 |
| crow cawing at cats or calling his friends...??
Spring does seem to have finally come to Texas and the critters have been visiting our backyard pretty heavily. This week I took pictures of crows, blue jays, doves, thrush, robins, as well as squirrels, feral cats, and one lone possum.
This little dove was fearless with all the feral cats that hang around our yard...
and this Thrush was so pretty... like he was posing for me.
|
A black feral cat sitting on our fence
Recently one of our *neighbors* (meaning they live somewhere in our area) wrote about the dangers of having coyotes in the vicinity. They had reported coyote spottings close by to our local animal control. And it's true that we see coyotes running the streets and alleys occasionally (we do live on a creek and green back area). The AC people try to trap and relocate them, but without much success. This particular person was concerned about the dangers to small animals (dogs and cats) as well as young children. They were told that even a 6 foot fence can't keep them out.
Well... I have no problem with coyotes being *relocated*, and have even seen one in our own yard a few years ago. Poor thing looked like he was starving and suffering from a bad case of mange. And we certainly don't want the cats and other critters to be in any danger. But since we put up our 6 foot fence, we've yet to see another coyote in our yard. We do hear them howling at night, and it's a strange forlorn sound. I guess what I'm getting at... is that it's *us who have invaded their space*, not the other way around and to be complaining about their presence seems... I don't know, ... a bit arrogant. Can't we try to be more tolerant to the nature around us... not want to get rid of it... but learn to live in harmony with it? Is this just me or do others feel the same?
You *do* have a wonderful variety of wildlife. And oh, you're so lucky you live in a warmer climate. LOL. We had a snowstorm this morning, but it was fast-moving and in the end, the snow melted from my driveway without any shovelling on my part. Not that I had intended to do any, this late in the season.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of coyotes here, and every now and again there will be a news piece about one wandering down the street in a residential area. I'm with you, it's we who have encroached on non-human territory, so we'd best find a peaceful, humane, respectful way of dealing with our human-created problems.
I know that coyotes are wild critters and we need to respect that... but being aware of that, much of the time they are as much afraid of us as we are of them (at least that's been my experience).
DeleteYou are so right about that, Rian. I do feel the same; we are the ones who have taken over the outdoors and made it into yards and fences. Poor coyote. I hope he didn't suffer for too long. That is a fine squirrel capture, BTW.
ReplyDeleteThanks, DJan. The squirrels around here are pretty bold...
DeleteI agree with you Rian. As we move into their territory they have no place left to go but to what we like to think of as "our" territory. I used to live in Marin County California and there they designate certain areas as green lands to be preserved as is for nature to continue on as it has for years before humans.
ReplyDeleteThere are some hiking parks around here... so the wildlife has a place close by to use as a habitat, but they aren't fenced in so they sometimes roam the subdivisions... especially those along the creekline.
DeleteWe have many coyotes because of the park, and because of them and the reemergence of predatory birds in the area we made our last two cats be indoor cats. The park has a coyote tracking program; several have radio colors and rangers stay up all night to see where the coyotes go.
ReplyDeleteThe coyotes are the reason we replaced our 6 ft fence for a new one a few years ago. It gives the animals that do need a sanctuary a somewhat safe one...
Delete