Wildlife... - Page 8

Jimbuna · 08-02-13, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Well, the binoculars you have my play a part in that.

Took a shot of my neighbours wife feeding the birds the other day with a 250mm zoom lens and whilst showing him he said "Can I have a copy"?

I asked why and he said "I'll photoshop it into something funny".

You can imagine my response...he'd probably stick her head on a nude for a laugh but at my expense

AVGWarhawk · 08-02-13, 01:46 PM

I think I would be asking why you are taking a picture of my wife.

Jimbuna · 08-02-13, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

I think I would be asking why you are taking a picture of my wife.

My neighbour (his family included as well as mine) have been friends for 30 years now and believe me, some of the practical tricks they have played on me over the years are 'eye openers'

WernherVonTrapp · 08-02-13, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

These little guys think my umbrella is a tree. They poke between the folds and up under the top.

And our deer that like to eat my hostas. They think it is a salad or something. The deer get to about 30 feet from our house. We can sit at our dinner table and watch them. Usually show up at dusk and hang around our feeders.

Hahaah, I see what you mean now. Nice picture of those birds.

I think I have a photo somewhere of one actually holding a spider or harvestman in it's mouth. I'll see if I can locate it. Nice Pics of the deer too.

AVGWarhawk · 08-02-13, 07:44 PM

They poke around in the folds looking for bugs. Very playful and vocal.

WernherVonTrapp · 08-11-13, 01:59 PM

I definitely must get a new digital camera. The one I have is over 10 years old and I've been having some problems with the settings, changing all of a sudden on their own whilst I'm focusing or taking a shot.

These are female and/or juvenile-male Ruby Throated Hummingbirds:

Stealhead · 08-11-13, 02:54 PM

I do not have any photos(this bird is good at not being seen) but there is a Great Horned Owl that likes the pine and oak trees around the house.It likes to hang around especially in the early morning and around dusk.The other birds dislike its presence seeing a threat so they will try to make it leave by buzzing right past as it sits on it perch it does not work though.

I was watching one evening and I noticed that even a tiny humming bird was pestering the owl.It was a pretty funny site this tiny humming bird trying to make this massive owl go away.Luckily for the other birds the owl must mostly eat rodents though it could make a meal of another bird if it wanted.I have found the remains of a hare that had been caught by the owl once.

I stood one evening and watched the Great horned for a while or was it watching me?

Anyway I admired the sight for a few minutes and it looked like the bird would stay for a while so I went inside to get my camera and of course he had flown away.

You can also see other owls here screech owls and barn owls as well.You'll see the same owls on most of the Eastern seaboard if you know where to look for them.They have regional sub species

WernherVonTrapp · 08-11-13, 08:05 PM

While I was working my watch early one morning, I got a call from a DPW employee asking to meet him on the soccer field. There, I met him and a great horned owl that had entagled itself in one of the soccer goal nets. I contacted a friend of mine who was both, an animal control officer and ASPCA official. He promptly responded to the scene where the netting was cut away from around the owl, though still entagled through it's wing. The owl was carefully placed into a small cage and taken to an ASPCA friendly veterinarian.
The remainder of the netting was removed from it's (broken) wing and the owl remained with the vet until fully healed. It was then taken to the mountains of West Milford, NJ and set free again into the wild.
Only one other time have I seen one in the wild and it was at night while I was on official duty.

I have certainly heard alot more of them than I have seen.

Stealhead · 08-11-13, 08:16 PM

Indeed owls are very elusive it seems you hear them more than see them.Of course the funny thing is they do not actually make the "who" sound that they are attributed with.

Around here we also have these little screech owls they are very elusive I think I have only seen them once in my life having lived in Florida for all these years.This was a long time ago with my dad we saw four little screech owls all in one group.

I seem to get lucky with wildlife and chance encounters without a way to record them.While I was stationed in Germany I was riding my bike in the hills and I stopped to take a break in a meadow.So I hop off my bike and walk along into the middle of this meadow this was early in the morning about 7:30 or so I look up and here sits this huge Roe Deer buck I mean a real stag.I guess he had not heard nor smelled me and I was looking down at the ground as I walked along so we looked up at each other and he just let out this long breath I'll never forget that and I could see the condensation in the sunlight and he just bounded away out of the meadow and and up the hill into the forest.For a few seconds though we just stood there.It was pure serendipity there is no way I could have known that deer was there and crept up on him.

WernherVonTrapp · 08-11-13, 08:38 PM

Oops, I was wrong. I just thought of another owl I saw perched atop a utility pole at night. So that makes three times instead of two. I called my partner to my location "right away" (he thought I ran into trouble with a perp) and when he arrived, I pointed to the top of the pole and shined my cruiser's spot lamp on it. He said to me: "How do you always find these things?!"

I run into deer quite often, I mean, not with my car or anything, just coincidentally. Over in my parts, we have a lot of white-tailed deer. They make this loud, intimidating "snort" sound, almost like a bull does. They also like to stamp one hoof in order to alert the others of potential danger. The underside of their tails are white and they raise their tails like a warning flag when startled. Cool stuff, to me.

Stealhead · 08-12-13, 12:09 AM

This one in Germany was a real sight all by himself at least so far as I could tell there might have been some other deer up the hill in the woods that I could not see.Of course they would surely have alerted him to my presence sooner I would think.

Many animals are very sensitive to smell and they become alert when they get the sent of human in the air.Most of the time deer if they are up wind of you they will smell you and be alert.I think what allowed me to get so close to that stag was that I was downwind from him so he could not smell me.He might also have taken his time to scope the area humans being his only real threat and felt that it was clear so he relaxed and took the time to eat.

On the base we had smaller deer I know they stayed there because they where safe being no hunting on military bases of course animals do not know that in the way that we do but they can sense safe places.We also had lots of hares and they where safe because the only birds of prey around the base had been trained to hunt other birds in order to scare away (hopefully) most other birds who might get ingested by jet engines.

In the Air Force at least in flight line jobs everyone does a "FOD walk" at the start of each shift (looking for and picking up small bits of trash) one day while we where doing our walk we saw this bird like a mocking bird i guess or the European version.Anyway this bird was stuck down in the drainage line so we tried to get him to go near a manhole so we could grab him and get him out.Of course this little bird was not going to corporate.Finally someone realized that the bird could not have gotten down in the drain line via the grates they where to small there was a larger opening somewhere.So we decided that we had wasted tax payer dollars trying to save a bird that really did not need our help.Of curse the intent was good and we did think at first that he was trapped.

AVGWarhawk · 08-12-13, 11:31 AM

What the......

Today, what shows in our backyard? A coyote? Mangy fox more than likely.

I feel like I'm living in Sherwood Forest!!!

WernherVonTrapp · 08-12-13, 09:39 PM

Wow, that looks like a red fox that has lost most of it's hair, maybe due to "Ringworm" infection. I've seen similar fur/hair loss in both cats and dogs with that fungal infection, but not quite to this extent.

AVGWarhawk · 08-13-13, 09:06 AM

Quite possibly ringworm. My wife took the picture. She said he was skin and bones.

This morning I took the poodle out for his morning constitutional, there in the woods not 25 feet from me is a deer.

WernherVonTrapp · 08-14-13, 06:32 PM

We have a resident doe that now has two fawns. We feed the doe periodically but sparingly, I don't want it to become dependent. These photo were taken from (maybe) 20 meters away on the adjoining property.

A not so clear photo of an Osprey above my home.

An orb-weaver spider with an interesting image on it's abdomen:

08-02-13, 01:46 PM	#107
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I think I would be asking why you are taking a picture of my wife. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

08-02-13, 07:44 PM	#110
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	They poke around in the folds looking for bugs. Very playful and vocal. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

08-11-13, 01:59 PM	#111
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	I definitely must get a new digital camera. The one I have is over 10 years old and I've been having some problems with the settings, changing all of a sudden on their own whilst I'm focusing or taking a shot. These are female and/or juvenile-male Ruby Throated Hummingbirds: __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate

08-11-13, 02:54 PM	#112
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	I do not have any photos(this bird is good at not being seen) but there is a Great Horned Owl that likes the pine and oak trees around the house.It likes to hang around especially in the early morning and around dusk.The other birds dislike its presence seeing a threat so they will try to make it leave by buzzing right past as it sits on it perch it does not work though. I was watching one evening and I noticed that even a tiny humming bird was pestering the owl.It was a pretty funny site this tiny humming bird trying to make this massive owl go away.Luckily for the other birds the owl must mostly eat rodents though it could make a meal of another bird if it wanted.I have found the remains of a hare that had been caught by the owl once. I stood one evening and watched the Great horned for a while or was it watching me? Anyway I admired the sight for a few minutes and it looked like the bird would stay for a while so I went inside to get my camera and of course he had flown away. You can also see other owls here screech owls and barn owls as well.You'll see the same owls on most of the Eastern seaboard if you know where to look for them.They have regional sub species Last edited by Stealhead; 08-11-13 at 03:08 PM.

08-11-13, 08:05 PM	#113
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	While I was working my watch early one morning, I got a call from a DPW employee asking to meet him on the soccer field. There, I met him and a great horned owl that had entagled itself in one of the soccer goal nets. I contacted a friend of mine who was both, an animal control officer and ASPCA official. He promptly responded to the scene where the netting was cut away from around the owl, though still entagled through it's wing. The owl was carefully placed into a small cage and taken to an ASPCA friendly veterinarian. The remainder of the netting was removed from it's (broken) wing and the owl remained with the vet until fully healed. It was then taken to the mountains of West Milford, NJ and set free again into the wild. Only one other time have I seen one in the wild and it was at night while I was on official duty. I have certainly heard alot more of them than I have seen. __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate

08-11-13, 08:16 PM	#114
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Indeed owls are very elusive it seems you hear them more than see them.Of course the funny thing is they do not actually make the "who" sound that they are attributed with. Around here we also have these little screech owls they are very elusive I think I have only seen them once in my life having lived in Florida for all these years.This was a long time ago with my dad we saw four little screech owls all in one group. I seem to get lucky with wildlife and chance encounters without a way to record them.While I was stationed in Germany I was riding my bike in the hills and I stopped to take a break in a meadow.So I hop off my bike and walk along into the middle of this meadow this was early in the morning about 7:30 or so I look up and here sits this huge Roe Deer buck I mean a real stag.I guess he had not heard nor smelled me and I was looking down at the ground as I walked along so we looked up at each other and he just let out this long breath I'll never forget that and I could see the condensation in the sunlight and he just bounded away out of the meadow and and up the hill into the forest.For a few seconds though we just stood there.It was pure serendipity there is no way I could have known that deer was there and crept up on him. Last edited by Stealhead; 08-11-13 at 08:27 PM.

08-11-13, 08:38 PM	#115
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	Oops, I was wrong. I just thought of another owl I saw perched atop a utility pole at night. So that makes three times instead of two. I called my partner to my location "right away" (he thought I ran into trouble with a perp) and when he arrived, I pointed to the top of the pole and shined my cruiser's spot lamp on it. He said to me: "How do you always find these things?!" I run into deer quite often, I mean, not with my car or anything, just coincidentally. Over in my parts, we have a lot of white-tailed deer. They make this loud, intimidating "snort" sound, almost like a bull does. They also like to stamp one hoof in order to alert the others of potential danger. The underside of their tails are white and they raise their tails like a warning flag when startled. Cool stuff, to me. __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate

08-12-13, 12:09 AM	#116
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	This one in Germany was a real sight all by himself at least so far as I could tell there might have been some other deer up the hill in the woods that I could not see.Of course they would surely have alerted him to my presence sooner I would think. Many animals are very sensitive to smell and they become alert when they get the sent of human in the air.Most of the time deer if they are up wind of you they will smell you and be alert.I think what allowed me to get so close to that stag was that I was downwind from him so he could not smell me.He might also have taken his time to scope the area humans being his only real threat and felt that it was clear so he relaxed and took the time to eat. On the base we had smaller deer I know they stayed there because they where safe being no hunting on military bases of course animals do not know that in the way that we do but they can sense safe places.We also had lots of hares and they where safe because the only birds of prey around the base had been trained to hunt other birds in order to scare away (hopefully) most other birds who might get ingested by jet engines. In the Air Force at least in flight line jobs everyone does a "FOD walk" at the start of each shift (looking for and picking up small bits of trash) one day while we where doing our walk we saw this bird like a mocking bird i guess or the European version.Anyway this bird was stuck down in the drainage line so we tried to get him to go near a manhole so we could grab him and get him out.Of course this little bird was not going to corporate.Finally someone realized that the bird could not have gotten down in the drain line via the grates they where to small there was a larger opening somewhere.So we decided that we had wasted tax payer dollars trying to save a bird that really did not need our help.Of curse the intent was good and we did think at first that he was trapped. Last edited by Stealhead; 08-12-13 at 12:19 AM.

08-12-13, 11:31 AM	#117
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	What the...... Today, what shows in our backyard? A coyote? Mangy fox more than likely. I feel like I'm living in Sherwood Forest!!! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road Last edited by AVGWarhawk; 08-12-13 at 11:49 AM.

08-12-13, 09:39 PM	#118
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	Wow, that looks like a red fox that has lost most of it's hair, maybe due to "Ringworm" infection. I've seen similar fur/hair loss in both cats and dogs with that fungal infection, but not quite to this extent. __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate

08-13-13, 09:06 AM	#119
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Quite possibly ringworm. My wife took the picture. She said he was skin and bones. This morning I took the poodle out for his morning constitutional, there in the woods not 25 feet from me is a deer. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

08-14-13, 06:32 PM	#120
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	We have a resident doe that now has two fawns. We feed the doe periodically but sparingly, I don't want it to become dependent. These photo were taken from (maybe) 20 meters away on the adjoining property. A not so clear photo of an Osprey above my home. An orb-weaver spider with an interesting image on it's abdomen: __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate