Wildlife in your yard.

[jaybirdsmommy]

So who out there has welcomed (and perhaps some not so welcomed) wildlife that passes through your yard?

We are in a somewhat unique situation, in that we have acreage, but are still well within a metro area. We are in a ~1mi x 2mi area that is a mix of woods and prairie, and are all 3-10 acre lots. In the last week (perhaps due to fewer cards on the road?) we have noticed an uptick in our furry friends visiting our yard. We've had:

We are in a similar situation, inside city limits but all lots in our subdivsion have to be at least 3 acres, we have 2 miles of wooded area behind our house, and there is a state park at the end of the road. We have lots of wildlife:

-I counted 15 deer in our front yard one morning last week, I love to see them but hate that I can't plant anything because they'll eat it.
-coyotes - a neighbor posted a picture on facebook a couple of weeks ago of 2 large, very well fed coyotes in her yard during the day.
-foxes - we seem to have 2 kinds, the traditional red fox and a smaller, yellowish version
-armidillas and possums
-squirrels, chipmunks, and some kind of small black furry thing that is too fast for me to see what it is
-all kinds of birds
-snakes - we had a copperhead on our carport last fall, a gray rat snake that loves to sun itself along the base of the back door (his name is $*%&*#(&$%*&5 snake), and all kinds of garden snakes - just saw a ribbon snake on sunday.
-I've heard from neighbors that we have bobcats but I've never seen one
-box turtles, frogs, and toads - I have a raised garden bed that's full of weeds that I won't cut because there is a box turtle that lives there.
-There was a red tailed hawk on the back porch a few days ago

We see deer all the time, our little Yorkie tried chasing one once so we can't let her out now when they are there. We have coyotes, they are so tame/brave they come right up to the door.

What is it about little dogs and deer? Our 2 big dummies will bark at them but that's about it. Our little dog would chase them for days if he could get out of the yard. He took off after one right after we got him (before we installed the invisible fence) and was gone for 3 days. He showed up in a neighborhood that was only about 1 mile from us but was on the opposite side of I-85. How he managed to get across alive, I have no idea, it was a home football game weekend and given the time frame he showed up at their house he would have had to have crossed it sometime on a Saturday afternoon during the worst of the traffic.

He's very annoyed with us right now because since the coyote picture was posted, he hasn't been allowed out by himself.

 

[bcla]

I live on a hillside in a densely populated suburb. We've got trees and tons of foliage everywhere. In our neighborhood we've got black-tailed deer, turkeys, skunks, raccoons, possums, and squirrels. Tons of roadkill too. And my parents would do anything to get rid of the pocket gophers poking holes in their lawn. Any number of smaller birds, although turkey vultures are the ones that stick out. I'm sure a lot of hawks and some eagles, but they tend to fly high.

Once when I was a kid I saw a possum just standing up totally still while I was walking on the sidewalk. Those things are scary looking. Another time we found some in our outdoor furniture (in a covered patio) and had to call an exterminator to get them removed.

There's a local park where a certain road is closed for a few months so that the newts don't get squished when migrating.

https://www.ebparks.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=11&Entry=540

 

[nene0182]

We live in city limits but not far from the river. We have a pretty small yard that’s fenced in so we don’t see much more than a lot of different birds, hawks, squirrels and rabbits. I think the rabbits take shelter in our yard because our dogs really could care less that they are out there. They like to “pretend” to chase them but give up after about 4 feet.

 

[AlohaNow]

We spotted an owl in our neighbor's tree two days ago. DS13 was quite fascinated with checking to see if it was still there. Mr. Owl stayed in the same spot for a couple hours. We get coyotes commuting through the green way behind our house from time to time, but not very often. The owl reminded us of the epic night when we came out of a cub scout meeting and encountered an owl and a fox during an October full moon right in the parking lot. Our neighborhoods are quite dense, so that was rare!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm in a metro area in NJ.

On my block I've seen deer run across the street. We also have turkeys that like to block traffic.

In my backyard I had to evict of a family of skunks that were living under my shed. They were humanely caught and released. Cost us a pretty penny too. The babies were actually cute but they had to go.

We have a bunny that we've named. We get raccoons, possum.....just the regular stuff I guess.

Our neighbor has a tree that drops some kind of berries and they land in our backyard so we get a lot of animals that like to eat.

 

[lynxstch]

We live just outside the city limits, not in the forest and not in the country. We have deer in our yard almost every night. Have had whole families of them out there at dusk several times. Had a mama and 2 babies not long ago, so cute to watch them. Husband woke me up in the middle of the night on Sunday to tell me to look out our bedroom window at the HUGE deer that was just standing there. That was probably the biggest one I have ever seen around here. We have seen a bear walk through our back yard one time, when there used to be a catering company across the street, and they left all their trash bags lined up outside their bldg. We have 3 raccoons that think I am their chef apparently. I feed some outdoor cats, and the raccoons know what time I come out in the morning and just sit back behind the shed and wait for the cats to be done, and then go and finish the dry food and get a drink. They don't bother the cats, and the cats don't bother them. We have had groundhogs, occasionally a possum, and once--a skunk -(thankfully the neighbors that left all their trash piled up outside moved!). Even with several cats always around, we have plenty of songbirds, squirrels and chipmunks. 🐿 And a big Woody Woodpecker who you can hear coming from quite a distance, the shadow that thing casts always amazes me as he flies through on his way to our suet feeder! Oops..forgot..we also get those wild turkeys sometimes..they are ugly creatures!

 

[Kitty 34]

Right now? My husband

 

[Disney Ron]

We live in the woods in Rhode Island. Here is the list of creatures we've had in our yard:

Turkeys
Bears
Coyotes
Squirrels
Possums
Chipmunks
Groundhogs
Deer
Foxes
Many species of birds
Skinwalkers
And one Bigfoot we named Daryl.

 

[barkley]

in addition to variety of birds (including nesting bald eagles and owls) we have squirrels, chipmunks, porcupines and cotton tail bunnies that live in the yard. visitors include deer and moose (who are masters at clearing tree branches of leaves).

has anyone seen that farmer's insurance ad with the bear in the pool? a neighbor has video footage of a moose that got into his above ground pool one summer and just laid in there chilling for hours.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My DD was in our front yard the other day and came running in saying there were two beavers on our street. DH told her she was mistaken, as we live at the end of a suburban cul-de-sac. She was insistent so we went to look and sure enough, two large beavers were slowly walking side by side down the middle of our street. Strangest thing ever. We do have a small patch of woods with a small stream behind our house, but never saw any beavers there before.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

We live in the woods in Rhode Island. Here is the list of creatures we've had in our yard:

Turkeys
Bears
Coyotes
Squirrels
Possums
Chipmunks
Groundhogs
Deer
Foxes
Many species of birds
Skinwalkers
And one Bigfoot we named Daryl.

OK, I googled skinwalkers. Now I'm gonna have nightmares.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Five different variety of desert doves in our neighborhood. Many palm trees, citrus trees and other tall arid trees give shelter to the birds.
A Q Tip bee, hoovering around my spaghetti squash blooms.

and now that it is warming up, lizards bound about in my vegetable garden.

 

[easyas123]

We have a small farm on a tributary off of the bay, and of all the animals we have we really enjoy hearing the frogs come back every spring (here now!) and seeing the young bald eagles flying with the adults. For those who care about such tings - the perch have just started running so so I'm told. And the turtle traps are out. Crabs and rockfish can occasionally be caught off of our dock.
We have all the usual suspects, deer, ground hogs, rabbits, squirrels, otter, beaver, chipmunks & moles, turkey, coyote (I've only heard, never seen) wild ducks & geese, various other birds,and some homers that live in one of our ponds, fox, and skunk. We also have wild quail.
And of course the two 4 legged butt-heads who live with us - they also enjoy the random deer chase, especially around 5 AM when I let them out without realizing there is a herd hanging out in the back yard.

 

[tileman]

Got a few wildlife here got a crazy turkey that looks at himself in my bumper of my truck
Deer that stop by a black bear that comes by about 3-4 months chickens and a few hawks

 

[BrianL]

We live in the woods in Rhode Island. Here is the list of creatures we've had in our yard:

Turkeys
Bears
Coyotes
Squirrels
Possums
Chipmunks
Groundhogs
Deer
Foxes
Many species of birds
Skinwalkers
And one Bigfoot we named Daryl.

Whereabouts in RI do you live. My dad lives in a rustic area near the Mass/CT border. It's full of woods - and ghosts!

 

[firefly_ris]

I wouldn't say more than usual as far as what we normally see... deer, fox, turkeys, geese, coyotes, chipmunks, raccoons, skunks, etc.

However last week I did see a mink and the last time I saw one was when we moved into the house almost 8 years ago.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We have a small farm on a tributary off of the bay, and of all the animals we have we really enjoy hearing the frogs come back every spring (here now!) and seeing the young bald eagles flying with the adults. For those who care about such tings - the perch have just started running so so I'm told. And the turtle traps are out. Crabs and rockfish can occasionally be caught off of our dock.
We have all the usual suspects, deer, ground hogs, rabbits, squirrels, otter, beaver, chipmunks & moles, turkey, coyote (I've only heard, never seen) wild ducks & geese, various other birds,and some homers that live in one of our ponds, fox, and skunk. We also have wild quail.
And of course the two 4 legged butt-heads who live with us - they also enjoy the random deer chase, especially around 5 AM when I let them out without realizing there is a herd hanging out in the back yard.

Chesapeake bay? If so, I live a stones throw away, in Maryland. Used to have a house right on the bay with our own dock as well, but we’ve since moved and I miss it.

 

[jade1]

More ice today than normal if that counts.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I haven't noticed a difference so far this spring. I know they visit (we see the tracks) but haven't found seen them yet.

 

[AuntieMe3]

We live in the desert and don't see a lot of traffic in our "neighborhood" so I haven't really seen a difference in our wildlife. We have almost 2 acres, fenced in yard.
Regularly, we have:
Field mice
Squirrels
Jackrabbits
Quail...omg the babies are soo cute!!
Ravens....we have a nest in a huge fruitless mulberry we have in our backyard. They walk around the yard with the dogs...lol
Woodpeckers
Roadrunners
Snakes.... mostly gopher but we have had rattlesnakes.
Lots of other types birds...hawks..etc...

We've had a bobcat in one of our trees before and coyotes walk around our fence, never seen them in our yard before. The ravens have chased coyotes off our street before...they chased them swooping at them until the ran off around the corner. I love those birds...lol