All in Wildlife Watching
Everyone is familiar with the common North American raccoon. Raccoons thrive in almost every habitat in the United States: in both rural settings and in urban areas. They have mastered the ability to adapt to living conditions almost anywhere, and living right alongside humans is no problem for them.
One of the most recognizable birds that visit back yard bird feeders year-round is the Downy Woodpecker. These miniature woodpeckers are only slightly larger than sparrows and are definitely smaller than robins. Their starkly contrasting black and white feathers make them easy to identify as they flit through the tree branches.
The common snapping turtle has a well-deserved reputation for being bad-tempered. When handled by humans, they hiss and attempt to bite anyone trying to move or lift them. That bite can be quite dangerous, too, since their powerful jaws can amputate careless fingers.
One of the sure signs of springtime is the sight of the red admiral butterfly. Every year around this time our yards and gardens are invaded by colorful and fast-flying butterflies, and one of the most acrobatic is the red admiral.
I was sitting with my back to a tree in the remote reaches of British Columbia's East Kootenay Mountains. I was with my friend, Bob Fontana, and we were watching a couple of three‑year‑old grizzly cubs in a large opening on the sunny, south‑facing hillside across the canyon from us. They were feeding on the remains of a mountain goat killed in an avalanche the previous winter.
A common visitor to back yard bird feeders is the brightly-colored American goldfinch. These small finches are easy to identify by their coloration. Adult males are bright yellow with black wings and a black cap on their head.
Owls are creatures of the night. In the Midwestern United States, the largest and perhaps most well-known owl is the Great Horned Owl. These big birds can have wingspans of four to five feet, and they hunt everything from mice and rats to rabbits, snakes, frogs and even other birds like ducks and hawks.
If there is one bird that is the personification of stealth and patience, it is the Great Blue Heron. These large, tall birds stalk shallow ponds, lakes and waterways in search of a wide variety of fish and amphibians as their next meal. It is not uncommon for them to stand motionless for many minutes at a time, just waiting for their prey to get within striking range.
Woodpeckers are common birds that inhabit most of North America. Downy and hairy woodpeckers are some of the most common, but there are also red-headed woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, northern flickers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and several others.
Most fishermen around here have caught their fair share of sunfish. Although there are many species of sunfish, some anglers never learn the differences. That’s a shame, because different species of sunfish have their own distinctive color patterns and their own fascinating behaviors. Green sunfish are one of the more interesting sunfish.
Everyone is familiar with honey bees, right? They make honey! And who doesn’t love honey? Actually, honey is just one of the substances produced by honey bees. They also produce beeswax, bee bread (eaten by young worker bees) and royal jelly (for the queen bee). Typically, though, just the honey and beeswax is harvested from honey bees by humans.
Monarch Butterflies are one of the joys of summer. These beautiful orange and black butterflies are known as “milkweed butterflies”, which simply means their larvae only eat the leaves of milkweed plants. However, the common monarch is not as common as it was a decade or two ago.
