Every year the frogs seem to die off (or get eaten) sometime in the summer but every year there’s another big batch of them in the tiny little pond out front. And good grief, they’re loud!
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Tag Archives: wildlife-in-the-yard
Suspects in the Yard
Somebody’s been eating my newly planted flowers in my front yard. I was pretty sure I knew who the culprit was, but for fun I moved my motion-activated camera to the front yard, near the house, to see what I might find. Well, it took only a couple of nights to catch a whole range of suspects prowling my yard.
I knew there were a couple of rabbits that have taken up residence beneath some of the tall grasses near the house since I sometimes see them out and about in the mornings. And not surprising to see the coyotes trying to find the rabbits. But it was a surprise to see a bobcat has been trying to catch the bunnies in the yard too. And of course I also caught the true culprits who’ve been eating my flowers! I’ve now installed a motion-activated light and noise-maker now so perhaps the flowers will recover.
Also tagged bobcats, coyotes, deer
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A Visit from Wile E. Coyote
I noticed Pan looking out the window intently this morning… presumably watching the wild rabbits in the front yard again. But no, it was somebody else looking for the bunnies today! Grabbed a little video, set to the tune of some classic cartoon music from Warner Brothers:
Also tagged cats, coyotes
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Wildcam: Lions and Tigers and…
I bought one of those motion-sensing wildlife “game” cameras and have been trying it in different spots around my property here in the hills near Santa Cruz. Not so many lions and tigers and bears, but lots of deer and coyotes, the occasional raccoon and squirrel, but also caught a bobcat and a couple of bucks sparring in just the past month:
More local Santa Cruz wildlife:
Also tagged bobcats, coyotes
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Another Bobcat Visit
I had another bobcat visit/sighting this morning at my home in the hills above Santa Cruz — and once again a deer drove it off:
Also tagged bobcats
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Not a Happy Bat
This little guy was not having a good day. Presumably one of my cats caught him last night. I saw his tiny dark form on the porch last night when I let Pan and Hera in, but I assumed it was the remains of another mouse for me to clean up later.
I was surprised in the morning to discover it was a little bat and that he was still alive — squirming occasionally on his back. I got some cardboard to turn him over and he shrieked a bit but still laid there. He clearly wasn’t feeling too great. Rather than let Pan and Hera mess with him, I decided to carry him into the front yard. He squealed a bit and started hissing and showing his teeth. That explains why Pan gave his little form such a wide berth coming in last night — I thought it odd at the time.
Anyway, I carried him into the front yard where the cats couldn’t get him, but of course there are plenty of birds…. And yeah, just an hour or so later I saw several large birds around where I had left him and went over to find him curled up, no longer moving and… covered in ants. Yeah, wasn’t a good day for the bat.
Also tagged bats, cats
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New Baby in the Neighborhood
Look who was being given a tour of my yard this morning by his/her parents….
After taking these pictures, I went out to explain to the deer that I’d really prefer if they would do their grazing on the other side of the wall but they didn’t stick around to listen to me.
Also tagged deer
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Spoiler Fence
While trying to set up this shot with my cats framing the coyote, I failed to also catch the deer behind the coyote. It just walked out of the frame to the left by the time I got this shot. It’s a wildlife party!
Next time I’ll try to catch the deer behind the coyote in front of a gopher as a hawk dives for it — all framed by Pan and Hera, of course.
Also tagged coyotes
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Little Bastard
Oh, there you are you little bastard! Caught this gopher in the act of digging another hole in my front yard:
Quick, somebody call Bill Murray, I mean… Carl the Groundskeeper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR0sWU1HzTE
Also tagged funny
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More Bobcat
Pan and Hera are my little wildlife spotters. I’ve got to go look whenever I see something has their attention. A couple of weeks after the previous bobcat visit, I notice Pan intensely watching something from the porch.
It’s another bobcat! Cool!
It’s clearly a different one from given the different markings along its side. And smaller too:
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Bobcat in the Yard
… that is, until a buck drove him off. No, really!
I was just letting Hera and Pan out when I see…. oh, a bobcat. Huh. No guys, back inside. No, I mean it. Hey, Hera… come back here — no, I don’t think he would be a good friend for you…
And then I see the young buck. Huh. The buck is facing the bobcat down, making him back away. And he continues to drive him off and down the dirt road, out of sight.
Sorry Pan, sorry Hera, gotta go and you’re staying inside today!
Yeah, yeah… the fence/cat enclosure around the porch is due to go up in a few weeks. Hey, good thing I’ve got guard deer though in the meantime, eh?
Also tagged bobcats
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