FWIS3

Fireflies! Woo Hoo!

More fireflies last night. Oh and our first snake sighting of the year. Lots of holes have been seen but Mrs. T and a 2 foot garter surprised each other while she was weeding Tuesday.

Thumper wrote:More fireflies last night. Oh and our first snake sighting of the year. Lots of holes have been seen but Mrs. T and a 2 foot garter surprised each other while she was weeding Tuesday.

Who screamed loudest?

I only heard Mrs. T. I was around the corner and back in the garage. But when I came to investigate, he looked pretty scared and coiled up as well.
I remember taking the short cut to the barn through the grass a few years ago. I almost stepped on a 4 foot milk snake, or it might have been a corn snake. We never got formally introduced. In mid step I lept sideways and took off running while the snake appeared to jump up and speed off in the opposite direction. I was screaming the whole way like a little school girl. I'm pretty sure I was louder than him. And peed myself more.

I've seen snakes for weeks but Fireflies!?! Not a hint of one yet at this end of the state.

Swift wrote:I've seen snakes for weeks but Fireflies!?! Not a hint of one yet at this end of the state.

Their numbers have increased each night since Tuesday.

I saw a coyote in full gallop earlier this week. I've seen zillions of the critters before but never running as fast as they can. Coyotes are REALLY fast when they want to be.

No pics or video. Even if I had my camera out, I wouldn't have been able to capture this guy on video.

I haven't seen one in forever, but we hear them all the time.

I just saw an article detailing how the Coyote has managed to thrive when other species have not. They are reported to manage to survive in cities even.

SciFiFisher wrote:I just saw an article detailing how the Coyote has managed to thrive when other species have not. They are reported to manage to survive in cities even.

I saw them occasionally in Atlanta near where I lived in the heart of the city. There's enough greenspace and forested tracts for a few to manage.

SciFiFisher wrote:I just saw an article detailing how the Coyote has managed to thrive when other species have not. They are reported to manage to survive in cities even.

Actually, their presence in cities is well documented.

https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/
https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/10-fascinating-facts-about-urban-coyotes/

Swift wrote:

SciFiFisher wrote:I just saw an article detailing how the Coyote has managed to thrive when other species have not. They are reported to manage to survive in cities even.

Actually, their presence in cities is well documented.

https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/
https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/10-fascinating-facts-about-urban-coyotes/

I find it fascinating that the coyote has adapted to living with humans while other predators did not do so well. Obviously, it's probably easier for a coyote to live in a park in the middle of the city than for a grizzly. I also like that they act as a check on feral cats preying on song birds.

SciFiFisher wrote:

Swift wrote:

SciFiFisher wrote:I just saw an article detailing how the Coyote has managed to thrive when other species have not. They are reported to manage to survive in cities even.

Actually, their presence in cities is well documented.

https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/
https://urbancoyoteinitiative.com/10-fascinating-facts-about-urban-coyotes/

I find it fascinating that the coyote has adapted to living with humans while other predators did not do so well. Obviously, it's probably easier for a coyote to live in a park in the middle of the city than for a grizzly. I also like that they act as a check on feral cats preying on song birds.

They're wily little bastards aren't they?

Sigma_Orionis wrote:They're wily little bastards aren't they?

They just need a better supplier.

One of the things that the stories I read claim is that the coyote is starting to spread to South America. Any sightings?

SciFiFisher wrote:I find it fascinating that the coyote has adapted to living with humans while other predators did not do so well. Obviously, it's probably easier for a coyote to live in a park in the middle of the city than for a grizzly. I also like that they act as a check on feral cats preying on song birds.

I've wondered about that too. I wonder if canids are just a particularly adaptable family. The domestication of wolves to dogs is the obvious example. But both coyote and fox seem to adopt well to living in a human environments, and fox have been show to be domesticatable (the famous Russian experiments).

SciFiFisher wrote:

Sigma_Orionis wrote:They're wily little bastards aren't they?

They just need a better supplier.

One of the things that the stories I read claim is that the coyote is starting to spread to South America. Any sightings?

Not here, they'll have to get through Panama and Colombia first.

While mowing yesterday, the Eastern Kingbird and Purple Martins were (literally) having a field day swooping around me picking off the bugs I kicked up. I was all smiles until I turned around once and there was a baby skunk bobbling across the grass also picking up some bugs. I sat motionless on the blaring mower until he stumbled off far enough that I felt I could continue. Oh boy.

Thumper wrote:While mowing yesterday, the Eastern Kingbird and Purple Martins were (literally) having a field day swooping around me picking off the bugs I kicked up. I was all smiles until I turned around once and there was a baby skunk bobbling across the grass also picking up some bugs. I sat motionless on the blaring mower until he stumbled off far enough that I felt I could continue. Oh boy.

SLM!

The only two things that come to mind are job jargon from my work: Straight Line Mileage
or possibly Skunk Lives Matter...

Thumper wrote:The only two things that come to mind are job jargon from my work: Straight Line Mileage
or possibly Skunk Lives Matter...

I may have been influenced by Geonuc's posts about his BLM sign being stolen.

In the last couple of days, it feels as if spring may come for real. It's amazing what hearing birds in the trees and brush does to me almost unconsciously. We've been hearing the Great Horned Owl alot recently. Sometimes we hear a pair of them. Geese are around here year round but they have been getting more active recently. I saw a formation of well over a hundred flying over last weekend. While slowing down and wondering if the deer I spotted in on the shoulder was going to dart in front of me, the red fox, a little further up the shoulder did.

Hard to imagine spring just yet what with all the snow but I saw a fat woodpecker on the ponderosa next to our house. That was nice.

We have various woodpeckers out the @ss here year round. But just hearing the different birds calling and feeling a non cutting non icy breeze really make me finally think of spring.
Do you have feeders on your property?

No feeders on ours and I don't see any in the neighbors' yards either.

Thumper wrote:We have various woodpeckers out the @ss here year round.

That sounds very painful.

Spring seems to be slow in coming this year. Our snow drops are starting to bloom, as are my allergies, though you look at the trees and you don't see why. I've seen literally two vultures, which seems below normal. Went looking for herons at their nest site like a week ago and saw nothing, but I've heard they are back. We got a woodcock walk next week.