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In the process of moving my mason bee house outside from winter storage I left it in my living room for too long so a bee hatched and was hanging out on a wall by the window.
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Apr 3, 2020 17:09
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| # ? May 23, 2024 11:36 |
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 Who doesn’t like a rainy day?
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Apr 4, 2020 19:16
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Herpers, I need help identifying a little noodle friend I came across on a nature walk today! I'm in eastern Massachusetts. Got some video of my clumsy, goofy rear end chasing and gushing over how cute the snake is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcgqZfaa4i4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_8gMkleaWg
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Apr 8, 2020 19:37
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Dekay's brown snake, Storeria dekayi--they're harmless little worm and slug eaters. If you google the name you can see the coloration is highly variable; your one there is pretty stripey but hte majority of the ones i've seen have been spotted, for example Edit- it's possible it's a closely related species, Storeria occipitomaculata but the only way I know of to tell them apart is that S. occipitomaculata has a bright orange belly the yeti fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Apr 8, 2020 |
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Apr 8, 2020 19:58
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Hey I've got some snake videos I don't think I've ever posted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZzbcWEBpww Racers really are fast. I see them almost on a daily basis but ~70% of the time I don't "see" them so much as get the impression of their form before they're already gone and/or camouflaged under the grass & forbs. There were actually 3 racers in this video but one of them was either too shy or too smart to let me film him at an orgy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjxT6Shq5jQ We stumbled on this dude in the middle of stuffing face and likely cost him his lunch for the sake of posterity. Not pictured: him rolling down a ditch into a shallow stream after not looking where he was going while trying to escape us. I feel bad about it, rattlesnakes are lovely gentle creatures who just want to be left alone. Except for that one, you know who you are and what you did.
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Apr 9, 2020 03:06
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I hate to interrupt snakechat but I found my little buddy roly-polies and slimeshellies!  Yes, I'm a literal child in my brain when it comes to bugs and poo poo still.
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Apr 10, 2020 23:31
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Pill bugs
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Apr 11, 2020 05:24
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I moved from the West Coast to the South and I love seeing regional snail differences. In California they're golf ball sized Platonic Ideal Shell guys, where I live now they're itty bitty guys, and those ones are flat guys!
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Apr 12, 2020 13:42
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I found this stuck to a log. Cocoon, maybe? I dunno what it is. Any help in identifying would be appreciated!
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Apr 12, 2020 18:56
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Both taken by me in the last week 
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Apr 12, 2020 20:32
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AOCs Pink Pearl posted:Both taken by me in the last week He looks lost.
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Apr 12, 2020 20:37
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I was going to say "concussed."
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Apr 12, 2020 20:40
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I think the picture was snapped right at the moment he realized I was there in my car after I rolled down my window.
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Apr 12, 2020 20:43
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What laid the eggs?
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Apr 12, 2020 21:32
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I think a turkey's the only thing that big and that dumb?
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Apr 12, 2020 21:37
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i like nice words
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Nah, turkey eggs are speckled with brown dots. Those are some dirty eggs, but not in the way turkey eggs look.
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Apr 12, 2020 21:44
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I wouldn't rule out turkey without a closer look. They vary a lot in speckling.
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Apr 12, 2020 23:17
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Mordja posted:He looks lost. He forgot something at home.
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Apr 12, 2020 23:52
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my cat is norris posted:What laid the eggs? Probably a larger domestic duck breed or a goose.
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Apr 13, 2020 08:52
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Domestic something would make sense. There aren't many wild ground-nesting birds that are comfortable enough around humans to just lay their eggs that close to a road.
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Apr 13, 2020 08:58
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Look like goose eggs, and geese are awful parents who will lay their eggs anywhere and wander off without ever giving them a second thought, if they don't trample all over them first.
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Apr 13, 2020 12:32
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Enfys posted:Look like goose eggs, and geese are awful parents who will lay their eggs anywhere and wander off without ever giving them a second thought, if they don't trample all over them first. at what point is it ok to eat them
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Apr 13, 2020 13:00
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poverty goat posted:at what point is it ok to eat them
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Apr 13, 2020 13:10
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Mr. Fowl posted:I found this stuck to a log. Cocoon, maybe? I dunno what it is. Any help in identifying would be appreciated! Definitely a cocoon. About how big was it would you guess?
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Apr 13, 2020 14:32
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my cat is norris posted:What laid the eggs? geese
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Apr 13, 2020 17:39
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Kinda sucks I only just found this thread. I am often blessed with the presence of plenty of critters in the suburban Midwest. I’ll be parsing my backlog for any other possible thread contributions later today.
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Apr 13, 2020 18:58
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I recently have lucked into a job that is still active, and deals with outdoor birds in southern California. I've been posting in the pet bird thread about the friends I am making but perhaps you folks would appreciate a crosspost. Sorry for the huge.Chaosfeather posted:In celebration of the probations and feathers (and me getting my humble job back) I present to you This is a male Red-winged Blackbird  He Has Opinions of me  And none of them are good  A very handsome boy, these guys typically live near wetlands. Not to be confused with the similar-looking tri-colored blackbird.  They have a very distinct marking, sometimes the yellow band between the red and black is more obvious than on this fellow  He had  Five  Girlfriends  Most of them shared his opinion  One did not (she got the ice cream cone treatment)  This update has been brought to you by me. And by LAB graciously giving us all our wonderful feathers.  I will continue to post if we get another species in here, I can think of two others that I've seen already, just not today.  Chaosfeather posted:
It's that time again to BOTHER SOME BIRDS I've been keeping these for a little while so I don't overwhelm this wonderful thread, but here are some friends from my traps. Of note from the species we've met, I've caught this boisterous fellow in my trap three times now.  How can I tell? His patterning is extremely unusual! I named him "Wierdo" because I'm great with names.  \The other redwinged blackbirds continue to scold me as I remove them from the trap, even going so far as to yelling at me from the outside of the trap after I've released them and they've landed in the next bush. I do love these guys. Our Towhee resident is still visiting  I call them and the second bird Mister and Missus Towhee. This is regardless of what their actual sexes are. "Mister" Towhee has scuff spots on his beak, and "Missus" seen here does not. They are now extremely chill when I handle them. Now for our new friends! This is a sad, terrified songbird.  The cowbirds in the trap are much larger and were picking on it. I let it have a little rest and some millet before I released them. We have captured other song sparrows.  Song Sparrows (not house sparrows) are natives and are released. I'm getting better at IDing these friends.  Very tiny and delicate and good at hopping around.  Another sparrow friend, one easier to ID not seen as often is the White-Crowned Sparrow  They spent a small time in my car drying off from the rain and recovering from being picked on.   He was released with great, pipping fury.  Or that was the plan. He actually chilled out once I opened my hand long enough for me to take this picture. Then he flew off.  You're a puzzle, little one. Last but not least, the invasive European Starling  These extremely pretty birds are, unfortunately, also targets. We don't seek them out.  But legally I am required by the state of CA to manage this species as well.  I assure you that I take as best of care of these critters as I can as long as I have any say in their care.  Nearby there are several swallow species, including this one with blue on them.  They rarely stand still long enough to get close or take a snap, but imagine these friends whirling overhead all over the place. Thank you for attending this brief intermission.
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Apr 14, 2020 07:27
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That’s really cool CF; I’d be interested in knowing more about your target species and how the program works but I understand if you’re skittish about getting into it.
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Apr 14, 2020 14:44
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the yeti posted:That’s really cool CF; I’d be interested in knowing more about your target species and how the program works but I understand if you’re skittish about getting into it. Sure, I don't have a problem with that. I just didn't want to down the pet bird thread with talk of the nitty gritty of managing these guys. So the primary target species is the Brown-Headed Cowbird, and invasive species that humans introduced to the region when we brought over our cattle. They used to be buddies with our bison but as we have expanded our beef industry and moved the cattle around the birds have followed. The primary concern is that they are obligate brood parasites. So the females can lay dozens of eggs in other bird's nests and let them do the hard work, which works if they evolved side-by-side or the birds are half smart. The problem is they endanger species like the Least Bell's Vireo even further by doing so. The idea is to limit the number of females laying eggs haphazardly in everyone's nests with a capture and cull program. I need to do more research on the topic (as there are some drawbacks from having too few brood parasites in the region, causing other species to essentially drop their guard...) but from what I understand this program has caused an uptick in not only Least Bell's Vireo but also Song Sparrows and other native birds that are often the targets of the parasitism in this area. Because of it's success they get to keep doing it. While we are at it the state of California also requires us to retain and cull any European Starlings or House Sparrows (also invasives) as they are a species that the state is trying to manage overall. To be honest I only see a couple of starlings and I have yet to see a house sparrow caught in the traps. The traps are modified Australian Crow Traps, with a similar idea to a minnow trap - easy way to get in at a low middle point, high corners to keep any potential escapees trapped. These are decently large - I'm a short person and have to duck to get in the door but can otherwise stand in every trap. I do see some birds disappear and reappear, which tells me some of the smarter ones can figure out how to come and go at will. In addition, a sly Cooper's Hawk has decided to camp one of the traps and sit at the top, pulling through birds for an easy meal. They are effectively eliminated so it's not so much a problem, but we do try to discourage them so they don't become dependant on the traps for food. This can be done by closing the trap for a few days, as they can't seem to reach through the mesh. The traps are baited with a small set of birds. Since they are social we leave more females than males, some fresh food (millet) and water sources (a guzzler and a tray to bathe in). These traps have bottoms so thankfully not much can get in from the ground, but we do see mice and sometimes other critters on the floor. These birds have clipped wings so even if they escape they can't go far and wreck havoc. Once we capture enough birds (the traps are checked daily) the traps are 'reset' back to normal numbers and people like me will transport them back to base. At base we have holding pens (read: Large, very basic aviaries) that we hold the birds until it's time to cull them. Once a certain number is reached (I believe a minimum of 50) another person captures the birds from the facility, humanely euths them and they are frozen and passed on to falconers to be used as food. So the birds get recycled. One of the routes includes the holding pens, so I clean those three pens a couple times a week as well. One for males, one for females, one for starlings. I have yet to see house sparrows in there. We definitely get more males than females. I want to say we catch 10 males for every female we catch. Not sure if that reflects the population levels or just that the males are more likely to be lured. There are other parts of the program but I'm very new and that's what I understand of it. I just check and make sure the birds are alright, count who and what is in the trap. Any non-targets are released manually, and when there starts to be crowding problems I put them in a carrier and get angry chirps in my car for about an hour while I drive. Edit:  Pestered some swallows today  Rudely interrupted these guys getting it on  Encountered this pretty plant (I am horrible at IDing plants) 
Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Apr 15, 2020 |
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Apr 15, 2020 05:57
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Plant looks like a Salvia of some kind. Might be Salvia leucantha? The way the flowers arc and the whitish color on the stems makes me think leucantha.
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Apr 15, 2020 19:30
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the yeti posted:Definitely a cocoon. About how big was it would you guess? Inch, maybe inch and a half? Somewhere around there. Also, this is in New Jersey.
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Apr 17, 2020 03:51
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Mr. Fowl posted:Inch, maybe inch and a half? Somewhere around there. A lot of the wooly bear type caterpillars will make a real fuzzy cocoon like that, that'd be my guess.
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Apr 17, 2020 16:16
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You're probably right! I see these around here every so often. Thanks!
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Apr 17, 2020 17:28
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Hello critterquest, I found some tiny friends in my garden today:    And a couple of bigger friends earlier this week:  
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Apr 19, 2020 00:30
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just had a whole bunch of deer and turkeys waltz their way through the forest right behind my house, at least half a dozen of each. the turkeys are normally basically silent(motion-wise, not the near-constant gobbles), but this time they did something interesting; made a huge amount of shuffling through leaves noises because they were kicking their legs forward and backwards through the leaves to disturb the leaf litter, then bending down to eat whatever they uncovered. interesting, never seen that before. the deer meanwhile just meandered their way through, and they were some big loving deer, never seen ones that big around here. almost horse-sized, the ones we usually have are like, 2/3 horse sized. it's nice at this moment in time because all the groundcover and invasive species like oriental bittersweet have not grown full leaves yet, so it's easy to see a solid quarter mile straight back into the forest.
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Apr 19, 2020 02:05
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Saw this weird dude while on a hike today, Brisbane Australia He was going places so I didn't get a pic from the front. Any idea what it is?
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Apr 19, 2020 06:56
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Chaosfeather posted:Last but not least, the invasive European Starling I always feel conflicted because I know starlings are invasive but they can also be such pleasant birds. They are capable of really nice song, and I spent a lot of time watching baby starlings pester their parents and follow them around begging for food and inadvertently developed a level of fondness for them. I absolutely appreciate the work you're doing, though.
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Apr 19, 2020 07:34
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Megabound posted:Saw this weird dude while on a hike today, Brisbane Australia mountain katydid perhaps? not sure if gravid or if they're always that chonkers 
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Apr 19, 2020 11:22
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vaguely posted:mountain katydid perhaps? not sure if gravid or if they're always that chonkers Looked it up and yep, def a female Mountain Katydid. Certainly a very chonky one.
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Apr 19, 2020 11:45
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 Tiny centipede buddy, with a crack between some pavement stones for scale. This came out way better than I thought it would. It was really cool seeing the legs push together in little waves going from back to front.
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Apr 19, 2020 11:56
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