A tale of critters - I have finally seen it all

[smokeythecat]

True story - you can't make this up. So me and the four cats are inside. Mr. Silver Roo, and his ladies Miss Buff and Miss Honey live outside in a varmin proof chicken pen. They are Old English Duckwing Bantam Gamebirds. Mr. Silver Roo is crowing his heart out this morning.

Last night was kind of a bad night. Up half the night. Every time I tried to go to bed a coyote would trigger the motion detector lights. Which woke me up. Which got me to thinking of all the critters I've had encounters with over the years here.

First the pheasant who scared the snot out of me when I was in the garden a long time ago and it went toot toot toot toot! about 15' away. Then recently the quail flying into the side of the house. Yeah, that happened.

But in other times, something had been getting into the trash outside. Trash no longer lives "outside". So I heard the critter and stealthily snuck up on the back door, and at the time flung open the door and turned the light on to confront a small black bear that I think pooed itself I scared it so badly.

Then there was the bobcat (who was back last night), that hid under the front bushes (now removed), bushes, that is, and used it as a launching ramp to snatch birds from the bird feeder - aka tasty snack dispenser.

Then there was the mountain lion standing in the front lawn trying to get the deer which were in the driveway.

Then my BIG mistake! I pull in the drive at dusk and see a mommy skunk and about 10 babies in the drive. I wanted a pic. Got the camera out and called out "here kitty, kitty, kitty", well, the little idiots came running to me. I jumped back in the car, and had to drive 1/4 mile backwards down the road before they gave up the chase. Momma skunk was not impressed. The photo was pretty blurry.

One day I drive home and there is a mature bald eagle in the driveway. "sighs" And the 8 turkey poults with mom watching me from the hill nearby.

And the red foxes, and raccoons, and opossums, Brownnoser the Groundhog who I got mad by throwing cat litter in its hole and left and mink and weasels. And on and on.

Last night the last apex predator made an enemy out of me. A coyote, trying to get the chickens from 9 pm till 2 am. He can't BUT - I saw him and the security cameras and lights triggered every 10 minutes or so and I couldn't get to sleep. However at 4 am a bobcat came by and nailed the coyote (right outside my bedroom window thank you very much) and they both left.

One coyote trap coming right up. Don't you love country living? There is no amount of money on earth that would get me to camp outside here!

 

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[Swaveab]

Enjoyed reading that as I've had similar experiences even in my urban area. Obviously some of those you won't find here, but amazingly you can see quite a few. I get raccoons, opossums, ground hogs, turkeys, skunks, deer, as well as the usual squirrels, chipmunks, moles, snakes, mice, etc. I have seen a fox here once and there used to be pheasants years ago, but they've disappeared. Bears have been in the area, but not at my place thankfully. I get a kick out of the deer using my steps to gain access to the street that for some odd reason they love to walk at night. They do occasionally get hit unfortunately. One would be surprised as to what all is out there and I'd have missed some of it if not for my security camera.

 

[Tahts-a-dats-ago]

A friend and I used to sit outside until the wee hours of morning, just watching all the wildlife that visited his property. My favorites were the Gray Fox family - they'd actually "talk" to us and the pups were hilarious. Your skunk story reminds me of the time when a Momma skunk and her kit came strolling through about 20 feet from us. The kit was very playful - very much like a kitten - and wanted to investigate the two strangers sitting there watching. Momma skunk wasn't too pleased with that idea and kept trying to keep her kit from coming near. Finally she had enough of her kit's disobedience and grasped him/her by the neck (just like a Momma cat carries a kitten) and started off in the opposite direction. The kit was just big enough that Momma skunk had some trouble keeping her hind legs firmly planted, but she managed to carry her kit away. It was a great show.

I think the Mountain Lion is the animal that would make me think twice about camping there (your property). I'd be very selective about where the tent was placed.

Here, I'd worry far more about ticks than I would any of the animals.

 

[bowwinkles]

I would think that you should buy a couple of trail cameras (deer cam) and put them up around your place and get time date and creature on film. They would also record any two legged visitors that had ill intent over your property.

 

[smokeythecat]

CHANGE OF DESCRIPTION - Bad enough the coyote wanted my chickens (he would never be able to get them). Bad enough he kept me up by triggering the lights till 4 am. Bad enough another "critter", I thought bobcat was lurking near my bedroom window wanting to pounce the coyote and with that scream last night must have nailed it pretty good. But really really bad enough when I searched for bobcat and mountain lion sounds and it wasn't a bobcat - it was a mountain lion and it must have put the hurts to the coyote. Two nights ago I heard a strange noise, and found a match to a female cougar calling for a mate.
The coyote has not come back. I have been watching the monitor all night now, nothing but a lowly red fox who strolled by and left quickly.

I may never go into the woods again. Or outside. I'd look like a real jerk sitting on the deck with a 12 gauge all the time, right?

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Great animal encounters Smokey! I live in rural Vermont and see a lot of animal visitors. I've never seen a cougar around my house though, that would understandably be quite nerve-racking!

 

[smokeythecat]

Great animal encounters? Surely you jest!

 

[Tony in SC]

I remember as a kid walking through the woods and the explosion of a startled covey of quail would almost make me wet my pants!! Something that my Grandkids have never experienced.

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Great animal encounters? Surely you jest!

Haha what I meant was that they were very interesting to read! I think "great" might have been the wrong word .

 

[releventchair]

Habitat. With security cover within it.
Water.
Food.

Been a doe with a fawn around.
She has to go a ways for water. A long ways out of range of the fawn.

Being young/less aggressive/competitive , momma doe is not in prime fawning habitat.
Coyotes ,the odd bear and bobcat plus who knows for domestic dogs loose generate risk for the fawn.
A good reason fawns being birthed the same time makes evolutionary sense. But... just to hedge her bets , nature see's fawns birthing times staggered roughly over a month in smaller measure than the first borns in higher numbers...

Always something looking to eat something though!

 

[Argentium]

Dang Smokey ! You got your own private wildlife preserve ! Now you just have to figure out how to charge admission !!

 

[smokeythecat]

One thing I have noticed this year. A month ago I saw does with fawns. In the last two weeks I'm seeing does, no fawns. The 6 pair of Canadian Geese only have 8 babies for all six pair. Don't let your cats and dogs and children outside, they're next.

 

[oldkoot]

Those are great encounters smokeythecat

when my wife and i was living off grid we had 40 acres and all kinds of critters coming in on us packs of coyotes, javelina, elk, deer, bobcat, antelope was what we seen the most, bear none of those ever bothered us it was the two legged varmints we worried about the most and the rattlers crawling up into the 35 foot motor home we lived in for the first two years, had to move from the property when my wife got hit by the hit and run driver in 2019 we finally ended up selling the property in early 2020 just before the covid hit i sure miss living out there but with my wife's dementia it was not even possible to go back to living there we also had plenty of strange things going on on that property also like strange lights and different things

 

[billb]

True story - you can't make this up. So me and the four cats are inside. Mr. Silver Roo, and his ladies Miss Buff and Miss Honey live outside in a varmin proof chicken pen. They are Old English Duckwing Bantam Gamebirds. Mr. Silver Roo is crowing his heart out this morning.Smokey it’s truly amazing be careful out there

Last night was kind of a bad night. Up half the night. Every time I tried to go to bed a coyote would trigger the motion detector lights. Which woke me up. Which got me to thinking of all the critters I've had encounters with over the years here.

First the pheasant who scared the snot out of me when I was in the garden a long time ago and it went toot toot toot toot! about 15' away. Then recently the quail flying into the side of the house. Yeah, that happened.

But in other times, something had been getting into the trash outside. Trash no longer lives "outside". So I heard the critter and stealthily snuck up on the back door, and at the time flung open the door and turned the light on to confront a small black bear that I think pooed itself I scared it so badly.

Then there was the bobcat (who was back last night), that hid under the front bushes (now removed), bushes, that is, and used it as a launching ramp to snatch birds from the bird feeder - aka tasty snack dispenser.

Then there was the mountain lion standing in the front lawn trying to get the deer which were in the driveway.

Then my BIG mistake! I pull in the drive at dusk and see a mommy skunk and about 10 babies in the drive. I wanted a pic. Got the camera out and called out "here kitty, kitty, kitty", well, the little idiots came running to me. I jumped back in the car, and had to drive 1/4 mile backwards down the road before they gave up the chase. Momma skunk was not impressed. The photo was pretty blurry.

One day I drive home and there is a mature bald eagle in the driveway. "sighs" And the 8 turkey poults with mom watching me from the hill nearby.

And the red foxes, and raccoons, and opossums, Brownnoser the Groundhog who I got mad by throwing cat litter in its hole and left and mink and weasels. And on and on.

Last night the last apex predator made an enemy out of me. A coyote, trying to get the chickens from 9 pm till 2 am. He can't BUT - I saw him and the security cameras and lights triggered every 10 minutes or so and I couldn't get to sleep. However at 4 am a bobcat came by and nailed the coyote (right outside my bedroom window thank you very much) and they both left.

One coyote trap coming right up. Don't you love country living? There is no amount of money on earth that would get me to camp outside here!

True story - you can't make this up. So me and the four cats are inside. Mr. Silver Roo, and his ladies Miss Buff and Miss Honey live outside in a varmin proof chicken pen. They are Old English Duckwing Bantam Gamebirds. Mr. Silver Roo is crowing his heart out this morning.

Last night was kind of a bad night. Up half the night. Every time I tried to go to bed a coyote would trigger the motion detector lights. Which woke me up. Which got me to thinking of all the critters I've had encounters with over the years here.

First the pheasant who scared the snot out of me when I was in the garden a long time ago and it went toot toot toot toot! about 15' away. Then recently the quail flying into the side of the house. Yeah, that happened.

But in other times, something had been getting into the trash outside. Trash no longer lives "outside". So I heard the critter and stealthily snuck up on the back door, and at the time flung open the door and turned the light on to confront a small black bear that I think pooed itself I scared it so badly.

Then there was the bobcat (who was back last night), that hid under the front bushes (now removed), bushes, that is, and used it as a launching ramp to snatch birds from the bird feeder - aka tasty snack dispenser.

Then there was the mountain lion standing in the front lawn trying to get the deer which were in the driveway.

Then my BIG mistake! I pull in the drive at dusk and see a mommy skunk and about 10 babies in the drive. I wanted a pic. Got the camera out and called out "here kitty, kitty, kitty", well, the little idiots came running to me. I jumped back in the car, and had to drive 1/4 mile backwards down the road before they gave up the chase. Momma skunk was not impressed. The photo was pretty blurry.

One day I drive home and there is a mature bald eagle in the driveway. "sighs" And the 8 turkey poults with mom watching me from the hill nearby.

And the red foxes, and raccoons, and opossums, Brownnoser the Groundhog who I got mad by throwing cat litter in its hole and left and mink and weasels. And on and on.

Last night the last apex predator made an enemy out of me. A coyote, trying to get the chickens from 9 pm till 2 am. He can't BUT - I saw him and the security cameras and lights triggered every 10 minutes or so and I couldn't get to sleep. However at 4 am a bobcat came by and nailed the coyote (right outside my bedroom window thank you very much) and they both left.

One coyote trap coming right up. Don't you love country living? There is no amount of money on earth that would get me to camp outside here!

 

[metrotec]

Good read. I'm the oldest of 4 boys, now men and one old man.
My youngest would write stories about me in elementary school. Teachers say to my mom; " boy K**** sure has a vivid imagination>" Mom says, "no those stories are true."
Lived in the country in GA. Back then you could have wild animals as pets, and I did. A LOT.
living on a well used game trail has it benefits.

 

[Zincoln Miner]

I would set up a radio to play talk radio at night at low levels in the middle of the back yard. Some fabrication to make it solar powered, and moisture resistant.

Critters shy from blah blah blah. I have done this when sleeping in tents with good results.

 

[islamoradamark]

have a few of those early morning encounters