Wildlife in our gardens

I have an armadillo that does the same!

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ohā€¦ weā€™ve met in the yard quite a few times. one evening i was checking my trees when the mother with 3 babies in tow walked right by me. when i saw them coming , i froze. she barely gave me a glance and kept going.

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I had to stop at the end of our driveway one day before going out on the road while a mother skunk hearded her 4 kits across the road. The babies werenā€™t in any hurry and it was funny watching her run from one to the other telling them to get a move onā€¦

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Moose donā€™t eat meat so she wasnā€™t afraid.

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Caught a glimpse of the Indigo Bunting passing through today. They donā€™t stay long but itā€™s fun to see them. Pardon the photo quality, I had to zoom in and then crop out a small bit of the pic.

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I couldnā€™t make this stuff up if I tried!!! Apparently I have suicidal snakesā€¦and they CLIMB TREES!!! haha.

Sure enough, last night almost at dark, I was in my orchard walking past a cherry tree when I got the fright of a lifetime!. I noticed what seemed to be a pretty large snake hanging in my cherry tree and sort of flailing about. Needless to say I jumped back quite a few feet, gather my wits ( and courage) and go in for a closer look. Believe it or not, what I find is an almost 5 ft long chicken snake that has somehow manage to get his head and upper body completely trapped in a tangled ball of bird netting!!! He was absolutely stuck- completely. When I got closer of course he went crazy twisting curling and flopping but hanging there the whole time-unable to free himself. It was quite the the site to see. Iā€™ve very, very rarely seen snakes in trees so that alone was surprising. The fact that he managed to ā€œhangā€ himself was even crazier.

Iā€™d like to tell you it had a happy ending for the snake- that I helped him get free and sent him on his way. But not this guy. Please understand Iā€™m not someone who just kills all snakes because I hate them. But these snakes eat my chickens eggs all the time, and kill and eat my baby chicks just as often. I also once grabbed one when I blindly reached into a egg box without looking. I also think you all know by now that generally Iā€™m a huge animal lover. But no, he didnā€™t get turned loose. I did however leave him hanging after I humanely dispatched him. I thought he might help deter birds from my sweet cherries! ha.ha

Sorry for the awful quality of the pics. it was almost dark and it looks like my lens was dirty! But you can get the idea.

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Kevin, This is a huge snake. Itā€™s probably a not poisonous snake. But any snakes will give me goosebumps and nightmares. I am glad it was you encountered it, not mešŸ˜œ.

No thanks, Iā€™d never go into my orchard again!!!

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We call them cattle egrets here. Prolific bug eaters. Wish I had a dozen all the time. This guy seems to be here every morningimage

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Saw one in my pear tree before also which was not stuck and as you said after baby birds. I just pulled him down and got him on his way but it is their nature to kill birds and our nature for it to bother us. Cant stand them really but what they do to pack rats and voles is necessary here. They are incredibly strong. It sounds like that one ate his last baby chick and if they were my chicks i would do the same as you. Like you i dont like killing either but sometimes its the one snake or many chickens and ducks on my mind.

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We have them all the time. Cow birds to us but they roost around the lakes. If you mow your pastures they follow the mower.

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Yep. I get dozens every time I crank up the tractor. They hear it and come for dinner!!!

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the crows do that when they cut the hay fields here. eat the grasshoppers.

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American Goldfinch

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This guy is a prolific bug eater. Anyone can identify?DSC_0272

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I would say Eastern Kingbird.

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Sure looks rightā€¦ This is an image. TY ā€¦

https://images.app.goo.gl/xVbQw3m21tq2iuAK6

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I sprayed my orchard friday night. This afternoon I found a dead one. They have been eating bugs for years in my orchard. I feel so bad. I sprayed Triazicide, and immunox. I get phoebeā€™s too.

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With chortles and whistles, a male western Oriole is constructing a nest in one of our banana plant leaves. :heart:

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Captured this yesterday.

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