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Thanks from me, too. I've gotten really into birdwatching this year and this is the kind of neat little fact that I love sharing with my family, who have also recently started to enjoy learning about our local avians.
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Oct 5, 2019 21:39
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once u realize birbs are dinosaurs u never look at them the same way again
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Oct 5, 2019 23:06
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free hubcaps posted:once u realize birbs are dinosaurs u never look at them the same way again 
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Oct 6, 2019 00:46
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hell yeah
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Oct 6, 2019 01:15
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Now imagine a chicken nugget so big you could sleep on it. Oooh yiss.
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Oct 6, 2019 01:20
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speaking of fierce theropod friends this hot tamale was hanging out on a batbox in a local park I recently walked in after a rainstorm
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Oct 6, 2019 01:35
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Telebite posted:The one on the right is actually a male. Check the beak color. Yellow beak = male. He is in his eclipse plumage. Thank you so much! A day where I learn something new is worth it, gonna carry that one with me for a long time.
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Oct 6, 2019 04:06
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I felt that everyone should see the two finalists in this year's fatbear competition because they are amazing. https://twitter.com/KatmaiNPS/status/1181614836347621377
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Oct 8, 2019 18:03
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I found this snake in my front yard He had to be about 1 and a half feet long. I'm not sure what kind he is though. I live in south texas and we have a lot of snakes.
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Oct 8, 2019 19:13
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Some kind of water snake genus Nerodia, but I’m honestly not too familiar with which ones you guys have down there
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Oct 9, 2019 00:56
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my cat is norris posted:Xposting from the Herp thread: This toad friend still needs an ID. Any guesses?
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Oct 9, 2019 01:26
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I'm seeing way more crepuscular creatures on my morning run now that the days are getting shorter, but it's not ideal for photography. This morning I spotted a deer along my running path for the first time ever, but it was way too dark down in the ravine and I didn't even realize what it was until it was in the trees.  One of my usual porcupines. Glad to see them after a long absence!    Spotted these coyotes in the field right behind a local college. I guess they had caught or scavenged a rabbit. I see coyotes all the time, but seeing three at once is rare, especially that close to buildings.
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Oct 9, 2019 15:41
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my cat is norris posted:This toad friend still needs an ID. Any guesses? Looks like a California toad, Anaxyrus boreas, to me. I'm not an expert on west coast animals, but the two toads in that rough area are California toads and Yosemite toads. Yosemite toads don't typically have the line down the center.
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Oct 9, 2019 15:47
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OneTwentySix posted:Looks like a California toad, Anaxyrus boreas, to me. I'm not an expert on west coast animals, but the two toads in that rough area are California toads and Yosemite toads. Yosemite toads don't typically have the line down the center. Okay thanks! I was trying to ID it with pictures from California Herps, is there a better source to learn from, or is it just practice?
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Oct 10, 2019 05:32
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I did the same thing. After seeing enough pictures or animals, you learn the differences, but I don't see western animals often. Basically, I just went through , narrowed it down by range, and then compared diagnostic features.
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Oct 12, 2019 04:54
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I went fishing all day and all i caught was this dont worry i threw him back I think this is called a Hardhead Catfish.
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Oct 15, 2019 00:56
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Hihohe posted:I went fishing all day and all i caught was this Oh my god he's adorable. Crosspost from the hunting thread: I have been going scouting to find deer. Edited to exclude my gun/hunting stuff. Hope you guys enjoy this, I've added a few goodies just for you at the end. Chaosfeather posted:Some choice pictures from scouting last week:   This was half-buried, looks like some coyote's old lunch. I just wanted to pull it out to make sure it wasn't someone's remains, since the trail I was on today is notorious for giving people heat problems. Both bones were returned.   More Super Soft Sage, Scholar of shady spots.  Additional Dodder   A very scary friend was discovered while taking this first picture.   I'm not super good at IDing plants yet, so all of my favorites are easy to spot and recognize. 
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Oct 15, 2019 05:19
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I am absolutely not above crouching next to a bush in the midday heat to get some shade. Just as long as there isn't anything that's going to bite and/or sting me (which often has a monopoly on the shade anyway).
- Yes, I mean the parasite Dodder, not the poor host. It's too dry for them to be in full color right now, but this stuff gets bright orange when it's not so hot.
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That a tarantula burrow there in the background?
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Oct 15, 2019 21:15
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the yeti posted:That a tarantula burrow there in the background? We have them out here, but I rarely see them. Honestly it's hard for me to know who is currently occupying a burrow - could be a rattler, could be a hairy spider friend, could be rodents. Smaller holes could also be for scorpions. This was in the Laguna Mountains of San Diego.
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Oct 15, 2019 23:34
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Hi thread. Just idly wondered if critterquest was still a thing, and turns out it still is! Here's a link to the original 2008 critterquest, for the OP: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2891409 A huge amount of the images are lost to waffle, but there's still some left. As for relevance, hey. Wife and I went to Point Reyes in August and drove up the coast a little. Did some macro photos along the cliffside trail at the southern end of Goat Rock state beach. These are all basically the RAWs, unedited or cropped or anything, because I'm feeling too lazy to do a good job. Flickr album             
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Oct 16, 2019 06:39
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Awww those bumbles 
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Oct 16, 2019 14:29
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It's getting colder outside so all the spiders are coming home to roost.   
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Oct 22, 2019 19:57
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I sadly do not have an ID picture, but earlier today I discovered that wasps can have hives in the ground. This doesn't shock me, it was just something I wasn't aware of before. What did startle me is that they were out at nautical dawn. Not a lot of them, but they were. Was this because I was approaching the nest? I wasn't stung, but they definitely were starting to wake up and get agitated, so I left. This is my best guess to what happened, but I admit I don't know much about wasps because I'm terrified of the things, and perhaps they are just awake that early?
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Oct 22, 2019 20:33
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Chaosfeather posted:I sadly do not have an ID picture, but earlier today I discovered that wasps can have hives in the ground. This doesn't shock me, it was just something I wasn't aware of before. Wasps usually start waking up at sunrise, but they are very territorial and will aggressively defend their nests when disturbed. Leaving was a good idea, because they might have attacked after trying to scare you off first. Since wasps deposit a pheromone on stinging that incites other wasps to also sting you, this can get pretty painful. As long as you keep your distance from the nest and the nest doesn't get too big, they shouldn't bother you. They're curious and will examine you, particularly if you smell of food, but they won't normally sting unless provoked by swatting at them, for example.
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Oct 22, 2019 20:57
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Protip: stepping on the nest is bad and will cause you to feel bad.
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Oct 22, 2019 21:08
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Blue Footed Booby posted:Protip: stepping on the nest is bad and will cause you to feel bad. Also from my experience, someone else stepping on the nest is bad and will cause you to feel bad even if you're like 100 feet away.
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Oct 22, 2019 21:32
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  I think it’s a Cloudless Sulphur doot, but I’m not sure. He was on a Bahama Cassia.
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Oct 22, 2019 22:05
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What a good black and yellow friend! Thanks for the re:wasps. I didn't realize what I stepped past was a hive at first, due to there being literal hundreds of holes in the ground in that sort of environment, but I'm glad my instincts led me correctly in this case. Even if it meant I got spiked by some of the local foliage, I still count that as a significant improvement over "stung to death by wasps in the desert".
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Oct 23, 2019 04:26
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People have survived being stung literally thousands of times by anything from bees to hornets, so hey, at least that isn't something you need to be concerned about. Unless you're allergic, anyway.
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Oct 23, 2019 05:48
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I witnessed some banditry afoot on my patio but only managed to snag a photo of the perpetrator fleeing the scene:
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Oct 26, 2019 23:25
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Yesterday was Deer Opener in San Diego! And now You'll get to see as much of the deer as I did!   (note I'm actually a tiny person and my hands are small, so this isn't super helpful for scale. More for my notes)Tadah! Now for the other critters. Not pictured: Numerous moths, insects and bats eating said insects that were attracted to my headlamp on the hike in at 4 in the morning. Also not pictured: Two burrowing owls on the road in the morning, numerous birds in the bushes. Alas. Sorry for the potato quality, I'm not great at taking insect pictures. The ones of the tarantula hawk didn't come out at all, and the tarantula pictures were way, way too out of focus you couldn't even see them in the shadows. Just trust me when I said they were out there on the mountain with me.    Some good plants.      And some landscape shots, I hope those are welcome too.    (hours later)      (hours later) At the top of the Laguna Mountains it was hovering around 97-103 for most of the day before I enjoyed a nice, cool 85 degrees on the way down. Good day, too hot and dry for ticks, which is a huge plus. Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Oct 28, 2019 |
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Oct 28, 2019 00:06
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Chaosfeather posted:Yesterday was Deer Opener in San Diego! And now You'll get to see as much of the deer as I did! I'm digging this, please post more next time you go! I'll respond in kind on my next outing!
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Oct 28, 2019 04:50
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PathAsc posted:I'm digging this, please post more next time you go! I'll respond in kind on my next outing! Even if I don't get a picture of the critters? Well okaaay. SAN DIEGO DEER SEASON: PART 2  Started on the top of the ridge, first thing in the morning. Bumped another burrowing owl on the way up, they must be gettin real tired of my poo poo cuz this one scolded me. Still cute.  I found some extremely confusing tracks once I left the trail to go to the plateau. A nice boulder to climb. Rocks are always welcome around here - easy to climb, beautiful and not likely to spike you. Some very nice views of the private property edge. And the mansion it contains. The plateau at the top of the mountain here. No shade but a good breather. Found this cute plant up there. Not sure what it is. Dodder? DODDER  What a nice quartz vein in this one. Had a few of these - sadly they are pretty damaged from people chipping away at them. Thanks for focusing on the wrong flower, dork. I was also followed by some Ravens throughout the morning? I think? One gave a call at some point that sounded like a rolling chirp, something I've never heard a raven make. It puzzled me, to say the least. They'd circle a little and leave for a while then come find me again an hour later. Maybe they wanted food? I'm not too keen on feeding the wildlife, even if I really want to befriend them and be a disney princess.I got to see more deer tracks!  Although I don't have proof, I also saw a doe! She was smaller than some of the other does I've seen which isn't shocking - desert animals tend to be. She was also more grey than brown. I reached for my camera but honestly by the time I had it ready she was back in the shrubs and not super visible. Fortunately for her you can't hunt does in Cali, so she's not in danger any hunting season.
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Oct 30, 2019 03:47
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Chaosfeather posted:Even if I don't get a picture of the critters? Well okaaay. Yes, right into my loving veins
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Oct 30, 2019 04:30
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Chaosfeather posted:The good poo poo~ Your pictures own. This dude and his friend really did not want to exit my garage. With a mix of coaxing and catching I finally got him to a safe place but not before he jumped on my leg and tried to climb up into my shorts a couple times. ~Chilly and moist~   I'm pretty sure it's a squirrel tree frog.
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Oct 30, 2019 04:55
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Hopefully I can help make up for the missing deer.  Bonus pronghorn antelope binocular shot  !Double bonus! ... Donkey!  And the rest of the decent shots I've made since late August. In order of appearance: Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata), Stagmomantis carolina, Becker's White (Pontia beckerii) on a beautiful blue mountain prarie clover (Dalea ornata) inflorescence, Apis mellifera, Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), and the shy old jerusalem cricket (Stenopelmatus fuscus)        I'll close it out with some landscape money shots taken outside Craters of the Moon national park.      Birding tip: boiling some water on the back of the truck on a 12 degree morning is apparently a great way to attract some sage thrashers. https://imgur.com/ZObbAQX treat fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Oct 30, 2019 06:31
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Potential BFF posted:
Cute little ribbit treat posted:Hopefully I can help make up for the missing deer. Yess! This is more deer than I generally see all year in SoCal, so thank you for providing. Pronghorn are really cool looking creatures and I didn't appreciate them until a herd got really close to my car one day and I got a real good look at them. And..is that a wild burro? That's one I have yet to see, very cool! Gorgeous country, thanks for the pics! I appreciate the little critters, but especially the mantis. I can never get a good photo of the drat things, the ones around here are just way too twitchy. I can catch them just fine and it's not like their bites hurt at all, but they really don't like me nor my camera coming close. Can't say I blame them.
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Oct 30, 2019 15:39
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I found a robin with a broken wing in my front yard yesterday. After spending the night locked away from the cats in a grocery bag, he's now safely recovering at the Ruth Melichar bird center. Donate to your animal rescues & rehabs, they're practicing balls-out socialism but with rad animals.  Because they're hollow and without marrow, bird bones heal quickly in only a couple weeks. Hopefully this dude will be back to teasing my dog in a month or two.
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Nov 9, 2019 20:44
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Poor little lady! Thank you for rescuing her.
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Nov 9, 2019 20:49
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treat posted:I found a robin with a broken wing in my front yard yesterday. After spending the night locked away from the cats in a grocery bag, he's now safely recovering at the Ruth Melichar bird center. Donate to your animal rescues & rehabs, they're practicing balls-out socialism but with rad animals. I never knew that's why they either healed quickly or died in rescue situations. I used to be a part of a wild bird rescue and I found it curious that results were fast but I assumed that was because everyone knew what they were doing (or alternatively, the birds were too far gone when we reached them) I have a new report, this one is from TEXAS  This post has a lot of spiders in it. Please skip if you have arachnophobia It's a big state but my hunting buddies invited me out to try to hunt with them out here. None of us had any luck, but we encountered lots of cool stuff that I normally never, ever get to see. Birds! More specifically, potato-quality birds eating purple berries in a forest:   Footprints! So many footprints! But these were the best and most distinct   M-Mollusks? I didn't even realize freshwater clams were a thing until last month (This one may be dead, I can't tell to be honest. It was probably dug up by pigs but was still closed)  Bugs!  So, So SO many arachnids. We'd see them in the dark from our headlamps - it wasn't dewdrops shining on the ground but thousands of spider eyes everywhere. I uh, am still getting over my arachnophobia so that was still a bit creepy.  The best night image isn't great - it was mostly these fellows on the ground. Stowaway on the truck. We caught him(?) before driving off and placed him in a bush.  This fine friend startled me while I was reading a horror book. It was a very curious feeling to not only look at a spider and have it react to me, but to watch it turn towards me as my head swiveled to see what that movement on my vest was. Thankfully I wasn't wearing the vest, as we hiked back to camp for a lunch break. Not a great angle on this one but I was having the damnest time getting a photo of them. Including potato quality to show what about 20 others looked like. We had a close encounter with 3 wild pigs but unfortunately didn't get enough visibility for a clean shot. We also bumped deer three times without visibility, so no pictures, alive or otherwise. It was opening of duck season so unfortunately pressure from last weekend's opener and duck opener this weekend spooked everything. We also spotted countless squirrels but they were never still, which is a shock to everyone I am sure. So here are some fungi.         Some great plants, most of them not very good for you in various ways.   Greenbriar and I got very well acquainted this weekend. (My poor legs) What the robins seemed to enjoy eating   And of course, I wouldn't want to disappoint on the landscape end, though visibility was quite limited.   Catte Tax  Edit: One of my buddies is trying to learn the differences between mushrooms and had guesses at these, could anyone ID any of them as an answer key? They were all located in Caddo National Grasslands. Thank you if you can, and no worries if you can't/don't wanna. Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Nov 11, 2019 |
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Nov 11, 2019 04:25
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