What wildlife have you seen?(Mammals)

“I had a coyote mix dog (Kyute)given to me by a friend out west. He was the best dog I've ever seen in my life.”

“Loads of 'em. A whole herd! Today in RMNP on Cub Lake Road a herd was crossing the road into Moraine Park slowly grazing as they went. I didn't count but there had to be over 100 including at least two Bulls (both had rather small racks). And wouldn't you know it but the batteries in my camera had died on me during our little hike.”

“I enjoyed two great close-ups of wildlife this year.

• Two baby loons out for a walk with their parents.
  
• Three baby skunks walking with their mother.

Oops, you wanted just mammals. Sorry.
last edited: 12/12/04 6:06:09 PM”

“well I got to hold a gator,
took care of a snapping turtle”

“non-mammals

:)

How big was the gator?”

“he was about 3 foot long
here is the guy in his tank. i will upload the pic of me holding him tonight


”

“Two baby loons out for a walk with their parents.

really? It's my understanding that loons don't walk on land cause their feet are too far back - it's awkward if they try to.”

“On our car trip last year, we saw a black bear and mountain goats in Glacier, a bull moose in the Tetons, and bison in Yellowstone. I have a goat portrait enlargement that's really cool.”

“We saw about 200 deer in Cades Cove a couple weeks ago.

Nothing spectacular, but the way the people were jumping out of cars to snap pics would make you think that deer don't exist anywhere else in the country.”

“I see deer in my yard most mornings.”

“Ditto, deer evey day in my meadow or woods.

I also see lots of humans every day. Pesky mammals - gotta work on that species' over-population.

;-)”

“I use to see deer in my backyard almost everyday up until about 2 years ago. I haven’t seen any since. I don’t know what happened. Maybe all the rabbits drove them away.”

“White tailed Deer
Red Deer
Rusa Deer
Porcupines
Chipmunks
Skunk
Squirrels
Black Bear
Raccoon
Opossum
Hedgehog
Eastern cottontailed rabbit
Woodchuck
Dolphin
Fur Seal
Elephant Seal
Pilot Whale
Red Fox
Grey Kangaroo
Red Kangaroo
Wallaby
Various bats
Flying Fox (huge Bat)”

“I had lunch on Charlies Bunion with a copperhead that didn't appreciate my company. I also followed two momma turkeys and their chicks up the trail toward Mollies Ridge shelter.”

“You are somewhat correct. Don't think loons walk much. The loons I saw were in Maplewood, MN, just NE of St. Paul. They were walking on grass near a street about 10-12 feet from a pond and about 6-8 feet above the water's surface. A housing development was across the street from them and woods were on the other side of the pond. It was almost past dusk and I did not have a camera handy. I was in my car, drove past them, was surprised, stopped and watched from the car window. They seemed unconcerned about me and the car.

"Their legs are placed far back on their body, allowing for excellent movement in water but making them ungainly on land."

"Common Loons spend most of the time on water and have to pull themselves onto land to nest. They generally move one foot at a time to walk, shuffling along with their breast close to the ground. The loon returns to the water by sliding in along its breast and belly. At night, loons sleep over deeper water, away from land for protection from predators."

Bird Fact Sheets: Loons

”

“That's looney.”

“Well saw lots of deer and elk this summer, but the highlights were the mountain beaver outside my back door (I live in the burbs!) and the humpback whales I saw last week in Mexico.”

“Dang, and I thought the 3 moose I saw were pretty cool...

[bowing]...I'm not worthy,
I'm not worthy,
I'm not worthy...”

“In my limited experience as a hiker/backpacker, I've only seen one possum, a couple of grey jays, and a few ducks. I did get to see fresh hoof prints of a big moose....that was pretty exciting.”

“saw a griz....was accross a little creek from where i was sitting.....charged into the water....i thought he was charging me but he was just swimming. real close, about 20-30 yds. then watched him for about 30 min as he swam and then walked away along the waters edge. came back later but only got a glimpse
was in glacier...awesome place...my very favorite....i dont know how to do it or id send in a picture”

“Had a couple huge flocks of sandhill cranes fly over this weekend. It's kind of hard to figure out what they are at first because the croaking is so out of place.”

“I saw a bird yesterday but I cant find it in my feild guide.(though that really isnt a shocker cause they left out alot of critters!) It looked and acted like a woodpecker. No crest on its head,it was brown/tan with dark brown or black spots.Any ideas??”

“I looked on a couple of websites and the closest I can get is a Northern Flicker.The pics show red and black bars on their heads but I couldnt see anything like that on the bird I saw yesterday.It was kinda in the shadows so I might just have missed it.

I also saw a dead Kestral(sp?)(Sparrow Hawk) a couple days ago on the RR tracks .Sad but at least it was a chance to get a closeup look.”

“From the description that would be a Flicker, yes.”

“A couple of weeks ago, when turning into my parent's driveway, we were shocked to see a Buck walk across the road!

My parents have lived in their house for about 25 years, and the most I've ever seen were red fox and pheasants (along with the usual squirrels, skunks, birds and rabbits).

I don't ever recall seeing a deer, much less one with antlers-- (and this guy had a huge rack-- he was obviously not a young buck!)

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on hand-- I'm still trying to figure out where this buck's been hiding! LOL”

“From the description that would be a Flicker, yes.” -- Thanks Simer!! I guess thats what it was.Pretty neat bird!”

“I saw some Double-Breasted Bed Thrashers on that "Day of Attonement for Men" thread.
last edited: 12/16/04 10:32:56 AM”

“I see flickers a lot. I see them hanging out with groups of starlings for some reason. They are a pain though because they like to sit on my roof and hammer into the tin cover over my chimney. Sounds like someone's got a jackhammer going outside.”

“Friday morning I went for a dayhike at Patapsco Valley State Park. I stopped for a break at a spot called Illchester Rocks ,Its a spot about 60-80 feet above the river where people practice rock climbing. Before I even got my camera out (which I was just about to do) I spotted what I thought was a Turkey Buzzard out of the corner of my eye.But it came within about 50 yards of the ledge I was sitting on and it turned out to be a Bald Eagle!! Only the 3rd Ive ever seen in that area!! Damn Cool!!

Speaking of woodpeckers heres a bit of trivea for you. I saw a sign at the Carrie Murray Nature Center that said scientists studied the sculls of woodpeckers to help design better football helmets. Makes sense to me!!”

“Woodpeckers have boats?”

“streamweaver - Yes, Patapsco Valley State Park is a good place. I camped there several times each year, 1995-2000, while my daughter was attending JHU. It was my "motel" with it's ground-level prices.”

““streamweaver - Yes, Patapsco Valley State Park is a good place. I camped there several times each year, 1995-2000, while my daughter was attending JHU. It was my "motel" with it's ground-level prices.”

Nowslimmer-Did you ever rent one of those mini cabins they have at the Hilton Area? They seem pretty nice.I just wish they would open the place up for winter camping! Patapsco is my regular Dayhiking ,fishing ,stomping grounds since its only about 4 miles from my home. I hope everybody had a good/safe Christmas!! Streamweaver”

“Well, a raccoon tried to rip it's way into my brother in laws roof last night. It tore up the flashing and shingles around 3 of the 4 vent pipes in his roof. Pretty substantial damage.”

“I just saw a Pileated Woodpecker in my front yard

”

“I shoot a dozen deer in the butt with my BB gun almost daily. They eat EVERYTHING! I have about 5,000 orange tiger lilies & maybe a dozen bloomed because they ate the buds. I had about an acre or so of mountain laurel (with 10,000 flowers) & they killed many of these slow growers by eating EVERY leaf. I'm gonna start eating venison soon.”

“Agent orange on hooves. I’ve given up trying to have a nice landscape around my house there's just to many deer.”

“i bet if you went out and fired a shotgun up in the air two or three times around the same time they feed they'd start avoiding the area.”

“.

"Did you ever rent one of those mini cabins they have at the Hilton Area?"
streamweaver

No. All I needed was a place to sleep and the campsites were fine.”