Hi everyone,

All of this talk about animals reminds me of a funny experience a few years ago. At a nearby Kroger (nationwide
chain of grocery stores), there's several -big- tom turkeys living in the grove behind it and in winter, when
the toms get hungry, they go to the main door at Kroger and beg for food. It's the funniest thing.

They can get nasty though. They probably weigh 30-40 pounds each.

-- Sean

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All of this talk about animals reminds me of a funny experience a few years ago. At a nearby Kroger (nationwide
chain of grocery stores), there's several -big- tom turkeys living in the grove behind it and in winter, when
the toms get hungry, they go to the main door at Kroger and beg for food. It's the funniest thing.

They can get nasty though. They probably weigh 30-40 pounds each.

I bet it is funny. I have never been around a lot of them, but that is one wild animal I wouldn't suspect of being a food begger. I wonder if someone
got in the habit of feeding them to start it off? :D

Mike


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Mike Powell wrote to DIGIMAUS <=-

I bet it is funny. I have never been around a lot of them, but that is one wild animal I wouldn't suspect of being a food begger. I wonder if someone got in the habit of feeding them to start it off? :D

Oh, I'm sure they did. I don't think turkeys are naturally aggressive begging humans for food.

-- Sean

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I bet it is funny. I have never been around a lot of them, but that is one wild animal I wouldn't suspect of being a food begger. I wonder if someone got in the habit of feeding them to start it off? :D

Oh, I'm sure they did. I don't think turkeys are naturally aggressive begging
humans for food.

I always thought that Canadian Geese were but then I encountered some in
Canada that didn't seem bothered at all that I was nearby eating lunch. I
was surprised that they paid me no mind & left me alone. I think it is
in places where they are used to people showing up and offering food that
they become (*very*) aggressive beggers.

I used to joke that the Canadian Geese in Canada were more polite than the
ones that migrate or settle here. :D

Mike

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Oh, I'm sure they did. I don't think turkeys are naturally aggressive begg

>> humans for food.

I always thought that Canadian Geese were but then I encountered some in

>Canada that didn't seem bothered at all that I was nearby eating lunch. I
>was surprised that they paid me no mind & left me alone. I think it is
>in places where they are used to people showing up and offering food that
>they become (*very*) aggressive beggers.

They are, if nothing else, pragmatic. Some have gone South for winter
and, being well fed in parks and such, have stayed there. We get quite
a few of them around here but we didn't 35 years ago. They would stop
here but then continue further North to Hudson Bay, but for quite a few
years now we have a good number that stay in this area and they are not
much being fed by people.

Some in the Provincial parks probably are but they have signs and such
asking people not to feed them because they are loud, aggressive
beggars.. plus they don't want them to think that if they winter here
there will still be people around to feed them.

But I've gotten used to seeing them here. They have Goosey Daycare
where, once the goslings are swimming around well, you'll see one
Mother Goose with 15 or 20 of them following her so you know that
they don't all belong to that one female. They say 2 to 8 eggs for
one nest but I'd say that 3 or 4 would be most common.

Pretty much every day now when I head outside I have a couple of
them honking at me, more commonly this time of year when they are
just starting to nest.. They do that often from several hundred
feet distant, likely a warning to all of them in the area that
there is someone outside not too far away.

I used to joke that the Canadian Geese in Canada were more polite

>than the ones that migrate or settle here. :D

Well, they are Canadian, eh? B)

At the moment, as I type this, the Whippoorwills are making a heck
of a racket outside. They are quite loud and generally do their
calling starting at about midnight.

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At the moment, as I type this, the Whippoorwills are making a heck
of a racket outside. They are quite loud and generally do their
calling starting at about midnight.

I don't think we have any of those in this area.

That said, I used to say there were no Catbirds or Oriels in this area but,
in the past 1.5 weeks, I have seen both at my home.

Mike

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Mike Powell wrote to ROB MCCART <=-

At the moment, as I type this, the Whippoorwills are making a heck
of a racket outside. They are quite loud and generally do their
calling starting at about midnight.

I don't think we have any of those in this area.

That said, I used to say there were no Catbirds or Oriels in this area but, in the past 1.5 weeks, I have seen both at my home.

I used to have 3 outside my house, I live in Ireland and we don't have wild turkies :) I bought 3 to fatten and sell for christmas but my children decided that was cruel so they grew and chased everyone :)

TC


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I used to have 3 outside my house, I live in Ireland and we don't have wild turkies :) I bought 3 to fatten and sell for christmas but my children

ecided

that was cruel so they grew and chased everyone :)

LOL, yeah they are territorial if I remember right. What eventually
happened to them?

Mike

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At the moment, as I type this, the Whippoorwills are making a heck

>> of a racket outside. They are quite loud and generally do their
>> calling starting at about midnight.

I don't think we have any of those in this area.

They are sort of neat with their unique call, saying their name,
at least until you're trying to get to sleep. One of them is back
again as I write this.

That said, I used to say there were no Catbirds or Oriels in this area but,

>in the past 1.5 weeks, I have seen both at my home.

I don't think we have Catbirds this far North, and not many birds that
are really colourful. Bluejays are common and Robins but more than
anything else here I see Seagulls, Crows and a few types of Woodpeckers,
plus Swallows and Chickadees for the smaller ones.

But there are lots of hunting type birds here, Hawks and Eagles and
Turkey Vultures. The county builds nesting spots on high towers for
the Osprey Eagles to nest on. For some reason they encourage those
more than anything else.

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That said, I used to say there were no Catbirds or Oriels in this area

ut,

>in the past 1.5 weeks, I have seen both at my home.

I don't think we have Catbirds this far North, and not many birds that
are really colourful. Bluejays are common and Robins but more than
anything else here I see Seagulls, Crows and a few types of Woodpeckers,
plus Swallows and Chickadees for the smaller ones.

Catbirds are not very colorful, but the Oriels are.

There is a young lady on YT that, IIRC, lives in the Maritimes who often
posts videos about Bluejays. Apparently, where she is, they molt. I have never seen a featherless jay down here but they are pretty weird looking. ;)

Lots of Crows here also. Woodpeckers, too, in all sizes. The Swallows
tend to stay near where there is farmland (so we have them but I don't see
them at the house). Chickadees and "Sparrows" are common.

But there are lots of hunting type birds here, Hawks and Eagles and
Turkey Vultures. The county builds nesting spots on high towers for
the Osprey Eagles to nest on. For some reason they encourage those
more than anything else.

There are Hawks and Falcons nearby as I live near the Pallisades. Turkey Vultures are EVERYWHERE here. Just about as common, if not more so, than
the state bird -- the Cardinal. Eagles are not plentiful in my immediate
area, but are more common in Eastern Kentucky, especially around our
several man-made lakes.


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That said, I used to say there were no Catbirds or Oriels in this area

>but, in the past 1.5 weeks, I have seen both at my home.

I don't think we have Catbirds this far North, and not many birds that

>> are really colourful. Bluejays are common and Robins but more than
>> anything else here I see Seagulls, Crows and a few types of Woodpeckers,
>> plus Swallows and Chickadees for the smaller ones.

Catbirds are not very colorful, but the Oriels are.

No, I knew that and was referring to the Orioles..

There is a young lady on YT that, IIRC, lives in the Maritimes who often

>posts videos about Bluejays. Apparently, where she is, they molt. I have
>never seen a featherless jay down here but they are pretty weird looking. ;)

I don't think I've ever seen one doing that, but they do. But they
lose the feathers slowly and they are replaced so the bird is better
protected and the only obvious clue they are molting is they can
lose most of the feathers on their heads leaving them rather bald..

But there are lots of hunting type birds here, Hawks and Eagles and

>> Turkey Vultures. The county builds nesting spots on high towers for
>> the Osprey Eagles to nest on. For some reason they encourage those
>> more than anything else.

There are Hawks and Falcons nearby as I live near the Pallisades. Turkey

>Vultures are EVERYWHERE here. Just about as common, if not more so, than
>the state bird -- the Cardinal.

Eagles are not plentiful in my immediate

>area, but are more common in Eastern Kentucky, especially around our
>several man-made lakes.

We never had bald eagles here that I ever knew about until we
got a couple local the last few years I see flying around now
and then. They are more common in British Columbia. A friend of
mine wand hiking there and took a picture showing probably 30
or so of them around a small lake in the trees. I'd have thought
they'd be more territorial than that but I suppose there was
lots of food available..

I don't think I've seen any Falcons here and known what they were.
There are 4 types that live in Ontario, Canada though so maybe I've
just missed them.. Looking online Peregrine Falcons are year round
residents not too far South of here, but not this far up..
That's the type that you know right away what it is..

Merlin Falcons only Migrate through this area but Gyrfalcons should
actually be here in Winter, and furter North year round. I guess
they like the cold, and it would explain why they are mostly white..
And Kestrels could be here year round too.

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There is a young lady on YT that, IIRC, lives in the Maritimes who often

>posts videos about Bluejays. Apparently, where she is, they molt. I have
>never seen a featherless jay down here but they are pretty weird looking. ;

I don't think I've ever seen one doing that, but they do. But they
lose the feathers slowly and they are replaced so the bird is better protected and the only obvious clue they are molting is they can
lose most of the feathers on their heads leaving them rather bald..

That is what I meant, featherless-headed jays. ;) When I was much
younger, we did have a male cardinal that would show up bald. Thing is, it
was bald year-around so that it might be molting never occurred to us. My
mom used to call it "Baldy" and would feed it. She'd joke that its mate probably did that to him. ;)

We never had bald eagles here that I ever knew about until we
got a couple local the last few years I see flying around now
and then. They are more common in British Columbia. A friend of
mine wand hiking there and took a picture showing probably 30
or so of them around a small lake in the trees. I'd have thought
they'd be more territorial than that but I suppose there was
lots of food available..

I bet they are more common there. They love the mountains and lakes. Like you, I also suspect they are less territorial when there are plenty of resources available.

I don't think I've seen any Falcons here and known what they were.
There are 4 types that live in Ontario, Canada though so maybe I've
just missed them.. Looking online Peregrine Falcons are year round
residents not too far South of here, but not this far up..
That's the type that you know right away what it is..

Yeah, we had at least one that nested on the top of the last office
building I worked in. They moved the nesting box to the top of our
building before they tore down the (much taller) tallest building in town.
I don't think she was as happy on top of ours, though... the buzzards were frequent flyers over our building as it was not taller than the nearby cliffsides, and the other building was right next to the river and (mostly) away from the cliffs.

Merlin Falcons only Migrate through this area but Gyrfalcons should
actually be here in Winter, and furter North year round. I guess
they like the cold, and it would explain why they are mostly white..
And Kestrels could be here year round too.

I don't know for sure what other kind of falcons we might have. I do know
we have some red-tail hawks.

Mike


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That is what I meant, featherless-headed jays. ;) When I was much

>younger, we did have a male cardinal that would show up bald. Thing is, it
>was bald year-around so that it might be molting never occurred to us. My
>mom used to call it "Baldy" and would feed it. She'd joke that its mate
>probably did that to him. ;)

You'd think it would only molt at a certain time of year. They say
online late summer into fall is when to expect that. If he was
bald year round maybe you could blame his 'mate'..
(That's what I did..) B)

Bald Eagles are more common in British Columbia. A friend of

>> mine wend hiking there and took a picture showing probably 30
>> or so of them around a small lake in the trees. I'd have thought
>> they'd be more territorial than that but I suppose there was
>> lots of food available..

I bet they are more common there. They love the mountains and lakes. Like

>you, I also suspect they are less territorial when there are plenty of
>resources available.

Yes, I didn't think there were any here in Ontario until we saw one
the last couple of years, but there was nothing to suggest there
was more than one, although you'd hope there was a pair at least.

I visited the neighbours a couple of days ago and they had a couple
of wheelbarrows blocking an area where people would often park
on their property and just past those there were a couple of small
flagpoles. He explained to me that it was because some Killdeers
(a type of Plover which are birds that spend a lot of time on the
ground and wading in shallow water) had built a 'nest' there.
That nest was just a slight hollow in some gravel on the ground,
and he was trying to protect it until the eggs hatched.
As of yesterday the only change there was that instead of the
original 2 eggs, there were now 4 of them.

I don't think I've seen any Falcons around here..

Yeah, we had at least one that nested on the top of the last office

>building I worked in. They moved the nesting box to the top of our
>building before they tore down the (much taller) tallest building in town.

They had a story on the news a couple of days ago about Geese that
were nesting on tall buildings in Toronto I think, but they had to
keep sending wildlife people to rescue them once the eggs hatched.
Seems the mothers didn't think about how they were going to get
the babies down to the ground after they hatched. They were going
up to the roofs of the buldings and catching the mother in a big
net and putting the goslings in a bag and taking them all down to
the ground and then across a busy highway to where there was a good
sized body of water and letting them go there..

The guy they talked to said they have to do this for dozens of
geese in similar situations every year..

This could be one source of the term, 'Bird Brain'.. B)

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I visited the neighbours a couple of days ago and they had a couple
of wheelbarrows blocking an area where people would often park
on their property and just past those there were a couple of small
flagpoles. He explained to me that it was because some Killdeers
(a type of Plover which are birds that spend a lot of time on the
ground and wading in shallow water) had built a 'nest' there.
That nest was just a slight hollow in some gravel on the ground,
and he was trying to protect it until the eggs hatched.
As of yesterday the only change there was that instead of the
original 2 eggs, there were now 4 of them.

In this area, the killdeers are bad about nesting in the middle of gravel driveways and other places where cars or foot-traffic would be likely.
They make a lot of racket when disturbed. IIRC, they are also one of the
birds where the parent (probably the mother) will feign injury in order to
draw predators away from the nest.

They had a story on the news a couple of days ago about Geese that
were nesting on tall buildings in Toronto I think, but they had to
keep sending wildlife people to rescue them once the eggs hatched.
Seems the mothers didn't think about how they were going to get
the babies down to the ground after they hatched. They were going
up to the roofs of the buldings and catching the mother in a big
net and putting the goslings in a bag and taking them all down to
the ground and then across a busy highway to where there was a good
sized body of water and letting them go there..

Makes you wonder what is drawing them up there. Maybe the lack of places nearer the ground for them to nest in urban areas.

The guy they talked to said they have to do this for dozens of
geese in similar situations every year..

This could be one source of the term, 'Bird Brain'.. B)

Could be one of many sources, I am sure. :D

Mike


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In this area, the killdeers are bad about nesting in the middle of gravel

>driveways and other places where cars or foot-traffic would be likely.
>They make a lot of racket when disturbed. IIRC, they are also one of the
>birds where the parent (probably the mother) will feign injury in order to
>draw predators away from the nest.

Yes, they are very well known for that, the old broken wing scam.. B)
They do tend to stay togther as a pair with one guarding the nest while
the other is out getting food so likely whichever is with the nest does
the luring duty

They had a story on the news a couple of days ago about Geese that

>> were nesting on tall buildings in Toronto I think, but they had to
>> keep sending wildlife people to rescue them once the eggs hatched.
>> Seems the mothers didn't think about how they were going to get
>> the babies down to the ground after they hatched.

Makes you wonder what is drawing them up there. Maybe the lack of places

>nearer the ground for them to nest in urban areas.

These were mostly in areas where the closest ideal area to live has
a lot of human traffic, like parks within the city, so it's just
them looking for a place where people don't go without thinking it
all the way through to how to get the goslings back to the ground
after they hatch.

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Makes you wonder what is drawing them up there. Maybe the lack of places

>nearer the ground for them to nest in urban areas.

These were mostly in areas where the closest ideal area to live has
a lot of human traffic, like parks within the city, so it's just
them looking for a place where people don't go without thinking it
all the way through to how to get the goslings back to the ground
after they hatch.

I figured it had something to do with human encroachment.


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Makes you wonder what is drawing them up there. Maybe the lack of places

>nearer the ground for them to nest in urban areas.

These were mostly in areas where the closest ideal area to live has

>> a lot of human traffic, like parks within the city, so it's just
>> them looking for a place where people don't go without thinking it
>> all the way through to how to get the goslings back to the ground
>> after they hatch.

I figured it had something to do with human encroachment.

Yes, and I'm not sure how long that's been going on in big cities.
I know when we first bought here you would only see Canada Geese
flying over on their way further North, or on their way South for
the winter. I think they've just gotten used to.. well, I was going
to say food but they mostly live on land and water vegetation, so
they are less likely to turn into beggars than other types like
Pigeons, Seagulls or seed eating birds that people tend to toss
food to or build feeders for so I'm not sure why more of them seem
to be staying further South in Summer. Maybe they are just too
lazy these days to fly the extra few hundred miles to Hudson Bay. B)

I was outside today and the Geese were honking at me again,
although as I think about it, it's a few days now since I heard
the Whippoorwills calling out most of the night.

Maybe if that is the male's mating call he got lucky.. B)

Another possibility is it's turned too cold for them to be active.
Just when it looked like the warm weather was finally here, suddenly
we are back to some nights barely above freezing and daytime highs
in the low 50's (F)..

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Yes, and I'm not sure how long that's been going on in big cities.
I know when we first bought here you would only see Canada Geese
flying over on their way further North, or on their way South for
the winter. I think they've just gotten used to.. well, I was going
to say food but they mostly live on land and water vegetation, so
they are less likely to turn into beggars than other types like
Pigeons, Seagulls or seed eating birds that people tend to toss
food to or build feeders for so I'm not sure why more of them seem
to be staying further South in Summer. Maybe they are just too
lazy these days to fly the extra few hundred miles to Hudson Bay. B)

I don't know about other places but here I know that people used to take
bread, etc., to feed to the waterfowl, including Canada Geese, at at local cemetary/park. My first encounter with those Geese was there. This was probably 30 year ago now, but the Canada Geese hanging out there were well aware of trying to get food from people.

I was outside today and the Geese were honking at me again,
although as I think about it, it's a few days now since I heard
the Whippoorwills calling out most of the night.

Maybe if that is the male's mating call he got lucky.. B)

Maybe, lol.

Another possibility is it's turned too cold for them to be active.
Just when it looked like the warm weather was finally here, suddenly
we are back to some nights barely above freezing and daytime highs
in the low 50's (F)..

Same, except we are looking at upper 40s/low 50s (F) at night, and upper 60s/low 70s in the daytime.

Mike


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I don't know about other places but here I know that people used to take

>bread, etc., to feed to the waterfowl, including Canada Geese, at at local
>cemetary/park. My first encounter with those Geese was there. This was
>probably 30 year ago now, but the Canada Geese hanging out there were well
>aware of trying to get food from people.

I've never seen it much here, feeding them, but they seem to love
eating the weeds growing in the grass. I don't know if they would
prefer bread to that or not. Getting rid of the weeds seems a good
thing but their droppings make a heck of a mess..

Just when it looked like the warm weather was finally here, suddenly

>> we are back to some nights barely above freezing and daytime highs
>> in the low 50's (F)..

Same, except we are looking at upper 40s/low 50s (F) at night, and upper

>60s/low 70s in the daytime.

We are staying down where I mentioned but it looks like we will start
to warm up some by next Monday, at least into the low 60's during
the day but still under 50f at night. It should be a little warmer
than that by now but it does reduce the black flies.. and usually
a cool spring means a sudden jump into hot weather, and that can kill
them off very quickly so you get a shorter season of them.

We're getting a lot of rain too, which is more annoying than the cool
weather as it limits what you can do outside. I'm doing a lot of reading.

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I've never seen it much here, feeding them, but they seem to love
eating the weeds growing in the grass. I don't know if they would
prefer bread to that or not. Getting rid of the weeds seems a good
thing but their droppings make a heck of a mess..

Canadians are probably smart enough not to start feeding them. ;) I would much prefer that they eat the weeds.

We are staying down where I mentioned but it looks like we will start
to warm up some by next Monday, at least into the low 60's during
the day but still under 50f at night. It should be a little warmer
than that by now but it does reduce the black flies.. and usually
a cool spring means a sudden jump into hot weather, and that can kill
them off very quickly so you get a shorter season of them.

That is an interesting observation regarding the black flies. Hope that
works out this year. ;)

Mike


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I've never seen it much here, feeding them, but they seem to love

>> eating the weeds growing in the grass. I don't know if they would
>> prefer bread to that or not. Getting rid of the weeds seems a good
>> thing but their droppings make a heck of a mess..

Canadians are probably smart enough not to start feeding them. ;) I would

>much prefer that they eat the weeds.

A lot of that probably depends on the area. I'm sure the ones down
near the Toronto Lakeshore and in bigger Parks may be getting fed by
the City people, but up here there's enough wildlife around that most
people just leave it to take care of itself. B)

We are staying down where I mentioned but it looks like we will start

>> to warm up some by next Monday, at least into the low 60's during
>> the day but still under 50f at night. It should be a little warmer
>> than that by now but it does reduce the black flies.. and usually
>> a cool spring means a sudden jump into hot weather, and that can kill
>> them off very quickly so you get a shorter season of them.

That is an interesting observation regarding the black flies. Hope that

>works out this year. ;)

Yes, it would be nice. I hate wearing a hat with a screen over my face
when trying to mow the lawns, and having to wear long sleeves and pants
outside even when it's pretty warm to discourage them..

That said, I don't often cover myself with bug repellant which would
help some.. That's mostly because, unless you bathe in the stuff, all
it does is get them to find other areas to bite you, climbing up your
pant legs or sleeves and finding gaps between shirts and pants..

It doesn't help that when you are cutting the lawn you are stirring
the ones up that were hiding in the grass too..

No really hot weather coming any time soon, maybe up near 70f by
early next week. Odd year for weather.. LOTS of rain even for Spring..

57f tomorrow with a low of 44f overnight, and that's a few degrees
warmer than it was today.

---
* SLMR Rob * Cat bathing is a martial art
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That said, I don't often cover myself with bug repellant which would
help some.. That's mostly because, unless you bathe in the stuff, all
it does is get them to find other areas to bite you, climbing up your
pant legs or sleeves and finding gaps between shirts and pants..

I had never thought of it that way, but I bet you are right!

It doesn't help that when you are cutting the lawn you are stirring
the ones up that were hiding in the grass too..

Down here, the issue is 'skeeters. I have a bad tendency to brush up
against bushes that they are resting in. While they won't normally bite
during the daylight, if you distrub their sleeping places, they will.

Mike


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That said, I don't often cover myself with bug repellant which would

>> help some.. That's mostly because, unless you bathe in the stuff, all
>> it does is get them to find other areas to bite you, climbing up your
>> pant legs or sleeves and finding gaps between shirts and pants..

I had never thought of it that way, but I bet you are right!

It depends on the insect too. Mosquitoes are not generally that clever
but black flies are well known for that. Plus they seem to like
getting between your skin and some cloth as if they like the
pressure against their backs to help them dig into you, rather than
them just being smart enough to hide there.

It doesn't help that when you are cutting the lawn you are stirring

>> the ones up that were hiding in the grass too..

Down here, the issue is 'skeeters. I have a bad tendency to brush up

>against bushes that they are resting in. While they won't normally bite
>during the daylight, if you distrub their sleeping places, they will.

Yes. Long ago I thought off those as the worst but they have much more
limited times when they are out. If it's too hot or too cold there
are fewer of those, if any. I think Black Flies don't usually come out
at night either. A lot of the 'true' flies seem to hide in the dark..
We also get the Much larger Deer Flies and Horse Flies in hot weather.
If you don't know Black Flies there, they are quite small, usually
less than 1/8" long. The place I find them biting me is usually if
I'm wearing a hat, they will get under the band a bit. I was outside
for over an hour talking to a neighbour the other day and there were
not many Black Flies around, but later I found half a dozen bites
along my forehead, and that was the only area I got bit.

Interesting today.. I was in a building behind my place and just
as I was coming out the door I thought I heard some rustling near
the door outside (too loud to be a sqirrel or something) so I opened
the door and looked down and about 2 feet from me was one of the
biggest porcupines I'd ever seen. Looked to likely be 35+ lbs..
He didn't seem more than just a little annoyed I was around..
He just wandered off, not in any real hurry..

Maybe one that big is a PORKupine.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * Never eat more than you can lift - Miss Piggy
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Yes. Long ago I thought off those as the worst but they have much more limited times when they are out. If it's too hot or too cold there
are fewer of those, if any. I think Black Flies don't usually come out
at night either. A lot of the 'true' flies seem to hide in the dark..
We also get the Much larger Deer Flies and Horse Flies in hot weather.
If you don't know Black Flies there, they are quite small, usually
less than 1/8" long.

We don't have them here (that I know of), but I have relatives in Michigan
and like traveling up in that area so I have encountered them some.

The place I find them biting me is usually if
I'm wearing a hat, they will get under the band a bit. I was outside
for over an hour talking to a neighbour the other day and there were
not many Black Flies around, but later I found half a dozen bites
along my forehead, and that was the only area I got bit.

That would be annoying.

Interesting today.. I was in a building behind my place and just
as I was coming out the door I thought I heard some rustling near
the door outside (too loud to be a sqirrel or something) so I opened
the door and looked down and about 2 feet from me was one of the
biggest porcupines I'd ever seen. Looked to likely be 35+ lbs..
He didn't seem more than just a little annoyed I was around..
He just wandered off, not in any real hurry..

Maybe one that big is a PORKupine.. B)

LOL, maybe! I have not encountered one of those in the wild before. I
think the closest I have come to that would be large groundhogs.

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * Blesss usss and splassh us, taglinesss for my preciousss
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Interesting today.. I was in a building behind my place and just

>> as I was coming out the door I thought I heard some rustling near
>> the door outside (too loud to be a sqirrel or something) so I opened
>> the door and looked down and about 2 feet from me was one of the
>> biggest porcupines I'd ever seen. Looked to likely be 35+ lbs..

Maybe one that big is a PORKupine.. B)

LOL, maybe! I have not encountered one of those in the wild before. I

>think the closest I have come to that would be large groundhogs.

Yes, I get those too.. and Muskrats, Mink and Fishers (weasels),
Foxes and Beavers plus the usual suspects like Raccoons, Chipmunks
and Squirrels.

Those are the little ones.. Deer and Bears are plentiful and we see
the odd Moose running around.. In the past I've seen Wolves and a
Couger one year, but as the population grew those have moved a bit
further out.

---
* SLMR Rob * People only want equality with their superiors
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Yes, I get those too.. and Muskrats, Mink and Fishers (weasels),
Foxes and Beavers plus the usual suspects like Raccoons, Chipmunks
and Squirrels.

We have plenty of those "usual suspects" here. Sometimes you can encounter
a fox, if they don't notice you first. I have not encountered any mink,
etc., here, but did encounter one at a small boatdock in northern Minnesota once. I wondered if it was not a pet, or maybe used to being fed, as it
seemed interested in seeing me (vs. running away).

Those are the little ones.. Deer and Bears are plentiful and we see
the odd Moose running around.. In the past I've seen Wolves and a
Couger one year, but as the population grew those have moved a bit
further out.

Deer are *everywhere* here. Too many of them, IMHO. Coyote can be heard,
but I have never encountered one. Bear are starting to get closer to the
area (coming from the mountains to the east).

I was disappointed that, when I was in Canada, I did not see a moose. ;)

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * 69, 714, 2112 Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll
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I have not encountered any mink,

>etc., here, but did encounter one at a small boatdock in northern Minnesota
>once. I wondered if it was not a pet, or maybe used to being fed, as it
>seemed interested in seeing me (vs. running away).

It's a few years since I saw one here actually, but I was quite surpised
back when I did. I was walking past some bushes near my place and one
stuck it's head out and Hissed at me like a cat, so I would say that
usually they are not all that human friendly.. B)

Deer are *everywhere* here. Too many of them, IMHO. Coyote can be heard,

>but I have never encountered one. Bear are starting to get closer to the
>area (coming from the mountains to the east).

Yes, too many deer in a lot of areas. We kill off all their preditors
and even feed them in winter and their population grows faster than the
limited hunting season can reduce their numbers.

I was disappointed that, when I was in Canada, I did not see a moose. ;)

In any area where there are quite a few people around you rarely see one.
I once watched 4 of them swim across from Franklin Island almost to
our beach here, which was a surprise. And one day a bigger surprise
when driving through Parry Sound, right in town one popped out of a
wooded area beside the road, saw my car, and turned away from me and
ran down the pavement in front of my car for a few hundred feet before
thinking better of it and veering off the road again..

At my mother's place in town we often used to see 3 or 4 deer together sometimes stopping to eat grass on the back lawn or crossing the
rather busy street into the cemetary across the road to graze there.
And this is right in town with 50 feet between houses and relatively
busy traffic. They get very brave when it's not hunting season..
They are also quite good at looking both ways before crossing.. B)

Of course, that's not all the visitors we get. The next door neighbour
left a recreation room walkout open so his dog could get in and out
one nice day, and when he came into the room a little later, he found
a black bear in the room eating the food out of the dog's bowl.

The chicken dog didn't so much as bark, although he didn't look
happy about it. Again, that was right in town. Out where I am
you expect things like that and protect yourself better.
You only make the mistake of leaving your garbage in the car
overnight to take to the dump the next morning once.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * The only worthwhile feminist movement involves lingerie
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Of course, that's not all the visitors we get. The next door neighbour
left a recreation room walkout open so his dog could get in and out
one nice day, and when he came into the room a little later, he found
a black bear in the room eating the food out of the dog's bowl.

The chicken dog didn't so much as bark, although he didn't look
happy about it. Again, that was right in town. Out where I am
you expect things like that and protect yourself better.
You only make the mistake of leaving your garbage in the car
overnight to take to the dump the next morning once.. B)

Those are mistakes I would not likely make here... not so much because of
bears but racoons. Seems like once a year or so, there is a story of a
rabid one here or there, so I like to avoid them.


* SLMR 2.1a * Bartenders DO IT on the rocks..
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Of course, that's not all the visitors we get. The next door neighbour

>> left a recreation room walkout open so his dog could get in and out
>> one nice day, and when he came into the room a little later, he found
>> a black bear in the room eating the food out of the dog's bowl.

The chicken dog didn't so much as bark, although he didn't look

>> happy about it. Again, that was right in town.

Those are mistakes I would not likely make here... not so much because of

>bears but racoons. Seems like once a year or so, there is a story of a
>rabid one here or there, so I like to avoid them.

I suppose he wasn't too concerned about raccoons because the dog could
probably handle those. The bear? Not so much..

Although, in general bears are afraid of dogs. I've seen a Lab puppy
that weighed maybe 25 lbs chase a 300 pound bear up a tree. I think
it maybe stems from a built in (genetic) fear bears have of Wolves.

---
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I suppose he wasn't too concerned about raccoons because the dog could probably handle those. The bear? Not so much..

Although, in general bears are afraid of dogs. I've seen a Lab puppy
that weighed maybe 25 lbs chase a 300 pound bear up a tree. I think
it maybe stems from a built in (genetic) fear bears have of Wolves.

Yeah, I have seen footage of brave dogs chasing bears. I also figure it
might be different if it is a female bear who thinks the dog is a threat to
her young. I have heard that bears would (usually) like to avoid
confrontation otherwise.


* SLMR 2.1a * It was all so different before everything changed.
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Although, in general bears are afraid of dogs. I've seen a Lab puppy

>> that weighed maybe 25 lbs chase a 300 pound bear up a tree. I think
>> it maybe stems from a built in (genetic) fear bears have of Wolves.

Yeah, I have seen footage of brave dogs chasing bears. I also figure it

>might be different if it is a female bear who thinks the dog is a threat to
>her young. I have heard that bears would (usually) like to avoid
>confrontation otherwise.

Yes, black bears are generally not too dangerous, although there have
been a few attacks on children and women the odd time. But I've seen
videos of park rangers who were keeping track of the Bears in the park
and they walk up to a mother bear with a couple of cubs and she is a
little anxious but doesn't do anything while the rangers pick up the
cubs to weigh them for their records and such.. I don't recall if they
were also taking blood samples which might provoke a stronger reaction.

Oh, and they tag them as well to keep track of where they wander.

---
* SLMR Rob * If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0
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