Wild Life
(Per our hostess Annie:) I was thinking about wild life that is all around us. Summer brings us out of the house and we spend more time outdoors, weather permitting, and have an opportunity to see animals and birds that live around us.
1. Do you see many animals where you live? Is your answer a good or bad thing?
Well, people who follow my blog know that I have a lot of "wild-life" around where we live. Mostly birds and squirrels. But the variety of birds especially keeps us entertained all the time. It's not quite like it was when we lived in the Ocala National Forest (at our last house, which is just 30 miles from here), where we saw bears and deer on a regular basis, with a few coyote, raccoons and possums thrown in for extra fun, but we are thankful for what we do have here. Here is a link to a post from our old house in the woods, with LOTS of wildlife! I do kind of miss all of the excitement, but I guess we are better off without so much wild activity around us. If you go back into my post archives, most anything between 2012 and 2019 will have some wildlife somewhere in there!
2. What kind of animals and birds are around your area?
2. What kind of animals and birds are around your area?
Sand Hill Cranes, Hawks, Great Blue Heron, Bluebirds, Cardinals, woodpeckers, Wrens, to name a few of the birds. Animals: we do have squirrels, possums and armadillos 
occasionally in our yard, along with neighborhood cats and sometimes a stray dog. Oh, and turtles. Gopher Tortoises are in the area, but thankfully not in our yard as they make a lot of tunnels. (and they are endangered and protected).
Armadillo in our yard.
occasionally in our yard, along with neighborhood cats and sometimes a stray dog. Oh, and turtles. Gopher Tortoises are in the area, but thankfully not in our yard as they make a lot of tunnels. (and they are endangered and protected).
And there are deer in the woods, we just don't get to see them very often except occasionally where we take our walks one might venture out and cross our path if we are fortunate enough to see it. 
We did actually see a coyote run through the woods one evening when we were walking. That has made us much more cautious about when we go walking.
We did actually see a coyote run through the woods one evening when we were walking. That has made us much more cautious about when we go walking.
Red Shouldered Hawk (juvenile)
One of our Sand Hill Crane Colts
Bluebirds having a chat at the birdbath
Canada Geese
Mama Sand Hill Crane and one of the colts earlier this spring
Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Male)
Great Blue Heron on Still Waters Pond
Turtles on the pond
3. What kind of animals and birds could you do without and what kind would you love to see more often?
Stray dogs...this area is ripe with stray dogs and cats. Fortunately they aren't right here in our neighborhood (the dogs), but you have to be very careful where you walk as they sometimes form packs out in the more wooded areas and have become not just a nuisance, but dangerous. Our animal control system is not able to keep up with it. It is very sad that many of these dogs and cats come from thoughtless and careless people who dump off their unwanted litters of dogs and cats in the woods, and then they continue to breed and the problem is multiplied. Sadly we had to bury a stray cat recently, who apparently just got sick and died on the edge of our lawn and pond. There was no sign of injury. It was like she just laid down and died. It was very sad. We gave her a nice little burial and I even said a little prayer. It made me very sad, but she was a stray and our neighbor, who feeds some of the strays in the area said she had never seen this one before. So it could be someone dumped her off in the woods and left her to die. That makes me so angry.
4. Do you feed wild birds or animals ?
4. Do you feed wild birds or animals ?
Yes, we feed the small wild birds that come to our bird feeder. We don't feed any animals or the bigger birds like the Cranes or Canada Geese. If you start to feed them, they will expect it every time they see you, and it really isn't good for them to be fed by humans, and it is actually against the law to feed them. Our neighbor, as I mentioned above, does feed some stray cats in the neighborhood, but I noticed one came into our yard today and I am afraid she might be pregnant. I don't know much about cats, but she looks kind of fat in the belly, so time will tell. I hope not, because that will mean more stray cats to run wild. At least she isn't really feral, and maybe the kittens can be taken to the humane shelter. Time will tell. I hope I'm wrong...
HERE is a link to a post I wrote about that same neighborhood cat last fall. At least I think it's the same cat...and maybe it's really just a chubby "he", and not a "she". As I said, time will tell.
Well, that's it for my "wild life" here these days. Now let's go see what other people are enjoying in their neck of the woods! Here's the link!
We have strict animal control. I haven’t seen a stray dog or dogs in years. That would be scary.
ReplyDeleteNo wild animals where I live. Just birds. During past fires, and droughts we’ve had bears or mountain lions in the subdivision at night looking for water.
Prayers for rain for you all.
You are fortunate to have strict animal control where you live. We live on the edge of a rather rough back woods poor part of the county, and there isn't a lot of law enforcement presence when it comes to animal control. They are too busy dealing with the human animals...which is also sad. Oh, I am sorry to hear about the wild animals looking for water during the fire season. When we lived in the national forest we kept a small "kiddy" pool in the yard filled with water for the wildlife. I had a trail camera there to see who came to visit, and we had lots of interesting guests. It was fun to watch. I miss it kind of sort of, but we are thankful to be closer to civilization where we are now. It's a trade-off.
Deletedue to the wild jungle condition of the house behind us, back yard has not been touched in 20 years, no way to even walk back there, we have racoons, possums, black snakes, garden snakes, thousands of our beloved brown anole lizards, hawks and flocks of ibis, dogs are supposed to be on leash, we live in the city. I actually talk to the lizards, just this week, I was sweeping and nearly hit the big buy lizard with the broom and said, oh I am so sorry baby, I did not see you. Our lizards love the yard because Beau ignores them and we talk to them.. we don't feed anything except I throw out banana and apple peals and fruit/veggies that are beyond eating for the birds in the front yard. we have seen coyote once on our walk with Big Boy, now deceased, so 4 years ago and this past year Beau and I saw one on our morning walk.. they run at night.
ReplyDeleteWe talk to our lizards too. We even name them. Usually it is "Lizardo" or "Lizarda", but we aren't sure which is which. LOL. We actually saw two of them mating today, but I didn't have my camera handy, and I guess I wanted to just give them some privacy. LOL.
DeleteYou have a lot of wildlife in your area for sure. Too bad about stray dogs and cats. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is very sad. Our animal control services are terribly understaffed and overworked, so there is a lot of neglect.
DeleteAll the lovely portraits of the furry/feathery Florida natives!! So sad about stray animals. We domesticate then abandon and they can't fend for themselves.. too sad.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a sad state of affairs. And all too often people who own dogs don't take proper care of them...there's a lot of that kind of situation here in this area, as it is kind of a poor back woods part of the county, and not much law enforcement when it comes to animal control, etc. It's an issue that needs to be addressed, but then there are a lot of other issues that seem to take precedence, so nothing gets done.
DeleteWhen I first read these questions I thought, "This is a Tuesday 4 custom made for Pam!" I so enjoy reading the goings-on at Still Waters Pond. The poor abandoned/dumped dogs (and cats) break my heart. I can't print in a family-friendly blog what I think of those irresponsible humans.
ReplyDeleteThis is Myra at Respice Prospice. :)
DeleteThank you, Myra. I understand what you mean about those kinds of humans. Sadly this area seems to be a drop off place because there's a lot of woods and uninhabited places out there, and not much "supervision" by law enforcement. It really is a problem, especially about the dogs. We've had some serious issues regarding dogs vs. humans in the area, but still nothing seems to be done about it. Like I said, we just have to be careful about where we go walking, etc. It does make me very angry and sad.
DeleteI narrowly missed running over an armadillo the night I had to leave Gary in the ER. It was about 11pm and I did not see the armadillo on the road until he was right in front of me. Thankfully, I was able to straddle him with the car tires and nobody was injured --- although I certainly don't want them in my yard, and we do have them here.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm glad you didn't hit the armadillo. That could have done some damage to your car! We mostly see dead armadillos on the road because they do roam at night and often are in the roads, and they do get hit often. I'm glad yours was spared and no harm done to either of you!
DeleteSo sad about the kitty, Pamela, and I'm glad you could give her a proper burial. I can't get over how cruel people can be by neglecting pets and letting them loose into the wild. I so love the variety of animal and bird species you have in your neighborhood and all the great photos you share with us on your blog. This was a fun Tuesday Four this week! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. Yes, it was sad about the kitty. I didn't even want to tell anyone about it because I knew it would make people sad. I have wondered if she had some kind of kitty disease or if she got into some kind of poison. I don't know, because she looked healthy, so something went wrong. It really made me feel sad.
DeleteI love today's post because you know I love the animals! LOL You got some really great pictures there and ESPECIALLY the deer!! I've been photographing the wild deer here for a long time and only every get BLURS, LOL. And love seeing your bluebirds. Well here we have Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! ha ha just kidding. We have foxes, wild boars (mean mean things, and dangerous), field mice, alligators just down the road in the swamp!, coyotes, armadilloes, skunks, deer, very few squirrels, lots and lots of butterflies and wow, the dragonflies are in really big swarms this year, so fun to watch! We didn't have that many last year. The bees and butterflies are so important, as you know, for pollination, so we are so glad they are here. We have hummingbirds and we love to porch sit and watch them dart and swoop about, they sure keep me busy making their sweet nectar! We have pretty big snakes. We dont have animal control, WE ARE animal control, ha ha LOL. We have lots of birds----little wrens are nesting and feeding their young right outside this window, woodpeckers, cardinals, bluebirds, mockingbirds, mourning doves, vultures, egrets, bluejays, house finches, gold finch that passed through, HAWKS, hummingbirds, barn swallows, BATS, (LOVE TO watch them come out and swoop at sunset!). And of course, we have lots of chickens and now guineas. Very sad about the kitty, we would've given her a nice little burial too, it's the right thing to do. Poor little thing, died all alone. Tears. and yes, people DO DROP OFF ANIMALS out here in the country. It makes me so mad they can be that heartless. We feed them, either take them in or get them to the help they need. Hope you are having a great day and I just know that after I sign off....I will think of ten more birds or animals that I forgot to list! LOL Hugs!
ReplyDeleteOh, I guess I responded to this on our email conversation! LOL. Thank you for writing. I always love to hear from you!
DeleteI love seeing all your wildlife! The armadillo is so interesting to me, nothing like that around here!
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess the armadillo would be quite a sight to see in Michigan! LOL. I don't think he could stand the cold temperatures even though he does wear a coat of armor. It might freeze.
DeleteI read this on Mary's post too and knew you would have fun with it! After all, you have so many birds and animals at your Pond.
ReplyDeleteAs I answered on Mary's blog, we see mainly birds, bunnies and squirrels. In the spring we see lots of coyotes. In Spokane we had bear, big cats, (mountain lions), and a bear in our yard. We were just four houses from the river so I think lots of them wandered up after getting a drink in the river.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
Yes, coyotes seem to be a universal critter in most parts of the country these days. I don't like them as they kill cats and bunnies and other small animals, but they have to survive too. I just don't want to meet one face to face when out walking, but they usually run the other way. It's nice to hear from you! I hope you are doing well! I'm behind in reading, so I will have to go check and see what you've been up to lately. Take care.
DeleteYou always share the best wildlife pics, I always enjoy them. It's very sad to see stray dogs and cats, struggling to survive. They have to resort to whatever they can and sometimes that leads to something bad, (as in running in packs!) Gee, I thought armadillo's were only in Texas! lol
ReplyDeleteNo, we have plenty of armadillos here in Florida too. Mostly we see dead ones on the road, since they come out at night. Thank you for your kind thoughts!!
DeleteI love your photos and that there is so much wildlife activity around your beautiful home! Thanks for sharing it with us!! I do miss seeing the deer and bears at your previous home!! A fun post! xo
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your nature pictures. We see the birds that visit our birdbaths and an occasional squirrel. Dogs and cats are what we see the most.
ReplyDelete