What wild animals visits your yard-which is your favorite, which is not

Pappy said:
Yes Keesha, we had two otters that swam up and down our canal for a couple weeks than disappeared. When they saw me, standing by the fence, they would stop,and I swear they would stick their tongues out a me.
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Haha. See they were playing. :grin:
 

I care for 4 wild cats, 4 raccoons & two opossums. The cats fight over my lap. One of them puts both paws on either side of my face & hugs just like a human. When one of the other cats wants to jump into my lap, he spits & swats at him. Sometimes, they'll "thank" me by leaving 1/2 of a rat (with the parts hanging out) in front of the door.

I started feeding the raccoons last year. Three of them will let me get within 2 feet, but one of them is bold & takes food out of my hand.

Opossums are interesting. They have to eat constantly because they can't store body fat. I researched their diet so I know what to leave out for them. There is nothing they won't eat, but I found something they really like - raw Hazelnuts.
 
Aneeda72 said:
The orange feral cat uses our fence as a highway. He jumps onto the chain link fence in the back, then hops up on the wood fence on the side yard. He walks down the entire length of this fence, then hops down onto the shorter wood fence in the front, walks the entire length, and jumps down to the sidewalk.

He then runs the half-block over to the neighbors house. Between those two houses a lot of mice dwell. The neighbors can't find the nest. It could be behind their houses by the apartments. The orange cat is a super mouser.

He catches his fat grey mouse. Brings it back, retracing his steps. Odd. I look up feral cats. As I thought, as soon as they catch a mouse, they eat it. Unless they are feeding a mate or kittens. Sure enough, the mousing picks up. I warn the neighbors not to interfere, he is catching mice and on a mission.

We live on a cul-de-sac. Everyone appreciates the cat. About four months later, I see him. He brings his mate, and two orange and white kittens. He takes them to the neighbors house. This winter I only see the orange cat. He eats his mouse at the neighbors and comes back through my yard.

The worst wild thing in my yard are snakes. Ugh. My next door neighbor tells me there are snakes under her porch. In the spring the babies spread throughout the neighborhood. They look like garden snakes. If they bite my dog, he could get sick. If my dog eats them, they could get sick. I dislike snakes. We try and catch the ones who come our way. We've only caught and disposed of one. They are quick.

Our neighbors. with the mouse problem, catch three snakes. One is huge-feasting on mice probably. I don't know where are these endless mice come from but I read that one female mouse can have 100 babies in a year. I presume they are from the apartments trash bins.

We also get deer down from the mountains, quail, raccoons, coyotes, and other assorted wild life. I like the orange cat.
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If you're referring to "Garden Snakes," they're probably "Garter Snakes," which are completely harmless to pets or people.
 

Keesha said:
Squirrels are horrible critters
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Keesha said:
Squirrels, chipmunks, nuthatches, chickadees, bluejays , cardinals, Baltimore oriels, humming birds, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, doves, finches, robins, grosbeaks, swallows, titmice, buntings, martins, eagles, hawks, turkey crows, grackles, redwing blackbirds , vultures, coyotes, raccoons, possums, the odd bear or wolves, deer, wild turkeys, mice, gophers, rabbits, porcupines, beavers, owls, fly catchers, snakes, bats,

....too many to list. :laugh:
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Yup, and add cougar and bobcat to 'our' list, but I gotta remove beavers and snakes (thank you, pumice)

I happen to love our squirrels
They are my entertainment

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I don't like the raccoons (great big ones) that have recently come into my neighborhood. They get into everything, turn over trash boxes and throw garbage all over, and rumor has it they have killed a couple of neighborhood cats. Local authorities have also warned they may be carrying rabies.

I like the roadrunners who visit often!
 
Gary O' said:
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Yup, and add cougar and bobcat to 'our' list, but I gotta remove beavers and snakes (thank you, pumice)

I happen to love our squirrels
They are my entertainment

Esm7G25.png
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Cougars and bobcats would be cool. Squirrels are wonderfully entertaining.

Butterfly said:
I don't like the raccoons (great big ones) that have recently come into my neighborhood. They get into everything, turn over trash boxes and throw garbage all over, and rumor has it they have killed a couple of neighborhood cats. Local authorities have also warned they may be carrying rabies.

I like the roadrunners who visit often!
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Yes raccoons have such incredible dexterity that they can become a total nuisance especially when it comes to how to open garbage containers or anything with food in it.
 
My favorites are the owls that keep the mouse and meadow vole populations in check. Least favorite at the moment are the porcupines. Although they're nice to look at and generally well mannered, the dog still hasn't learned to leave them alone.

:awman:
 
We have deer (LOTS of them),jackrabbits (there is one-and we swear it is always the same one-who runs out and guides us up the road every time we go out at night)raccoons,skunks,snakes (hate `em all but especially the rattlesnakes),possums,wild pigs,coyotes and mountain lions(haven`t actually seen one yet,thankfully,but the neighbors have had a problem before. They have goats though-the reason I won`t have goats. Oh and the wild turkeys of course-and the rogue peacock that roams with them. Haven`t yet figured out what kind of bird has been crapping on my car the past couple of weeks ,but it must be humongous given that it covers my car from the hood,windshield.windows and doors and all the way back to the back glass. Brother in law says it`s probably an owl but I haven`t heard any owls around recently. It`s funny to me that we have no squirrels out here at all. We used to live right up the road and had tons of squirrels-of course we also had around 70 walnut trees. House before that was the same-and had walnuts as well. Here we don`t have any walnuts and have no squirrels. Weird,because we have lived plenty of places with squirrels but no walnut trees.
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
It`s funny to me that we have no squirrels out here at all. We used to live right up the road and had tons of squirrels-of course we also had around 70 walnut trees. House before that was the same-and had walnuts as well. Here we don`t have any walnuts and have no squirrels. Weird,because we have lived plenty of places with squirrels but no walnut trees.
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Mrs. R. that sounds weird to me too. I live in CT with tons of squirrels and no walnut trees! They eat acorns.
 
Our squirrels in Texas eat acorns too, along with their habit of munching on pine cones from all the pine trees. They shred those pine cones down to the core and leave a huge mess on the ground.
I used to buy dried corn on cobs from the feed store and they loved that too.
 
Bonnie said:
Our squirrels in Texas eat acorns too, along with their habit of munching on pine cones from all the pine trees. They shred those pine cones down to the core and leave a huge mess on the ground.
I used to buy dried corn on cobs from the feed store and they loved that too.
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Oh that's right, Bonnie I forgot about the pine cones!
 
Whitetail deer. They are so used to humans that they don't budge when leave or come home. They ignore you and munch on the lawn. Some of my neighbors buy expensive summer plants. I call them "deer treats".
 
SeaBreeze said:
In my yard we get snakes, rabbits, squirrels, voles, field mice, birds of many kinds including Red Tailed Hawks, and we haven't had a raccoon in the yard in many years now, but we had one come in and get into our garage years back, going after dry dog food. The ones I dislike most are the snakes, mice and voles because they dig holes and cause damage.

Behind our back fence we get many deer visitors which we love, back there are also coyotes, foxes, rabbits, prairie dogs, raccoons, skunks, pheasant, eagles, hawks, etc.

A couple of days ago after I came back from walking my dog in the park, I let him out in the yard. Less than a minute later, I saw him with a squirrel in his mouth. I ordered him to drop it, and it was already dead with some wounds on the underbelly and leg. My dog didn't have time to kill it, my husband said when we were gone there was a coyote at our back fence and he assumed the coyote attacked the squirrel and he made his way over or through the chain link and died in our yard. I picked up the dead squirrel with a shovel and heaved him over the back fence, sure enough, in a couple of hours I heard my dog barking, the coyote was walking away with the squirrel in his mouth, head cocked and chewing.
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Wow. That's a lot of wildlife. What a privilege. Now that you mention raccoons, I haven't seen anywhere near as many as in previous years. Could be the coyotes preying on them or other predators. Their boldness is so endearing. But skunks are still my faves. :love_heart:
 
I am not a snake expert, lol. Actually I am not an expert on anything.

It was a snake. It was in my garden. To me that equals a "garden snake." :)
 
Bonnie said:
Our squirrels in Texas eat acorns too, along with their habit of munching on pine cones from all the pine trees. They shred those pine cones down to the core and leave a huge mess on the ground.
I used to buy dried corn on cobs from the feed store and they loved that too.
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All rodents must chew on things constantly - & not only things they eat. Their teeth never stop growing & if they don't constantly file them down by chewing, they won't be able to eat & they'll starve. That's why rats chew wiring, etc. That's also why using PEX plumbing pipes in the house or basement isn't such a good idea. Rats & mice will chew PEX to file down their teeth & you'll have leaks.
 
win231 said:
All rodents must chew on things constantly - & not only things they eat. Their teeth never stop growing & if they don't constantly file them down by chewing, they won't be able to eat & they'll starve. That's why rats chew wiring, etc. That's also why using PEX plumbing pipes in the house or basement isn't such a good idea. Rats & mice will chew PEX to file down their teeth & you'll have leaks.
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I never knew that about their teeth! Thnx- learn something every day.
 
Deer, possum, snake, raccoon, coyote, squirrel, ground squirrel, otter, beaver, ducks, cranes, geese, I'm sure there are more.

My least favorite are snakes. Although the possums are right up there on the Sh** list right now because they are gettin to the chickens.

Favorite would be the fowl of any kind.

Currently we have four wild ducks visiting. They have been here for a few weeks

Our neighbor has emus and Alpacas ,I'm just waiting for them to get out and visit.

Though I don't suppose they are considered wild.
 
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I felt the need to post the otter because most people round here think I'm crazy, and say Oh No! that was a beaver.

Well...I don't think so.
 
Seeker said:
I felt the need to post the otter because most people round here think I'm crazy, and say Oh No! that was a beaver.

Well...I don't think so.
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I think it's really neat that you were able to get this picture, Seeker! Interesting animals but we don't see them often here - never on our land so far. When we first moved here there was a mama and two babies up the road a piece. So cute!
 

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