JCC [Animals] What wildlife visited my yard today

We have lots of toads. I wouldn't call them interesting, but I love them! I used to catch them as a kid. No real interesting bugs, either. Lots of small spiders, crickets, ladybugs, things like that. I wouldn't be able to deal with larger spiders. I can handle other bugs but spiders [like some of the other ones pictured in this thread] give me the heebie jeebies.

 

Raccoons are not cool. They are mean and disease infested. Urbanesque ones will fight you when you try to shoo them away from your garbage cans.

 

Of course toads are interesting! Try and get a photo and post it here next time you see one.

 

The toad is a good creature but I have only seen 2 in the past few years. I think pesticides mostly wiped them out. :/

 

It's far from being toad season, but I'll keep that in mind

I'd have to say I think raccoons are cool from a distance. I'd never mess with one. We had one that lived in our garage for a while & it chased my dad into his truck once. Mean little buggers, but I think they're adorable. Then again...I find most things with fur and four legs cute.

 

See deer in the backyard all the time. But last year had a porcupine walk out into the local road and just kind of look at us. Stopped and didn't drive at all. Then just walked back into the woods.

 

[image=http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8318/imagexw.jpg]

 

I like the word skink.

 

Almost ran over some of these the other morning. They decided to just sit in the road and didn't move for a few minutes.

[image=http://www.gan.ca/images/hooks/raccoons.bmp]

 

I'm not sure why she never mentioned this to me, but my Mom took this photo of two black bears in our yard earlier this month. Thankfully she has very carefully labeled the photograph.

[image=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs483.ash1/26433_1384452812588_1270048460_31118237_5021889_n.jpg]

 

Great photo, and even better labeling! That's on hell of a back yard you have.





This native owl (also found in Australia and the South Pacific islands) called a Morepork in NZ due to its distinctive 2-note call was sitting on the power lines outside our house last night.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jaepee/wildlife/morepork1.jpg] [image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jaepee/wildlife/morepork2.jpg]

 

Yes, they eat spiders.


And weta.
[image=http://www.ngamanuimages.org.nz/images/hres/p31647.jpg]

 

Cool owl

Here's a luna moth from last summer. I should've put my finger closer for scale, but I, like a small girl, am easily frightened by icky bugs.

[image=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3733360769_b0945d9b39_b.jpg]

 

Nice captioning, and that's a beautiful moth.

How wide is it approx from wingtip to wingtip?

 

I'd say probably around 10cm, which is definitely bigger than most moths around these parts.

 

I work in London Zoo and they have an Atlas Moth (generally considered the world's biggest Moth) which I don't normally go too close to

 

My son rescued this Grey Warbler from one of our cats. They're NZs 2nd smallest bird.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jaepee/wildlife/greywarbler.jpg]

And this Blackbird (an English import) was on our front lawn this morning.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jaepee/wildlife/blackbird.jpg]

And another import, this time from Australia, an Eastern Rosella parakeet in the front garden.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jaepee/wildlife/rosella1.jpg]

Terrible photo, sorry. Much better views at the wiki links posted.

 

[image=http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/s65horsey/2010_0502Random0007.jpg]

 

Nice squirrel!

 

So would I. Although they don't really fly that much due to their size, females usually sit around and wait for a male. The male may flap a bit from tree to tree in a butterlfy-like flight rather then the rapid erratic sort of hummingbird-style that other moths do.

I am fortunate that in the London Zoo butterfly house the Moths never do anything except sit still and sleep.