# Today in nature I saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854 "2020-07-20T18:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 118
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2343 "2023-05-30T10:39:01Z")
We often have breakfast in our living room so that we can look out the bow window at the tree right in front of the house with bird feeders. The tree is usually filled with songbirds and squirrels. Yesterday morning as we were watching, a fledgling Coopers Hawk landed in the tree. He looked all freaked out by the sudden exodus of birds and squirrels w that were totally caught off guard. He sat there for a few seconds, then flew off. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2344 "2023-05-30T12:14:21Z")
Too late for the photo competition, but the bougainvillea in my yard has begun to bloom. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52936626982_9ef4885495_b.jpg "Bougainvillea") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/45215582@N06/52936626982/) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2345 "2023-05-30T18:49:28Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Too late for the photo competition, but the bougainvillea in my yard has begun to bloom. What a nice color. I’m used to just seeing them in deep red/dark purple. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2346 "2023-05-30T19:25:44Z")
Funny, I could swear that plant has always been deep red, but we pulled it up and transplanted it a couple months ago, and now this! I’m keeping an eye on it to see if it changes. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2347 "2023-05-31T00:27:27Z")
Bougainvillea can be Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, White, or Yellow. @Dung_Beetle, your plant may have been grafted on to sturdier root stock with bracts of a different color and it is the root stock’s bract colors you are seeing now instead of the graft. I have had this happen with tree peony blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2348 "2023-05-31T02:16:31Z")
Yellow crowned night heron. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52939502983_e0eb43c19a_b.jpg "Yellow crowned night heron") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/zyada/52939502983/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52939437100_aefdec8626_b.jpg "Yellow crowned night heron") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/zyada/52939437100/) Not the greatest photos, it wouldn’t let me get closer. I have a pair of mallards that visit whenever my driveway is flooded, but this is a first ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2349 "2023-05-31T02:51:53Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a heron a roof before! Cool. We have _another_ nest on our back downspout, right by the floodlight. This is the third time - the other two were blown down by storms. Someone is just not taking the hint here. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2350 "2023-05-31T11:43:58Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > @Dung_Beetle, your plant may have been grafted on to sturdier root stock with bracts of a different color and it is the root stock’s bract colors you are seeing now instead of the graft. Well, I have never heard of such a thing. Cool! ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2351 "2023-05-31T18:18:18Z")
Gray catbird spotted at dusk while walking around the lake after a workout: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52940913944_c36619ea31_b.jpg "PXL\_20230529\_232547480.MP") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/31573076@N00/52940913944/) Not the most unusual bird, but my first good photo of this species, so a win. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2352 "2023-05-31T21:04:24Z")
They have a ton of personality, too. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2353 "2023-06-01T00:37:38Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > this is a first This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2354 "2023-06-01T13:58:01Z")
This spring we had a big black bear in our yard. It was the talk of our neighborhood, we all saw it, then it moved on. A week later a friend saw a bear in her yard and I wondered if it was the same one. She lives a 15 minute drive from me and has seen it off and on since. Yesterday it was back in her yard and it has two cubs! She snuck outside to get pics of the cubs, but was afraid about mom returning. [![](https://i.imgur.com/yMMi5TN.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/yMMi5TN.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/h7tBJl8.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/h7tBJl8.jpg) This tree is right in her front yard. She is bringing her dogs over to our place to allow them to run around a bit. They are tired of being leashed, but no way is she letting them out off leash with mom and cubs there. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2355 "2023-06-01T22:55:47Z")
Wow. That’s a cool pic. Thanks for giving her dogs a place to run. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2356 "2023-06-01T23:14:05Z")
OMG they are precious! Glad they’re far away from my dogs though. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2357 "2023-06-02T00:29:39Z")
I noticed some eggs on the back of one of the leaves on my black-eyed Susan vine. Some of them had hatched, so I took a photo of the little 'uns to see if I could find out what they were. According to Google Lens, they are either harlequin bugs or brown marmorated stink bugs. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaV2h0nnDnpEp3nDeIsI6b-EitA4X84zuJLB-TEjJeC_4i8i2Dy-qa4UxYzgKTdn4z3oca1EDlIFw26ek8pqSa_pECn9D9yBfJM5iNKl004-pm-ud30y=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Romansperson") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/KJMK39eQS2HuMVjx8) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2358 "2023-06-02T01:03:21Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Thanks for giving her dogs a place to run. It turned into a wonderful evening. Our dogs socialized, ran around, played on our agility course (gf has 8 jumps, one hoop jump, two weave pole set ups, a teeter totter, a table, and a staging area). Then Simi almost caught a stupid groundhog that taunted the dogs…… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2359 "2023-06-03T13:10:41Z")
Walking Simi in the woods along the Kiskiminetas River, I saw this cute little nest just 4 feet off the ground! [![](https://i.imgur.com/ZK2h4gg.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ZK2h4gg.jpg) And in the nest is one little egg. I thought about dropping a coin into the nest for scale, but didn’t want to risk damaging the egg or nest. [![](https://i.imgur.com/LrOg6UR.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/LrOg6UR.jpg) I’m going to peek again in a few days to see if another egg is laid. Ideally I’d like to sit in a blind and watch the nest to see the species, but too many other things are going on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2360 "2023-06-03T13:13:37Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > According to Google Lens, they are either harlequin bugs or brown marmorated stink bugs. We have brown marmorated stink bugs and your bugs aren’t them. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2361 "2023-06-03T15:16:39Z")
These are baby bugs - apparently they grow up to look like the stink bugs we all know and don’t love. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/2362 "2023-06-05T12:09:02Z")
Apparently this will be the year of big-ass rattlesnakes in our neighborhood. My husband took this video yesterday near our house. The best view of snake-in-motion is just after the close-up of his water bottle. 😄 [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/31337/52952473054_2a90dd4cf1_w.jpg "Snake") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/45215582@N06/52952473054/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=117) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=119)