Wildlife

[BBkat]

Took the cat into the backyard for a bit(on a harness and leash, though she didn't do much walking, mostly just sitting there) and I found a June Bug. A live one. Usually I only find them dead but this one was alive. The cat was not interested in it at all.

Also, I found a tiny caterpillar/inchworm thing crawling up the inside of the bathroom sink the other day first thing in the morning. I've found spiders, silver fish and earwigs in the sink/tub before, but caterpillars? That's a new one.

[pegasi1978]

My mom hasn't been able to keep up the swimming pool since my dad died. So now she has frogs. Lots of them!

Spoiler

That's just a small portion of them.

[Chanilove]

We had a baby robin on our back patio this morning. I'm proud of my daughter for coming and telling me before she touched him! He was hiding under one of our folded up chairs when I first saw him and I let him be for a while hoping his mama would come care for him. When I went back out after breakfast he was in the road chirping, so I went over and chased him into the grass where he'd be safer. The spirited little thing tweeted at me the whole way. That was cute. It wasn't quite as cute when his mama started chirping back and swooped at my head. At least she came for him! I went back to my yard and went inside after I saw she was feeding him, at least.

It seems we always get a bird on that patio at about the same time every year. Last year it was a baby blue jay and the year before that it was another robin. Such clumsy little critters! Either that or the tree overshadowing our patio is just a very unsafe nesting choice. xD

[Anira]

Birds have a bad sense of smell, so they don't care much if their babies get touched moved to a safer place. What bothers them is too much human activity near their nests.

Had a robin nest on the porch here. Out of the 4 babies, one was killed by my cat, another abandoned by the parents. Other two are nowhere to be found, so 2 out of 4 is a good number.

Found a frog the other night. Gave it to a neighbor (who has a garden and a duck with a pond). He apparently showed it to his wife, because next thing I heard as I was leaving was her screaming. Oops...

Smelled a skunk the other night as well.

Haven't seen the deer in a while; they must be having their babies.

Also haven't seen any snakes, lizards, or scorpions yet, but it may still be too chilly at night for them. Some squished rattlers on the highway going to town, though.

The wild turkeys have also wandered off.

[Chanilove]

It wasn't her touching him and getting her scent on him that I was really worried about. She gave me a scare the other day when she tried to pick up a snake and we had a conversation about how animals don't enjoy being bothered. Also, we haven't really had any small pets so I don't think she understands just how fragile birds are. She's young and excitable and might've hurt him. It's just nice to see she's developing some restraint. xD

We've had quite a few garter snakes here, but nothing bigger or scarier than that so far. I haven't seen any deer on the roads for a while, either.

[Anira]

I understand being worried about them being fragile, but they could be carrying diseases and such, too. Also, in my experience, baby birds don't peck or anything, they just hold on to your finger like it's the only thing keeping them alive, so you don't have to worry about that.

I live in the middle of nowhere, so the deer generally live in town. I just saw one lone one up on the hill, but other than that, there haven't been any around, which is very strange.

[BBkat]

Garter snakes are harmless, they're more likely to raise a stink(literally, they secrete a foul smell when upset) than bite. About the only thing you might have to worry about from a snake bite(from a non poisonous one obviously) is possible infection. But if you wash it you should be fine. Not to mention they can't exactly do much damage with those tiny mouths.
*has totally been bitten by a snake*

Saw the male cardinal again. And some quick research reveals that they mate for life so the pair we've been seeing around the feeder every year could very well be the same pair.

[Chanilove]

Yes, the birdies I picked up when I was a little girl did that. I thought it was so adorable. I used to do a lot of bird-watching before I dropped my camera in the lake a couple years ago. :c I wish I could've taken pictures of the wee little guy. I might be able to if he's still out there tomorrow. My neighbor gave me the keys to her garage so I can borrow her ladder if he's still there and needs lifted into his nest. I don't know how much mama's gonna like that, but I suppose I may as well try before a cat, dog, or something else gets him.

Deer don't often come in town here, but it's not unknown. The town's population is just under 500 and the nearest mall is an hour's drive away, so we're kinda out there. They're usually all over the roads, but I haven't seen them too often lately. Not that I'm complaining!

As for the snakes, I know what they can do. Or, well, I know what their bites can do. I had no idea about the stinky secretion. My brother used to play with them a lot when he was little and suffered the consequences a few times. I'd still rather avoid the whole mess for my daughter if I can, and teach her not to get too brave around wild animals.

Ooh, cardinals are pretty to look at! I had no idea that they mated for life. That's pretty interesting. I do miss having a bird feeder...

[BBkat]

It's interesting, things I've read about Eastern Water Snakes(the kind that bit me) state that they are aggressive(in comparison to Garter Snakes) and tend to strike multiple times.
The first time I caught a water snake, and a large one, it was actually fairly chill. I mean, it could have easily crawled out of my net and escaped no question, but it didn't. It just hung out there while I carried it and eventually let me carefully lift it out of the net and carry it around with two hands. They're definitely a 1 on 1 type of snake, when people started crowding around(especially around its head, bad idea, it did not like that) it got freaked and did graze my hand in a panic. Twice. And this was a good sized snake too, at least the length of my arm.

The one that actually bit me, it only bit once, but that's probably because I let go right away. Again, this was all my fault because I was trying to catch it and probably freaking it out. I had a hold of it and it just whipped around and caught my hand. And it got away.
I have no idea how chill Gartner Snakes are because, I've never actually caught one. xD I tried catching a small one but it just started stinking up and writhing about in my hand so I let it go for fear of hurting it.
Milk Snakes are chill though(if insanely fast). I caught one of those and it just wrapped around my arm and relaxed till I set it free.

[TNHawke]

It seems we always get a bird on that patio at about the same time every year. Last year it was a baby blue jay and the year before that it was another robin. Such clumsy little critters! Either that or the tree overshadowing our patio is just a very unsafe nesting choice. xD

The tree is probably a GREAT place for babies, since you keep getting them. Nests are not a safe place for baby birds, so they tend to leave the nest before they can really fly- so yes, they are quite clumsy. You did exactly the right thing, making sure it was safe, but leaving it well enough alone.