Nature

CraigC

CraigC

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Joined
1 Dec 2017
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4,394
Location
SE Florida
Tell us about your observations, related stories, pictures and any experience with keeping non domestic species. Personally, I've been an outdoorsman most of my life. I'm very familiar with the Everglades region in my area as well as the reef areas offshore. I'm a certified Hunter Education Instructor for the state of Florida and enjoyed teaching kids about wildlife and being safe gun owners (including archery). I've also kept snakes most of my life, both venomous and non. My wife and I bred emerald tree boas (both subspecies) last decade. Here is a thread about keeping and breeding emeralds.

Snakes and other Reptiles and Amphibians.
 
Squirrels love our backyard and are pretty friendly (we feed them). We dont get TOO friendly, I don't hand feed them or touch them. They will take naps on the deck rail sometimes.

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And the chipmunks are much more friendly. They will come right up to the sliding glass door and look in at us sometimes.
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Our favorite chipmunk, Alvin. I had a video of him running up when I called him by name but I didn't realize I can't upload it here 🤐
 
When we had our oak tree I had a squirrel feeder. Now they just rob the bird feeder. I live in a subdivision so there isn't much in the way of wildlife. It is an old subdivision and there are lots of old, mature trees in the area. Many live oaks.
I enjoy sitting on the patio to watch and listen to the birds. There are three or four species of doves that visit and nest in the area. The Mockingbirds make me laugh. The Blue Jays are bullies. There are Cardinals, House Wrens, Sparrows and Crows. I occasionally see a Hawk, Red Wing Black Bird and, a couple of times, an Eastern Bluebird. Lots of Hummingbirds.
Middle Sister Lives in Carencro, a small town just north of Lafayette. She is in the Hummingbird migratory path. Spring and especially fall she has huge numbers of Hummingbirds on her feeders. In the fall she will put out 4 gallons of sugar water a day. I have seen Hummingbirds perch on the shoulders of another bird to get to the feeder. I have helped her fill the feeders. I had the feeder in my hand and the birds perched on my fingers to feed before I could hang it.
A few years ago a Louisiana Black Bear wandered into her subdivision - and stayed! Wild Life and Fisheries had to sedate the bear and move him to another location.
There is a high end subdivision, a mile or a little more from me, that is bordered on one side by the Vermilion River. Every now and then a Louisiana Black Bear will be spotted strolling through back yards, following the river.
 
I have seen the adverse effects of feeding wildlife. Animals having to be destroyed after being fed by people. Locally, alligators have been associating humans with food after being fed. Once this happens they have to be put down. You can imagine the danger caused by lack of fear of humans from alligators.
 
I think I will be okay, not too worried about squirrels and chipmunks attacking me. I suppose it could happen, they do have sharp teeth, but since I don't feed them by hand I don't think they will bite me. Why bite the hands that feed you, LOL? Now on the other "hand", we do have a rather ominous looking bunny rabbit hanging out in the shade garden out back. We don't feed him. He trims our dandelions. Brings to mind Monty Python's "Holy Grail" movie, anyone remember the killer rabbit?
 
CraigC said:
I have seen the adverse effects of feeding wildlife. Animals having to be destroyed after being fed by people. Locally, alligators have been associating humans with food after being fed. Once this happens they have to be put down. You can imagine the danger caused by lack of fear of humans from alligators.
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Lake Martin is not far. A few miles away, just off of the Old Breaux Bridge highway. It is a lake but feels like a swamp. Mostly shallow water, lots of old, moss draped, Cypress trees. It is an attraction. White Herons and Roseate Spoonbills nest in the Cypress trees. It is also home to some very large, very old alligators. The road is on a levee with the lake on the left and camps on the right. The camps range from shacks to mini mansions - all on pillars.
A spring picnic to Lake Martin is kind of a tradition. For decades there was a huge, ancient, bull alligator, partially submerged near the levee. He was easy to find because he was always in a 50 - 60 yard area of the levee. He was a majestic creature. A few years ago we could not find the Old Man. Nor the next year or the year after. On a whim we took a Swamp Tour. Not one on an obnoxious air boat. A flat bottom boat with a 15 hp motor. Our guide was amazing. He had degrees in both Zoology and Botany, focused on regional flora and fauna. I asked him about the Old Man. His response brought me to tears.
The Old Man had gotten into the habit of crossing the levee. He ate several camp owner's pets - mostly dogs. Push came to shove when a curious child encountered the Old Man. Fortunately the child's family was near by, snatched up the child and drove off the Old Man with heavy branches. An alligator is capable of running at 35 MPH. If every threatened by an alligator run as fast as you can in a zig-zag pattern. Alligators are fast in a straight line but can not make quick adjustments to direction.
I am off track.
After the incident with the child Wild Life and Fisheries got involved. Instead of moving the Old Man to another, remote location he was killed.
A moment of silence, please.
What a horrible thing.
Even after three years our guide was livid. He has guided and fished Lake Martin for decades. He knew all of the resident wildlife, especially the alligators. I asked him about the size of the Old Man. He said the gator was no less than 12' maybe 13' long. The largest he had ever seen. Measure that out.
He took us off of the normal tour route to show us another abomination. The carcass of an alligator, belly up, tail hacked off. A victim of poachers.
 
I am not liking squirrels. They were populous in my immediate area about 3 years ago. Running amok in the streets and people's backyards. Eating up my expensive stargazer lily bulbs and blue iris bulbs that I painstakingly planted around the tree in my yard. Now they're eating my zucchini plant sprouts. The other day, I went out to throw out my last bag of late night garbage before pick up. Felt something staring at me. Was faced with a possum. Ran back in so fast, I didn't have time to scream. Saw it skulk across the street under some cars. The animals are even feeling the pandemic!
 
KitKat said:
am not liking squirrels. They were populous in my immediate area about 3 years ago. Running amok in the streets and people's backyards.
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I confess to feeding the squirrels they eat from the peanut bird feeder- but they aren't such a pest in the UK. Sadly, a long time ago they virtually wiped out the native red squirrel population in the UK . But they are here to stay and don't really cause too much damage in my garden. Where I worked before I retired was on campus in a park and there were albino squirrels which were beautiful to watch.
 
We have a few black squirrels here in NE Ohio. They are originally from Canada. Akron is not far from Kent State in (obviously) Kent, OH. Some Kent student thought it would be fun to kidnap and release some black squirrels down here. They have bred with the gray squirrels over the years and slowly migrated over to our area. We now we have some that are a pretty dark brown color and some that were throwbacks to the strong hereditary gene, with black fur.
 
KitKat said:
I am not liking squirrels. They were populous in my immediate area about 3 years ago. Running amok in the streets and people's backyards. Eating up my expensive stargazer lily bulbs and blue iris bulbs that I painstakingly planted around the tree in my yard. Now they're eating my zucchini plant sprouts. The other day, I went out to throw out my last bag of late night garbage before pick up. Felt something staring at me. Was faced with a possum. Ran back in so fast, I didn't have time to scream. Saw it skulk across the street under some cars. The animals are even feeling the pandemic!
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We gave up on planting flower bulbs because of that and now my flower bed is a vegetable and herb garden (more practical anyway). Instead of fighting it, it was easier to just give in :)
 
I've raised some stray field rats in my garage, but I'm doing something wrong. They always die. :whistling:

I pretty much leave the wildlife to be "wild." We have lots of squirrels, a few possum, and a lot of birds. We also have coyotes and bobcats that hunt at night. The coyotes generally stay clear of humans, but we have the occasional bobcat sighting in residential areas. About once a year, you hear about a bobcat killing a small dog. My dog is too big -- a bobcat would not mess with him.

Oh, if you get out away from the city, you will see armadillos, AKA "speed bumps." They haven't grasped the whole concept of roadways and cars.

CD
 
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caseydog said:
I've raised some stray field rats in my garage, but I'm doing something wrong. They always die. :whistling:

I pretty much leave the wildlife to be "wild." We have lots of squirrels, a few possum, and a lot of birds. We also have coyotes and bobcats that hunt at night. The coyotes generally stay clear of humans, but we have the occasional bobcat sighting in residential areas. About once a year, you hear about a bobcat killing a small dog. My dog is too big -- a bobcat would not mess with him.

Oh, if you get out away from the city, you will see armadillos, AKA "speed bumps." They haven't grasped the whole concept of roadways and cars.

CD
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Nooooooo! I am so scared of every type of wild life. RATS? My daughter's friend has one as a pet.
 
JASOH1 said:
We gave up on planting flower bulbs because of that and now my flower bed is a vegetable and herb garden (more practical anyway). Instead of fighting it, it was easier to just give in :)
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Man, oh man. I have given up too. My Mom's Peony plants (now are more like huge bushes) that she planted for us when we moved in are blooming. They are a bright pink, almost fuchsia. I can smell them when I walk out the door. My go to veggies are tomatoes i.e. beefsteak and American Girl and zucchini. In the past, we have tried green peppers, can we say two? Peas, about 10 tbs. full, lmao. String beans; they were coming out of our ears one year and the next, maybe a lb.'s worth. I am growing basil again and they are sprouting. My friend and I take turns every year.
 
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