In the wild: Animals edition

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf oh wow, how long do you reckon the fledgling was in the nest for? Also, I wonder if they reuse nests. That nest could be a neat display piece. Like under a glass dome or something similar.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia They reuse nests in the same season, but I'm not sure if Josie will be back in the same nest next year. If so, it's in need of some repairs. I may try to shore it up so it doesn't fall, and at least give her a chance to make the decision to use it again or not. Right now the way it's tipping over, I can't imagine her being interested in using it again.

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf so freaking neat man.

This past Sunday morning, while I was puffing away and drinking coffee in my back yard, I watched a hummingbird on one of the feeders. I like to watch them feed and then follow them with my eyes as they fly up to the tree tops. From there I view them using my binoculars as they chill on branches. As I pointed out the one I saw to my wife, I told to her to follow them as I did with our eyes. We then watched as two additional hummingbirds flew in unison with the first, twisting and whirling around in the sky among the trees as they vanished into the forest. Made my fecking morning.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia That's awesome. They're fascinating little creatures!

[seawolf]

I took these photos a couple of years ago in Yellowstone. I highly recommend visiting the park when there's still snow on the ground. It makes spotting wildlife so much easier, and we only saw a couple of dozen humans all day.

Bison eating by the river.

Coyotes running across a clearing.

[ZackB]

@seawolf those pictures are beautiful. I need to make it out there one day. Might take some convincing to get the wife out in some snow though.

[mclaincausey]

@ZackB she will love it. It is a magical place.

[seawolf]

@ZackB The snow wouldn't have been my first choice, but man, was it worth it. We basically had the park to ourselves. In the summer, there can be bumper-to-bumper traffic through the park because you have to deal with everyone stopping to take pictures of the wildlife. We were able to move through the park at our own pace, and pull over whenever we wanted to take pictures without impeding anyone else's day. These pics are from March, so it wasn't the dead of winter, and not unpleasantly cold or anything.

[ZackB]

@seawolf I would definitely take the snow over a million people being there. Thank you for all the info, we are trying to plan something for next year.

[mclaincausey]

Something got them eggs again. The feathering was ripped out and I found no trace of them but a shell fragment. Nature is red in tooth and nail.

[seawolf]

I came home last night after being out all day, and the landscapers cut Josie's tree nearly in half when they pruned it. The nest, although wonky, is no more. So glad the baby fledged a few days ago! I would have been devastated if someone unknowingly decided to prune a tree and kill a baby hummingbird in the process.

[Cskarev]

Didn’t have the right lens at that moment but still got some nice shots…

[DeeDee85]

@Cskarev beautiful

[motojobobo]

I like them @Cskarev . Which bird is it?

[Cskarev]

@motojobobo i think it is an Eurasian jay

[SKT]

Snagged a pic of a Red-Shouldered Hawk with his prey. We have a lot of these and Cooper’s Hawks in our neighborhood

[Brian]

Random bird getting the last of the blossom off a silver gum tree

[SFMCfranky]

Willy E. sauntering past Rancho Morales this afternoon:

[Tago Mago]

Saw this guy last week in Berlin

[Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot]

Rat snake