OK, what kind of critters, birds, bugs and such have you seen around your particular rural living area now that Spring has sprung? What are they doing?

Birds:

No recent pics, but the coveys of quail are starting to break up a little bit and they're pairing up too. Yesterday I watched a cock quail try to steal a female from his buddy, she was having none of it and ran over to her mate after fighting him for a couple of minutes. Who needs a cock fighting ring when you have quail fights to enjoy?

The rooster pheasants are dressed in their finest raiment and crowing and showing off for the ladies. Two were in the field by the mailbox "strutting" such as it may be, and another came by to eat some of the scratch I put out for the quail and sparrows. He shows off a bit too, but he had two hens with him so he's not getting too far from them.

The American White Pelicans have shown up in force, the first few showed up a week or so ago. Friggen gulls too, and Caspian terns.

A kestrel that comes back each year was sitting in a tree in the yard today with a vole or mouse, calling "come and get it" to his mate. It was a tree by my garden so I wish him happy hunting and raise up a bunch of hungry youngsters to feed.

There's a house wren hanging around also. I can't figure out whether it's trying to nest or if it's just looking for food. It's been between and under the potted plants and the pallets I keep them on, under the shed, and under the RV too. I don't mind for as long as he's hanging around here he's eating bugs that could be getting my plants.

Critter:

Here's a good example of why there's a term "dumb bunny", sat near the neighbor's trailer until I pushed my mower to within 3 feet or so, then ran across the driveway and sat there "hiding". Good thing I wasn't in the mood for hasenpfeffer.

[img:center][/img]

Now for the bugs,

First, a crappy photo of a "sage" or "iodine" bug on the inside of my window screen. Little bastards are coming out of overwintering in the RV. They're small enough they get in everywhere. Best I can do online is to get them id'ed as some sort of seed bug, perhaps a Mediterranean. They are a nuisance, huge (as the Donald would say) nuisance.

[img:center][/img]

Then there's these boxelder bugs. not as bad for getting into the RV, but they overwinter behind the siding on the outbuildings, bark of the trees, piles of leaves blown up against stuff. There's got to be a "bajillion" of the darn things. These had woken up from in the bark of a locust tree and were doing the mating thing on the driveway.

[img:center][/img]

That was just a relatively small pile of them.

Now ...............your turn to show us what Spring in your area is doing to the fauna in your locale. Flora can be another post.

Geno

Saw 2 swans And 2 geese the other day where they congregate to rest heading north.

Hey, I saw those guys too. They went past our place in N Cal a month ago.

Geno

They offered their regards!

Pigeons... Pigeons... Stinkin, no good pigeons.
The crap everywhere. They think that my palm tree's
are their personal tree's for nesting. Pigeon schit
all over my pool area.

And here is my answer for them.

My High Standard 7 1/4" barrel, and The infamous Agila Colibri.
This is the just about the greatest pigeon control tool ever.
About like a .22 cal pellet rifle. If you do it just right,
they fly off and die somewhere else.

3 gone today Many more to go...

2 brown thrashers sitting on the back porch railing.
never seen any before. had to look 'em up.
the usual 3 cottontails out back.

high standard made some real firearms

buncha deer, antelope and turkeys this week. And like owl, some stinking pigeons......

Fresh hog sign up the road yesterday morning in neighbors pasture.

I think I smell pork ribs on the pit in my future!

Birds are coming in. Waterfowl, Herons, Cormorants, and all locals.

Deer are starting to feed in the green alfalfa. Coyotes, racoons, skunks, and rabbits are out and about.

Turkeys are mating and coming into calls.

Saw my first toad of the year the night before last while at work. Seems earlier than I've seen one in the past. Usually see them once we get much warmer nights.

It'll likely not be out tonight as it's down in the low 40's right now, not like nearly 60 the other night.

Still waiting for the kingbirds to show up. The nighthawks too.

Geno

Tempo SC Ultra for bugs about 3 times a year during bug season. I spray all around the base of the house, shop, crawl spaces, out buildings, rock piles, lumber stacks, windows, anyplace bugs might try to winter.

Yes, there will be some innocents killed, like preying mantis, etc.. But I prefer the scorched earth policy when it comes to bugs.

Now that the weather's starting to warm (sorta) I'm back to watching the critters in my yard with a cup of coffee in the mornings. The Rabbits, Squirrels, Deer, and Quail seemed to have wintered well considering all the snow and cold temps we had this year. There's a bumper crop of Fox Squirrel for some reason.
Birds are starting to buzz my birdhouses deciding which one they plan to squat in this year and I discovered another Flying Squirrel while cleaning out the houses anticipating their arrival so I guess it's business as usual around here.

The possum we had in February appears to have moved on. Right now we have a pair of mallards in our seasonal wetland/creek, along with the typical grey squirrels, cotton tails, hawks, owls, cardinals, chickadees, juncos, sparrows, and finches.

We also see fox, raccoons, coyotes, turkeys, pheasant and deer passing through, but the cover is not conducive right where we are to hold them for any length of time, so I only have the need for a short fence to keep the garden intact.

.22 aquila colibri keeps the squirrels and rabbit in check. I am glad I bought 5 bricks years ago because I haven't seen them for sale around here for a long time.

No spray for me. Wife's place the dogs have free rein and eat bugs/flies they can catch, or critters that eat bugs. Around my place I like the good bugs for my garden, like spiders and mantids.

Those bugs I showed are just a nuisance, they do no real harm and the boxelder bugs will never get wiped out around here, too much wildland, trees and bark for them to overwinter. Same for the little bugs, my place is just convenient for them.

As they say on the innanet,

YMMV.

Geno

Forgot,

the mourning doves have arrived. Say's phoebe on the clothesline this morning too.

The darn Eurasian collared doves seem to overwinter here.

I'll try to have a few of those for dinner this year though

Geno

Turkey vultures are back and have been making lazy figure-eights above the house. Sure sign of Spring

Those guys don't hang around here, Ive seen them rest for a day and then leave on the way further north.

But we're lucky and have both kinds of eagles!

Geno

PS, and more hawks than I can identify when driving to town.

Our cattle egrets finally showed up on April 10th. They have always heretofore arrived at the latest by March 25 every year. They are very welcome as their main diet is horse flies, grass hoppers, and army worms. When I was a kid we didn't have cattle egrets. I heard that about 40 blew in on a storm from Africa in the 1940s and they populated from that group. Do any of you folks up North have cattle egrets?

Got the egrets down here as well. There's some ranches I shred that they follow my tractor around all day eating the insects and frogs I scare up.

It's funny and entertaining to watch them.

I'll start out in the morning, and there will be a few of them. Shortly, they increase to a couple hundred at times. Keep thinking that I'm gonna get one with the shredder, because they are pretty fearless. But I haven't yet...

I see bald eagles every once in a while down the Tualatin flood plain / wet lands. But they Winter here.

Lots of hawks like you said. Saw some sort of raptor flying through the trees behind the house the other day. Didn't get a good look at it before it was in the dark of the trees. Cooper's hawk, maybe? That said I've not heard the owls hooting yet.

Here in Texas it is whitetail and axis deer with a few rabbits and the ever present armadillos. When we head north to Idaho for the summer it is whitetail, moose, bear, grouse, rabbits and turkeys. Though we have had elk on the property they tend to be gone come summer.

Cooper's would be a good guess, If it was smaller like a kestrel size, it may have been a sharp-shinned, both are known for flying through trees and brushy areas looking for birds to kill.

Geno

Hastings,

I've seen them in N Cali, S Oregon and the references I have show them going up as far as S Canada "rarely". Don't think I've seen any myself up here in S WA/N OR, but that just means I haven't been out enough.

Geno

In response to Hastings: I have observed cattle egrets along the west shore on Green Bay in WI.

Working from home today and just saw something blast past the window. Went out to look.

Violet-green swallows back.

Those are cool Steve, pretty too.

Haven't seen our barn or cliff swallows yet and haven't been downriver where the sandbanks are to see any bank swallows either. Should be here soon tho.

Geno