Tell Me About Your Backyard Wildlife

[Burns]

Now that my hubby and I have over an acre of yard, we see lots of little critters around. Mainly just squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and birds, but they are still fun to watch nonetheless.

Our bird feeder attracts some cool birds, like blue jays:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC01576-1.jpg

I want to get some other feeders to attract different finches and some other pretty birds.

Here's a squirrel chillin out on the tree nearest the bird feeder:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC02247.jpg

And here's a squirrel eating below the bird feeder, and using his tail as an umbrella! You can't really tell in the photo, but it was rainy - and it was hilarious to see this squirrel utilizing his tail to keep himself dry!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC02857a.jpg

And here's a chipmunk enjoying some morning sun:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC03040.jpg


So tell me about the wildlife in your backyard!

[2Fruits]

Well! This should be a fun thread! Okay, so as you know I live in Australia at my mums house on a largeish country type block (3 acres. I may post some pictures later but for now I will describe.
First of all, since it's a drought and the grass is really dry, we haven't had as many kangaroos as normal but we still have some. Usually after it has rained they come. Also, when it was summer we had sunflowers and so white cockatoos would come and eat the seeds from them. Once, the neighbours sheep (plural) escaped and came to our veranda... We have possums (ring tail) and lizards. Mostly small lizards but we have the occasional blue tongue.

At my Dad's house (175 acres of bush) we have all of that wildlife plus more. We have these amazingly cute little native mouse type animals called anticinus' that come onto the veranda to eat our dogs dry food. We also have Lyrebirds after it rains. The male birds have amazing feathers and are sort of like a native peacock but less colourful. They go around scratching worms after it rains. They have amazing mimicing skills and mimic almost any bird sound you can think of. They sound exactly the same as the original but they string about 5-6 different bird calls together consecutively without pause. We have kookaburras too and they are really territorial. Magpies and pink galahs are often around. Also at Dads house we have lots of wombats. Wombats are nocturnal but we had this one old wombat who used to come at in the daytime.

Photos!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/2_Fruits/Sorrento2006ElliesCamera013.jpg
The neighbours sheep that escaped!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/2_Fruits/IMG_4778.jpg
A kookaburra at my dads house (pronounced cook-a-ba-ra)-the laughing birds "kookookakakaka"

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/2_Fruits/IMG_4755.jpg
A Crimson Rosella

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/2_Fruits/IMG_4756.jpg
Sulfur Crested Cockatoo (with his crest up)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/2_Fruits/IMG_4725.jpg
Just a random fox in our backyard. In Aus they are regarded as feral nuisances.

[bodhisattva]

Sadly, the thunderstorms that swept through Texas this afternoon tore apart a nest that a mother dove had built in our Crate Myrtle tree. Not only did the weather render her homeless but it also took from her two eggs, two eggs we found broken on the ground after the storm. She now sits in one of the fig trees of our yard cooing; a terrible way to find out why they are called Mourning doves.

http://www.pleasantlynumb.com/dump/motherdove.jpg
This photo was taken last week.

[Burns]

Wow, 2Fruits! Your backyard looks like a zoo with all those exotic birds! That's really cool! Thanks so much for posting those pics. :D Those birds would be awesome to see in person in their natural habitat!

Mourning doves are cool, Bodhi :) We get tons of them in our yard too. They are either pretty bold, or pretty stupid, because they will come and eat at the feeder when my hubby and I are sitting only a few feet away on the deck. haha

[pj]

My back yard in the Detroit area is squirrels, squirrel pieces, our dog, an occasional not so bright cat, and the very rare skunk or possum.

My back yard up north is another world entirely! The property is a quarter mile deep. Half of it is jack pine plain, and the other half is lush river valley. It is remote and very wild.

The high ground brings us the most incredible variety of birds... harriers, bald eagles, kirtland's warblers, red tanagers and a lot more. I've learned the joy of birdwatching very recently.

The low ground is part of a fairly substantial valley that is part of the Ausable River watershed. We have lots of deer, an occasional wayfaring elk, beaver, otter, black bear, coyotes, porcupine, raccon, silver and red fox and more. People nearby claim to have spotted gray wolves in the valley... and I claim to have spotted a panther. (I was even interviewed by the DNR!)

That is the world I want to live in. Perhaps I'll capture some good images this year.

Great thread!

**quick edit**
The image below is "my" valley at sunrise.

[Seeker]

Oh Boy, it would almost be easier to tell you what is NOT in my back yard. I am in a rural portion of Tennessee, one mile from the national forest. Here goes:

Birds: Cardinal, Mocking, Crow, Black, Wren, Humming, Robin, Sparrow, Woodpecker(2 species), owls(Barn, screech, hoot), whipperwill, crane, starling, grackle

Mammals: Fox, coyote, bear, mountain lion, bobcat, chipmunk, squirrel, mice, rats, deer, bats

Reptiles: turtles(box, snapping, painted, soft shell), several varieties of skink, snakes(garter, milk, corn, ring, copperhead, watermoccosin, rattle)

Amphibians: Salamanders(several species), newts(green and fire), frogs(leopard, peeper, bull, wood, green), toads

Insects: Too numerous to name

[pj]

Insects: Too numerous to name[/b]

Heh... yeah. Forgot about that bit.

There are a couple weeks each summer when what the Amish call "three-corner flies" come out that you can't do ANYTHING outside. Even the horses lose their minds.

There are some fascinating insects too - but nothing like down where you are. Mostly just pests and biters here.

[NeAvO]

Wow you guys have such cool stuff, makes mine look empty.

Mine:

Sparrow, Black bird and other types of birds, there's foxes near by but haven't had one in my garden, one time I found a mouse in the shed. Neighbours cat...

[2Fruits]

It's weird because I'm so fascinated by other peoples wildlife, I guess it's just normal to have lots of those native animals! On the other hand there's so many animals you guys have listed that we don't have in Australia! Like chipmunks, squirrels, bears, coyotes etc! Keep the posts coming guys, it's great!

[Moonbeam]

Wow 2Fruits that is so cool! I rememer a song we sang in girl scouts, about a laughing kookaburra.

We had a piliated woodpecker. I'll post some pics as soon as I remember how.

[2Fruits]

Lol Moonbeam I think I know the one you're talking about:

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree
Merry merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra laugh
Kookaburra gay your life must be

We used to sing that at school, and everyone used to laugh at the gay bit! We were all so immature :P Sometimes you sing it in a round, or in harmonies...

[Burns]

haha I remember that song! :dreaming:

Seeker, have you ever seen a mountian lion? That would be so cool - PJ, how far away was the one you saw?

[Moonbeam]

Lol Moonbeam I think I know the one you're talking about:

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree
Merry merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra laugh
Kookaburra gay your life must be

We used to sing that at school, and everyone used to laugh at the gay bit! We were all so immature :P Sometimes you sing it in a round, or in harmonies...[/b]

I'm trying to remember:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
(Eating all the gumdrops la la la I forgot this line)
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra
Save some of them for me.

[Casualtie]

Unfortunately, I don't have much of a backyard myself, but I do have quite a bit of wildlife around where I live. I don't have any pictures at the moment, but in the following couple days, I'll do my best to go around at take some.

My backyard has a large man-made lack in the back of it. Of course, that means I have a large variety of herons, cranes, common blackbirds, and occasional blue jays. Every once in a while, a group of the grossest birds on the planet honor us with their presence: turkey vultures. They eat rotting, dead fish that have washed up onto the banks of the lake because ( /directed towards the turkey vultures ) they are too damn fat and lazy to catch the fish themselves. A good while ago, I used to hear a peacock crying obnoxiously at night, but I've only actually seen the bird once. It was walking in the middle of a neighbor's driveway.

My neighbor said he spotted some otters in the drain once or twice, but I've never actually seen them. Supposedly, they swim around in a small alcove in the lake. I've seen them there once or twice. They're quite shy, so they run away when you go to take a closer look.

In the lake we've got some brim, some bass, some sunfish, and a couple of giant carp. The carp are fun to try and catch, but they won't bite on anything other than gigantic balls of bread that fall off the hook shortly after casting them into the water. I've gotten a bite once or twice, but the carp effortlessly snapped the line. Maybe it was a rock..

Then, of course, they is a totally unexplored territory ( it's actually a preserve ) directly behind my neighbor's house. I've actually done a bit of exploring back there, but haven't had much success on my expeditions as it is much too dense. There are spiderwebs ( with spiders O.O ) everywhere, and we all know what happens when you unexpectedly walk into a spider web.

[Moonbeam]

Every once in a while, a group of the grossest birds on the planet honor us with their presence: turkey vultures. They eat rotting, dead fish that have washed up onto the banks of the lake because ( /directed towards the turkey vultures ) they are too damn fat and lazy to catch the fish themselves.

My neighbor said he spotted some otters in the drain once or twice, but I've never actually seen them. Supposedly, they swim around in a small alcove in the lake. I've seen them there once or twice. They're quite shy, so they run away when you go to take a closer look.[/b]

Wow I just said I wanted to be a turkey buzzard in the favorite animal thread. That's not being lazy, that's being smart!

I saw an otter sitting the ice during the melt this spring. That was cool.

[Casualtie]

Wow I just said I wanted to be a turkey buzzard in the favorite animal thread. That's not being lazy, that's being smart!

I saw an otter sitting the ice during the melt this spring. That was cool.[/b]

I meant no offense to those who wished to be turkey vultures. Please accept my humblest apologies : P

..and Lake otters are the coolest thing to hit this planet since the internets. I'm going to try to get a picture of them, but it'll be tough.

[Moonbeam]

I meant no offense to those who wished to be turkey vultures. Please accept my humblest apologies : P[/b]

Apology accepted.

[pj]

haha I remember that song! :dreaming:

Seeker, have you ever seen a mountian lion? That would be so cool - PJ, how far away was the one you saw?[/b]

It was on M72 at dusk just at the beginning of winter. I was approaching where the road crosses the highway just east of Luzerne, a few miles north of our piece of it, and this HUGE cat crossed the road in front of me... long tail, flat nose, moving FAST.

At the time, I didn't realize it was all that unusual and just kept driving. (There was a heavy wet snow falling... I was busy staying on the road.) I mentioned it to one of my Amish friends the next day, and he made me call the DNR and report it.

The "official" position of the state is that there are no panthers in Michigan - but it is a natural range for them, and their territory is so vast that even in a normal population it would be extremely rare to see them. I know a couple others who have seen them too - one couple who both saw one on the edge of Plymouth several years ago.

A wolverine was FILMED somewhere in the Thumb a couple years ago! I wonder what ever happened to it?

[Moonbeam]

A reliable friend of mine saw a cougar crossing the highway here in northern WI. There have been several reports lately. She called the DNR too but they were unimpressed; I don't think they believed her, but I do.

I thought wolverines lived in the UP? Just further north even?

Sometimes a moose comes thru, but they don't breed here.

I saw a bear crossing the road; I stopped the car and said "Hey Bear!" (like he never heard that one before). He stopped and turned around and looked at me, then kept walking.

[Burns]

A wolverine was FILMED somewhere in the Thumb a couple years ago! I wonder what ever happened to it?[/b]
HAHA you know about that? That was my 8th grade science teacher that filmed that wolverine! :D Small world, eh?

[Ardent Lost]

Well, my garden literally backs on to a National Park mountain range, so we get the occasional wild animal roam down. This is what has been spotted at least once:

Fox
Echidna
Owl
Various other birds including Wattle Birds, All those that 2Fruits listed, and lots of others i can't identify :D
Snakes (rarely seen. in fact i've never seen one up there myself)
Various forms of lizards including Blue-Tongue
Cat (family pet :P)

I've also spotted a Wallaby (maybe the same, may be different one) in the National Park a couple of times. Plus on rare occasions you can look up and see a Wedge-Tailed Eagle or two circling high above the area.

Sorry though, no photos available.

[Burns]

That's cool. I think owls are such interesting creatures. http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/Emoticons/hedwig.gif
I wish I could see one up-close - I've only ever seen them from afar.

[pj]

HAHA you know about that? That was my 8th grade science teacher that filmed that wolverine! :D Small world, eh?[/b]

I saw the film and was floored by it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Moonbeam)</div>I thought wolverines lived in the UP? Just further north even?[/b]

In spite of being "The Wolverine State", wolverines haven't been considered native to Michigan in hundreds of years - but that film by Burns' teacher started an effort to document the presence of wolverines here that is starting to change minds. It is possible they've been here all along, though very few and far between, and extremely reclusive.

[Burns]

I was just outside sitting in the grass with my dog, and 2 ducks landed right in front of us! I thought of this thread and HAD to get a video for you guys! :D

Here it is:
http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/bur...nt=MOV03271.flv (http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/?action=view&current=MOV03271.flv)

[Twoshadows]

I love this topic. I have always been interested in wildlife and what lives where. Thank you to those who have posted pictures here already and shared what lives close to you.

I grew up in the middle of LA. We had no wildlife, except for a few birds.

I have since moved and though I still don't get as much wildlife as I wish visiting my backyard, I still enjoy what I do have.

Here are some pictures:

A horned lizard showed up in my garden one day.
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/13953/2003137199061379749_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003137199061379749)


A little mouse also enjoying my garden.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/14996/2003156225233093267_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003156225233093267)


I get more of these than I would like--black widow.
http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/14995/2005297830153041761_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2005297830153041761)


This wasn't my backyard but out behinf a friend's property outside of town--rattlesnake.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/16296/2003115177587920258_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003115177587920258)


Same with this one--tarantula.
http://aycu23.webshots.com/image/14782/2003141573484176701_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003141573484176701)


And this one. It's an antelope.
http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/12867/2003135711411479316_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003135711411479316)


And this was further out of town on the highway actually.
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/16312/2003196885468389197_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003196885468389197)

[Burns]

Great pics, Twoshadows! :D Though I could've done without the spider photos... :eek:

[Burns]

Look what Red found on the deck this morning...

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC04556.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC04580.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC04581.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/DSC04571.jpg

[NeAvO]

Haha, I like how the frog just doesn't care that a massive dog is sniffing it :P Red's nose is about the same size as it as well :D

[Burns]

hehe yeah, in that last pic I bet he's thinking, "why are you making me pose next to this thing?" lol

[meggyfayephotography]

Oh Lord, TS! I was enjoying your pictures of the animals... the mouse was actually really cute! Then I got to the spiders.... And I wanted to cry.

Burns, your pictures of the frog and Red are so cute! The first picture of Red and the frog looked like Red wanted to eat the frog, then it looked like he was kissing him lol.

The only wildlife I get in my suburban backyard is butterflies and birds. How exciting! :P

[badassbob]

We see a few frogs (usually when it rains) and there's a rabbit that lives somewhere in the field behind my house that sometimes runs through the gardens. I've seen a fox a couple of times too in the field. Other than that there's really nothing else worth mentioning.

[will.i.am]

I took all of these pictures in my backyard last summer. This first is some young bird, not sure what kind.

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v13/49/61/13947945/n13947945_31377902_6290.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31377903&id=13947945)

The second is a snapping turtle, good sized one too.

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v13/49/61/13947945/n13947945_31377903_6584.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31377904&id=13947945)


The next few are of my pond. For eight years I caught goldfish from another lake, about four fish at a time, and put them in my own pond. For years I never saw them again. In the last few years they started grouping up in early spring and coming back to where I released them. The very first time this happened, the entire shoreline was solid orange with fish! Their numbers have gone down recently but there's still a lot. I'd say I only put in around 40 fish, maximum. Looking at the pictures, their doing quite well. I think the orange colored ones get eaten first because they stand out more and the dark brown colored ones stay and do most of the re-populating.(just my thinkin)

And by the way, what I've done is HIGHLY illegal... :nono:


http://photos-945.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v78/49/61/13947945/n13947945_38173638_1245.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38173639&id=13947945)

http://photos-945.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v78/49/61/13947945/n13947945_38173635_475.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38173636&id=13947945)

http://photos-945.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v78/49/61/13947945/n13947945_38173636_734.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38173637&id=13947945)

yup, I counted :D

http://photos-945.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v78/49/61/13947945/n13947945_38173642_2246.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38173634&id=13947945)

http://photos-945.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v78/49/61/13947945/n13947945_38173641_2003.jpg (http://minnesota.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38173642&id=13947945)

[Clairity]

I just found this thread!!

Truly beautiful pictures guys! :smitten:

(our members are just so talented!)

[Burns]

will, what a beautiful bird photo! And that snapping turtle looks humungous (and quite grumpy!)

OMG @ all the goldfish!! :shock: That's amazing how well they've done in the wild!

[CoLd BlooDed]

I wish I had a pictures, but I don't. Just a story.

I've always been pretty interested in all the animal antics that go around in your backyard. When I lived in my older house we used to have a family of bluejays that would come and nest in the tree right in our backyard every year. The parents would come, lay their eggs, eggs would hatch, chicks would grow and fly away, and the process would repeat for the six years we lived there.

Anyways, one of the years there was this massive thunderstorm, and the nest got knocked out of the tree (which was waaaay up there). My sister had noticed that it was now laying face down on the grass in the backyard. My mom wasn't home so I went out and tried to see what I could do.

I flipped the nest over and found about six of the ugliest featherless things I've ever seen. Their eyes hadn't even begun to open yet, they didn't chirp, just opened their beaks really wide as if waiting for food. They were blind and cold, the parents were gone. They were scattered around the nest. So I flipped it back over and started gently picking them up and placing them inside, and this is when I noticed two were dead. It made me kinda cringe a bit just thinking that two little baby birds had died without ever having a chance, they lay there motionless as I put them inside too.

Once they were all inside I put them on a lower branch in the tree.

The interesting thing was that later on, perhaps a couple weeks later, the surviving chicks were learning how to fly. Again, at one point of a particular day, my sister noticed that one little bluejay was standing on a rock in the garden. I was like, oh cool, so I went out and looked at it. It was (and note I don't use this word ever in a serious context) the cutest thing I've ever seen... all covered in baby down and just beginning to sprout feathers. It wasn't even afraid of me. I went even closer; it just looked at me curiously, then did a little one-two hop and jumped off the rock onto the grass... probably about a foot. It flapped it's tiny little wings a bit and hit the grass head first, and did a little roll. I felt bad for the thing because the parents weren't around so I picked it up and it promptly took a sitting position in my hands. I was amazed, this wild animal (who I had saved before, no less) was perfectly fine with being around me.

I eventually got a chair and climbed up to where the nest was, and tried to dump the bird into the nest, but it didn't want to. Every time I moved my hand left, it'd go right, and when I went right the bird went left... it was like miniature logrolling. And the coolest thing about it was that mother bird finally returned and swooped down to a branch right above my hand and just looked at me. It was surprising she didn't attack me because they're VERY protective of their offspring. It took a couple tries but I eventually got the little bird into the nest.

Cool thing about it was I got it on video. And that's it for my totally awesome story.

[Burns]

Don't hold out on the video! That was a great story. Did the blue jays come back the next year?

[Clairity]

CoLd BlooDed, maybe it thought you were daddy! :D

I'm with Burns.. that was an amazing story.. so heartwarming!!

I want video .. I want video!! :boogie:

[bro]

Oh man (and woman), my backyard is a safe haven for all kinds of wildlife...lots of shrubs, a pool, and forest, so naturally, there would be.

We have

:groundhogs
:chipmunks
:squirrels
:deer
:butterflies
:racoons
:possums
:skunk:shock:
:the occassional frog as well
:and who can forget my doggy "Pickle"

There may be more, but that's just off the top of my head.

Mind you, we've had many a deer poke holes in our pool cover in winter, we've gotta sew it up so we don't wind up with a half frozen deer rotting in there:shock:...

Sounds like some of you have also got some interesting wildlife...

[Burns]

Mind you, we've had many a deer poke holes in our pool cover in winter, we've gotta sew it up so we don't wind up with a half frozen deer rotting in there:shock:...
egh, sounds like it's happened before... :makeitstop:

Sounds like you have quiet the wildlife menagerie! Careful of those possums and raccons, they can be vicious if they have babies in tow!


Another thing we have in our backyard every evening is bats - lots of bats swirling and diving into the trees. I like them because they are eating mosquitoes. But they are definitely a rabies health risk to the dog so I'm always watching if he is outside when all the bats start coming out. I wish I could get a pic of one, but they are way to quick for me!

[Clairity]

egh, Another thing we have in our backyard every evening is bats - lots of bats swirling and diving into the trees.

:shock:

[CoLd BlooDed]

Thanks Burns and Clairity. :D

Did the blue jays come back the next year?

You know, I never saw the baby again after that day. I don't think they came back the next year, unfortunately. :(

CoLd BlooDed, maybe it thought you were daddy!

That sounds reasonable. Heh, I just think it was cool because even the mother didn't attack me (even though she divebombed my cat a couple of times when he was in the backyard).

Also, the video is on an old school camcorder. I'll have to see if I can somehow get one of the tapes onto the computer. :shock:

[Michael]

Am I the only one that lives on the beach? :(

[Burns]

:shock:
Well, it's not like a Batman movie or anything, but maybe 5 or 6 :P

[Spartiate]

Bats are a godsend, nothing better to get rid of mosquitoes. I don't have any around my house (unfortunately), but I've been to places that would get absolutely swarmed by mosquitoes at dusk. A few minutes later, the bats would show up, probably over a hundred of them, and ten minutes later, no more mosquitoes :D.

[little nemo]

The last place I lived had plenty of bats, and LOADS of other creatures as well; it backed up on a reservoir. The coolest denizens were a pair of bald eagles. I moved about 2 miles away from there and now I look out my back window and see drunks on crack and alley cats.:( I have adopted one of the cats - she's quite a character. I'll post pics later.

[Adam]

I dont have a garden :(

[Burns]

I dont have a garden :(
I don't either... I have a backyard :wink:

[Adam]

Meh - here we have gardens, well I dont :(

[Burns]

isn't a garden something you grow vegetables in?

[Lucid Seeker]

In my garden i have experienced the following.

-Frogs
-Sheep
-Cows
-Squirrels
-Many Spiders
-Pheasants
-Mole
-Mouse

There is probably more, i wish i could take pictures but things are rare in my back garden, to have a camera is even rarer.

[Moonbeam]

In my garden i have experienced the following.

-Frogs
-Sheep
-Cows
-Squirrels
-Many Spiders
-Pheasants
-Mole
-Mouse

There is probably more, i wish i could take pictures but things are rare in my back garden, to have a camera is even rarer.

All your vegetables are going to get eaten, that many animals in the garden!

This is from last winter; I need to figure out a better way to feed the birds, so the deer don't make such a mess and eat all the food. That suet-bag hanging on the tree attracts piliated woodpeckers (real big ones that sound like a jack-hammer in the woods.)

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s172/Ro_Kess/IMG_0179.jpg

[Burns]

^^ Awesome pic, Moonbeam!

It looks like the deer JUST spotted you when you snapped that pic!

[Moonbeam]

Yea, but they're pretty tame. I was yelling at some the other day for eating my lilac bushes (I was saying "Bad! Bad! like they were a pet or something :roll:) and they actually came towards me instead of running away. I could probably feed them out of my hand. They're cute but pests and eat everything I ever try to plant.

OK here is what the bird-feeder is supposed to look like, with a purple finch on top, and a blurry pic of the woodpecker:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s172/Ro_Kess/IMG_0156.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s172/Ro_Kess/IMG_0160.jpg

[Burns]

Cool! Woodpeckers are really neat, but annoying as hell in the early morning hours... And that looks like a cardinal on top of the feeder in the first pic. Really pretty birds :)

[Spartiate]

-Pheasants


*Cocks gun*

Dinner's on me :P.