LOL lenleigh, I would love that sight, cows rushing to the fence..
My friend who lived in Tampa and now lives in San Antonio, sent me photos of the baby deer in your yard..tiny tiny babies..so dear lol ... really ..

Thank you starrsville :)

With a pond in our backyard, we see the little water ripples fish make, and the fish if we move closer. The occasional family of geese takes up temporary residence. Nothing cuter than little goslings toddling around our yard. They eat our grass seed. Sometimes a gaggle will stop in for a snack. We see blue herons often so I bought this kitschy blue heron sculpture in their honor. I have a bird house and hang bird feeders including one for hummingbirds so we're popular with birds. My husband is always on the watch for all birds of prey, binoculars at the ready. Then recently, two deer pranced through our yard. Our neighborhood is next to a field that was once part of a farm.

Thanks to NH Fish and Game's restoration project, we frequently have wild turkeys in our back yard. Right now we only see one or several at a time but one time we had about 60. It's really cute when the mammas have a little trail of chicks behind them.

Since this thread started we have about twice, maybe three times, the number of hawks by us in IL. And there are some populations that are getting way out of control with numbers- like the geese, ducks and yep, swans.

We went from 2 to 4 swans for 10 years (stable) and then 22 and now 28 swans on my lake in MI. They are talking about HUNTING them legally, I hear. They are huge and you just don't want to cross them.

You read that they will leave to find their own lakes- especially males will- but all of ours seem to like the MI wet lands just fine and aren't going anywhere. Herons are stable and just the same. I call them the pteradactyls- because they look just like them when they come right over your head really low when you are standing on the pier.

I hope they aren't serious about culling the swans.

I love reading this again! Thank you for remembering it, Starrsville.

Now I'm going to keep this travel-related by telling of our trip last weekend to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We (John and I, both children and their spouses, and all three grandchildren) made this pilgrimage to see the "synchronous fireflies," aka lightning bugs that flash at the same time.

According to info from the park website and other sources, these insects in the Smoky park are the only ones outside Asia known to perform this particular ritual.

I'll have to admit that I was pretty skeptical of this--the buggy show, not the trip--I knew that a weekend in the Smokies with our whole family would be great.

But despite my skepticism, which I kept to myself, it was an amazing show!

Picture this:

You're standing in the dark dark darkness, up a little trail in thick woods.
Far off the left, there is a sudden tiny brilliant glow. Then a wave of hundreds, thousands of little bright lights, and you are surrounded by them, everywhere!

After a few seconds, they are gone, and the blackness returns.

In about 10 seconds, they're back.

It was really a remarkable show, and we were all awestruck.

We all agreed that the fireflies seemed to shine with a whiter light than our Alabama lightning bugs, which seem to have a more golden glow.

We want to go back next year!

Byrd

The razzledazzle's deck in Sonoma County
CA is always hopping with hummingbirds,
(clear water in those feeders, please)
house finches, gold finches, jays, doves, Oregon juncos, CA Towhees-best cat TV on the planet :)

Over at my neighborhood pond we are seeing the last of the Canada geese
and their babies. The huge white swans are still here-at least 30 pair, with the babies just turning from gray to white.

Snowy egrets are nesting in the eucalyptus trees across the neighboring river.
Near sunset the tree looks like it's been t.p'd ! Did you know the National Audubon society was founded to protect these birds (and other endangered birds) because they were hunted to near extinction ? Their plumes were used for ladies hats in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Big blue herons here fishing for dinner. Lots of ducks & coots as well.

Anyone want to join me for a stroll ?
http:/tinyurl.com/a5zs

R5
PS: I think the pics by Carlos Chavez in the "Alternate Tour" are a tad better.

Byrd, so very cool. I'd love to check that out!

Starrs,

My description really doesn't do this justice, and we supposedly were a week past the "prime" time.

If you ever get the chance, go!

The Smoky Park is more beautiful than I remembered--lush lush forests. We loved it!

Byrd

Ohhh man! I am going to the Smokey Mts again!!
My mother still shudders when someone mentions lightening bugs, jeeez, she will never get over my jar full - falling over in my bedroom while I slept, they were my very own nightlight...and she came in to find me & the room full of bugs...

razzle, I miss my goldfinches ! We used to drive past a small island off the Waterway in Jax and the same sight ! an old tree full of egrets, like it had been tp'd. Or one would take off, so slowly, always looking like they might not quite get airborne..
I am missing a house right now :)

We still have Goldfinch here in Mo at the feeders & the hummingbirds are still around. I watched a wasp the other day run off all the hummingbirds at the feeder. They perched on objects around the deck until the wasp left. They are so amazing. I hang the feeder below our screened in deck/porch, it's open below. I can see the feeder from my bedroom window. When we sit on thr porch, if the feeder is empty the hummingbirds will come up to the porch & buzz around the screen as if to tell me I need to cook up a batch of feed for them. When the feeder is full I never see them by the screen.

Yesterday saw a deer and two fawns, spotted with white.
(Live in AZ).

I was looking for this thread the other day!

I had 2 wild turkeys walk by my office window. Then a few days later all sorts of birds checking out seed.

It doesn't hurt living so close to a Bird Sanctuary!

Miss Otis sends her egrets.

We live in South Florida.

A little over a year ago, before we repaired our shredded pool screen that was victimized by Hurricane Wilna, I noticed a big duck had walked thru an opening in the screen and was standing on our deck. You know the kind. Big and white with an orange snout.

After pooping on the deck, it decided to walk along the edge of the pool, around to the other end, jump in for a swim and then exit the pool and leave.

I grabbed my camera and shot away.

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3330_m.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3332_m.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3333_m.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3336_m.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3339_m.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/img_3340_m.jpg

Wow! Meyer! That is a big duck! If it was out on Long Island, it would end up Dinner :D

Auduchamp, lol

gyppie, we had a "country" house and I had the dubious thrill of a flock/herd of wild turkeys in the walled in bit of back garden. High walls. What a mess and no one had the nerve to go out there and SHOO them away...
Somewhere I have the photos of them leaving...then strolling across the road to the next victims garden..
Those birds are big :O (this emoticon is for you )

I've got a flock of hummingbirds in my fountain! It is a shallow bubbling rock sort of thing and they love plunging their little bodies into the bubbling water. There were a group of six there yesterday bathing and drinking.

Oh maaannn....I love hummingbirds!!

Here in BA- We have these trees..huge things! with pink flowers that look like lilies that bloom like 3 times a year... one day, standing in the park, waiting for Pup to finish sniffing every single thing in the park, I looked Up...and saw that there were many ... MANY!! hummingbirds darting from flower to flower..the flowers being bigger than the little hummingbirds!!

Perfecto :D

Scarlett,
What do Argentinian hummingbirds looks like? The hbs here are a bright green color with little red breasts. They are very cute. I'll try to get some pictures and post them.

They look a little bigger than those I have seen in the US or Jamaica.. and there was some rosey color..not bright red but reddish.

Of course, this was one that was coming down the street straight at me .. I thought it was a dragonfly at first lol.

Just had five javelina right outside our bedroom window, eating birdseed that had fallen from one of the feeders. They are so strange looking.