Post by GidgetPicklebrain »

That is definately either a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned hawk, depending on it's size. Cooper's is crow sized, Sharp-shinned is dove or jay sized. I get Cooper's hawks frequently in the winter, they prey on the birds that come to my feeders.

I live in a small city on 1/7th of an acre in a neighborhood of all fenced yards. The largest wildlife I've had in my yard is a possum that denned under our shed last winter. A box turtle wanderedin one day, don't know how he got through the chain link fence. I relocated him to the nearest streamside as he was unable to find his way out of the yard after several hours of trying.

A portion of my yard is set aside as certified natural habitat and I garden and landscape the whole property with native plants. We have resident voles and regular visits from rabbits and squirrels of course. The dog chases them off so they don't take up residence in our yard.

I was surprised to see a chipmunk one day as there is really no suitable habitat for chipmunks in the area, but have not seen it since.

Mostly my wildlife sightings at my house consist of birds and butterflies. I had an unusually good year this year because I had a hummingbird that stayed for 8 weeks. As there is no nesting habitat for them anywhere near me I usually only get them for a day or two in the spring and/or fall when they are migrating through.

I've had 43 species of birds and 40 species of butterflies/moths visit over the years. Most notable birds being a pair of great horned owls one night, and a nighthawk that rested on the overhang above my front door for several hours one morning before moving on, never to be seen again.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Confucius

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PA Girl
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Post by PA Girl »

We have a cottage surrounded by a forest so we get tons of wildlife. We have about an acre of mowed yard and we are overrun with wild turkeys and deer.

I have seen evidence of bear but haven't actually seen one yet.

Our newest addition is a pair of eagles that circle overhead. The nest is somewhere close by. The neighbor knows where it is (I suspect it is on his property) but he doean't want to make the location public. The pictures are on my home computer, I will try to post them tonight.
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LysaC
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Location: New England

Post by LysaC »

Also in southern NH, also a mile or two away from Home Depot, Wallyworld, Bed Bath & Beyond etc.

We have deer regulary. They eat the jewel weed in the backyard.

Also have foxes- mating foxes sound like something being killed!

There was a bear back in our woods that we did not see but was in the newspaper the next day (we have over an acre and our neighbors saw it).

I was woken up by an owl hooting at 3am this past summer.

We have chipmunks, squirrels, mice and daddy long legged spiders galore.

And hawks like to swoop down and eat the baby chipmunks in my front yard. Sniff :(.
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