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https://i.imgur.com/fpab1D1.jpg?1 Encountered this ex-magpie on my morning run the other day. More interestingly, there were five magpies on the sidewalk around it, one vocalizing, and the other four with their heads held toward the sky. I wonder if it was some kind of funeral? They weren't eating it, in any case. I wanted to get a photo but they took off before I was able to do so. Chinston Wurchill fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jul 28, 2021 |
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Jul 27, 2021 23:53
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 11:57 |
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I know dead animals are a no-go, but how do we feel about murders?  I counted at least 50 in the field - wonder what they were gathering for?
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Aug 10, 2021 20:27
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 Oh hey, what a neat caterpillar! Better get it off the sidewalk so no one steps on it.  No caterpillar! Only snake! Tiger swallowtail, I believe. I was tempted to take it home but I wasn't sure how far along it was - turns out when they're brown they're pretty much ready to pupate. Ah well!
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Aug 25, 2021 15:16
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Spotted some great birds on a Saturday wander:   Well, actually they're more or less the usual birds but they're still great. They were just more numerous than usual this time.
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Sep 21, 2021 15:14
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Recent critters, great and small. One of my strawberries arrived with a mass of hexagonal eggs on it, so I held onto them to see what would happen. A bunch of tiny beetles emerged, clung together in a ball, and died in fairly short order. I assume they weren't from around here and didn't care for the climate or food options.  Black bear in Waterton National Park.   Bison also in Waterton.  Porcupine on my morning run.  Some kind of shield bug in my yard. Someone keeps digging up the flicker that I buried earlier this year.
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Oct 19, 2021 20:53
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axolotl farmer posted:I somehow unbookmared this thread and this reply is extremely late, sorry. Thanks! At least they didn't smell up the place.
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Oct 29, 2021 18:49
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  Caught a peregrine having lunch while walking my dog. The lighting was terrible and it was way up a tree, but I did what I could. Shame I didn't get one of the magpie chasing it off.
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Nov 23, 2021 16:18
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BetterLekNextTime posted:It’s hard for me to judge scale here but I’m pretty sure that’s a Merlin and not a Peregrine. You're probably right, we have those around as well. I just see the peregrines a lot more often so I assumed. ...or maybe they're all merlins?
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Nov 23, 2021 18:12
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Love my porcupals.  Video.
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Nov 30, 2021 18:10
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Hihohe posted:not mine but look at this big rear end mite squeeze into a hole I know these things pose absolutely no threat but they creep the heck out of me in any case. I guess they just look too much like ticks. Not too many exciting critters in my life lately as it's mid-winter and I unfortunately didn't get any photos or video of the skunk traipsing down the sidewalk in front of my house the other day.  One of my cats found this tiny millipede a while back. Based on the colour I think it's a juvenile, but I'm not sure.  The Bohemian waxwings have been making their customary ruckus as they gorge on berries.   This couple of flickers blessed my yard with their presence. Love those birds!
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Mar 2, 2022 21:30
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Someone wanted to join me in the shower this morning. I put them outside which seemed like a better outcome for both of us. Nice camouflage against the kitchen counter! I found a dead squirrel the other day and its upper jaw structure was interesting.
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May 12, 2022 19:27
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You could also look into local wildlife rescues if the condition doesn't improve. Quite a hare-y situation on my run this morning. I haven't seen a group that large before, and it looks like one of them is behind on seasonal fashion trends.
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May 13, 2022 18:13
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I love millipedes! The giant ones feel so weird when they walk on you. Nothing too exciting lately, but here are a few from the dog park.  A very brave muskrat.  Ducks all in a row.  Preening pileated.  Black-crowed night heron. This is only the second time I've spotted this one - I inadvertently spooked it and got to see it awkwardly fly up to the tree.
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May 20, 2022 18:48
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Nice 'nemones! I came across a surprising number of grubs when digging up some sod over the weekend, including this particularly chubby grubby. I only found one pupa which is now in a container on my counter so I can see what comes out.  Found this little lady in the garage and was going to get her a drink, but she flew off on her own.  My favourite local couple.  I think this one is invasive.
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May 31, 2022 16:37
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Blood Nightmaster posted:I found this lil guy having a real one across the street on a neighbor's porch the other day (do not skip the sound!) That's an odd noise for a squirrel to be making. And I thought the ones in my yard were grating! Nothing too exciting here lately, but I've run into a few neat critters.  This zebra jumper has been guarding my kitchen. Check out those chompers! There was also a crab-like spider patrolling the bathroom for a few weeks, but my cat found it and that was the end of that.  Probably about to settle down for some metamorphizing. It took me way too long to figure out what this mess of a former animal was. Thinking muskrat based on the tail.  Family vacation!
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Jun 14, 2022 19:50
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Ebola Dog posted:Found this cool female stag beetle in the garden, I know they are in the area but first time I've found one in the garden, was very excited when I found it! Love em! I wish we had more interesting beetles around here.  Interesting couple weeks for muskrat parts! This looks a fair bit older than the pile I found last week.
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Jun 17, 2022 18:48
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 Tis the season for awkward baby birds! This one's parents weren't around but I walked past another wee magpie yesterday and got thoroughly cussed out by its folks.
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Jun 22, 2022 20:06
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 Not sure what this one is. Impressive peepers though!  I didn't know we had crayfish in our local creek, but I guess we do! I'll have to look out for a whole one.  Less excited to know we have these in our creek.  Our front yard is being occupied by groups of roving juvenile crows and magpies and I love it.  I found this idiot baby in the grass after mowing our lawn (thankfully with the push mower). The sparrows nest in one of our vents and there's usually a dead chick or two out there every year, so I guess this one got lucky. The vent isn't accessible so we took care of it overnight and got it to the local wildlife rehab in good shape. I spent last week in Jasper and there were SO MANY BEARS around our hotel. Pictures forthcoming!
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Jul 5, 2022 00:56
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Look at all these mayfly facts! Thanks folks. I didn't realize they were the same as fish flies. We used to have tent caterpillar infestations in my hometown which were similarly slippery and disgusting, but I don't recall them smelling bad. Jasper pics!  The noblest chipmunk.  Love a good pika! I was proud to identify this one's cry before spotting it.  This family of marmots was living under the cabin next to us and I adore them.  I initially thought this was two bugs gettin' it on, but alas for the lower bug, that was not the case. And SO MANY BEARS.   Bears in trees!    Bears on the run!  Bears having a snack!    Bears RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR HOTEL WINDOW AAAH! There was a mama with a single cub, a mama with two cubs, and an orphaned yearling all within 100 metres or so of our lodgings. It was super neat, if a bit anxiety-provoking. Now if only the lighting/focus/steadiness had allowed for clearer photos. 
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Jul 5, 2022 17:31
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The critter train rolls on!  The bees are LOVING our honeysuckle! I counted 25+ out there, and saw at least 6 or 7 species over about five minutes.  This bumbler fell asleep on a flower. She's just sleeping, right? Bonus shield bug on there too.   A black-crowned night heron couple down by the creek!
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Jul 6, 2022 20:39
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 I had to rescue this critter from our cats. It's funny that I find giant centipedes and house centipedes creepy, but this one that looks like a smaller giant centipede is fine. I guess it's not big enough to be distressing, and it doesn't move as quickly or erratically as the house centipedes we used to have in Ontario.   I see you over there.  Getting ready for a change.
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Jul 12, 2022 16:01
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Ralph Hurley posted:What kind of bees make homes in those little house things? I bought one a few years ago and so far nothing has moved in except spiders. Here's a brief description of possible residents and how they'd use the space. I found this while looking up a leaf-cutter bee I spotted the other day, but it wouldn't sit still for a photo.
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Jul 12, 2022 21:10
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Just a couple spiders by the creek:  I've never seen that second one around here before - it's so gangly that I thought it was a crane fly until I realized there were no wings.
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Jul 13, 2022 22:30
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Critter summer rolls on! Juvenile flickers (there were 3, but one took off)   A big lovely dragonfly which would match my fence if I ever got around to repainting it.  Outside puppies.  I feel like I need to get off this heron's lawn.  A very white moth.  A very sad looking blue jay.
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Jul 19, 2022 17:45
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Absolute beauty!
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Jul 21, 2022 23:12
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 Don't see pelicans around here too often.  Very interesting behaviour here. We heard a cacophony of corvids outside the window and when we went to check it out there was a magpie pinning another magpie to the ground (bottom of frame) with a bunch of other magpies (and one crow) yelling at them from the chairs and nearby trees. It was almost as if they were egging them on to fight or something. I considered intervening but once they noticed us everyone took off, including the one that was pinned.  The rare Northern Alberta toilet spider. Don't worry, I fished it out.   This bee was super into that rock in particular.
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Jul 26, 2022 16:01
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We had a big storm over the weekend and things got all stirred up in the creek where I usually walk my dog. A bee taking some recovery time.  BIG highlight here! I love inverts and I've recently noticed pieces of crayfish in the creek, but this is the first one I've seen that was intact and alive. My dog tried to sniff it and got his lip pinched, but it didn't break the skin. I relocated the crayfish back to the creek by having it hang onto a stick. They aren't native to the area (central/northern Alberta) but they're neat and they probably can't do too much harm to the ecosystem. Dead animals/gross stuff behind the spoiler tags.  I didn't even know there were fish in there, but I found a couple dead ones and managed to save one who was struggling in a shallow puddle.   The small rodents had a rough time of it. I'm not sure how the second one ended up looking like that but it was pretty gnarly.
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Aug 2, 2022 18:21
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 Yay the bees are enjoying our sunflowers! Less yay, a weird dead thing!  Squirrel maybe? There was no tail attached which would have helped with identification. Amazed that all the flesh was still there considering the local wildlife.
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Aug 9, 2022 16:59
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The Red Queen posted:Roundness makes me think squirrel, rats are a little pointier in the front. I also live in what is allegedly the only rat-free area of the world that is populated by humans!
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Aug 9, 2022 18:27
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Scarodactyl posted:Mods are asleep post L O N G B E E Looks like a giant resin bee which is super neat. Nice find!
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Aug 12, 2022 22:12
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 I found two more crayfish in the local creek over the weekend, though both of them were dead. I guess they're really making themselves at home!  My bee pool has been very popular in the current heat. I have since added more rocks and sticks for safety.  Don't mind me, just stealing this towel.  These enterprising ants built a nursery under my tomato plant. I was going to move the pot, but I guess it can stay for now.  An interesting beetle.
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Aug 16, 2022 16:08
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Inspector Hound posted:Thank you all for the bone cleaning advice! I've got it outside on the porch right now, I'll decide on a course of action and get cleaning.[/timg] I missed the previous suggestions but my wife has had great results washing with detergent first to degrease (with help from a brush as needed) and then soaking in a solution of half water half hydrogen peroxide for 12-24 hours. I'd post some before and after pictures but alas I'm currently away from my bones.
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Sep 10, 2022 14:08
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I didn't expect to see much wildlife when I visited Montreal, but I was pleasantly surprised. Cormorant getting some morning sun.  This enterprising spider built its web across an entire row of graves.   A marmot paying its respects.
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Sep 20, 2022 16:43
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 I guess my phone doesn't like shooting by the light of a headlamp, but I gave this stinky kitty right of way on my morning run the other day. They seem more numerous than usual in our area this year.
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Sep 29, 2022 21:43
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MrYenko posted:Most importantly, did you pet it? Alas I did not. Maybe next time.  Office guest. Maybe one of these days it'll be a peregrine, but they tend to stick to the rooftops.  River rock pal!
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Oct 4, 2022 16:31
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I found this thing climbing up my wall the other day. It looks like some sort of shell and I haven't gotten a good look at the head, but clearly it's able to climb and adhere. I think I've seen similar discarded shells around so I assume it's a larva of some sort. We'll see if anything hatches!   Middle of Alberta if anyone has ideas for ID.
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Oct 18, 2022 16:49
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The Red Queen posted:Case bearing moth larva, maybe? If you do a google image search you'll see that much like caddisflies there's a huge variation in the look of their "cases" based on the materials available to them. Yeah, that looks about right - I wasn't aware there were moths with that life cycle! It appears that they can be clothing or carpet-eating pests but we haven't noticed any issues so I shall live and let live for the time being.
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Oct 18, 2022 17:36
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 So happy to see one of my local porcupines this morning! It's been long enough that I was worried they'd been run over or something.
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Oct 21, 2022 15:12
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   Clash of the corvids!
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Oct 27, 2022 22:51
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 11:57 |
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CaptainSarcastic posted:There are magpies in other parts of my state, but I've never seen them. Come visit Alberta! I can't throw a peanut without hitting a magpie. Sadly no pictures but I was attacked by an owl on my morning run today. This is the third time it's happened. It felt like someone had tried to grab the hat off my head, then I saw it flying by. It landed on a branch ahead of me and while I was trying to figure out what to do it swooped at me again. Thankfully a well-timed aural attack scared it off (I screamed). No blood but it definitely grabbed my scalp. Not sure what species as it had more white than all the ones we have up here. Maybe a juvenile or maybe I misperceived it due to the ongoing terror.
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Oct 31, 2022 14:36
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I have seen gray jays up in the Cascades - they rule.