Backyard Wildlife
- Thread starter Canuck from Kansas
- Start date
Seaalki
Guest
No Life here...just Death
The Peregrine
J.A. Baker
December 24,
" The day hardened in the easterly gale, like a flawless crystal. columns of sunlight floated on the land. The unrelenting clarity of the air was solid, resonant, cold and pure and remote as the face of the dead.
Near the brook a heron lay in frozen stubble. Its wings were stuck to the ground by frost, and the mandibles of its bill were frozen together. Its eyes were open and living, the rest of it was dead. All was dead but the fear of man. As I approached I could see its whole body craving into flight. But it could not fly. I gave it peace, and saw the agonized sunlight of its eyes slowly heal with cloud.
No pain, no death, is more terrible to a wild creature than its fear of man. A red-throated diver, sodden and obscene with oil, able to move only its head, will push itself out from the sea-wall with its bill if you reach down to it as it floats like a log in the tide. A poisoned crow, gaping and helplessly floundering in the grass, bright yellow foam bubbling from its throat, will dash itself up again and again on to the descending wall of air, if you try to catch it. A rabbit, inflated and foul with myxomatosis, just a twitching pulse beating in a bladder of bones and fur, will feel the vibrations of your footstep and will look for you with bulging, sightless eyes. Then it will drag itself away into a bush trembling with fear.
We are the killers. We stink of death. We carry it with us. It sticks to us like frost. We cannot tear it away."
Last edited:
Do these count?
Absolutely - we have Doris and Doug who have visited for the last 4 or 5 years:
Waiting for this year's visitation (late April, early May).
cheers
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Thanks! I had to snap the gulls in APS-C mode to stretch the 200-600 out a little more. It worked ok, I guess.
Nice portraits of Doris & Doug. We had Donald & Daisy here for a few years. I don't know how many times they buzzed me as they glided in to land on the lawn. They spent a fair amount of time on the roofs of neighboring houses, also.
Last edited:
Uptonogood
PNW raised
Hopefully, I can add a couple more without duplicating myself!
Mark Melton
Life of the Party
Paraleptophlebia nymphs are usually found in slackwater areas. These are 5-8 mm in length. The first three photos are of nymphs from the Russian River, the next two are from a small unnamed feeder stream to the Russian River and the last three are from Mill Creek.
Last edited:
Richard Olmstead
Steelhead
In our back woodlot during the Christmas snow.
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Very cool !
Last night after dark I had a little UFO hit my window. Either a bat or a small owl hunting moths are my best guesses.
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
This morning:
Cheers
Cheers
