# 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:** 203
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4044 "2026-03-12T14:44:21Z")
Yesterday in nature I saw a red-headed agama. Granted, this bit of nature is in the downtown. But it’s still a wild animal. It’s not a good thing, either. Agamas and Tegus are invasive species and should not be here in SW Fla. But now i’ve been seeing a bunch of tegus warming themselves behind the art center for the past month or so. The agama is a new arrival there. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4045 "2026-03-12T14:50:23Z")
I had to look that up. I’ve been in Florida all my life and never saw one of those. My daughter took this picture of a baby gator near her workplace the other day. Poor little feller’s all covered in oak pollen. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55143545001_bfd1f228a7_b.jpg "Pollen") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/45215582@N06/55143545001/) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4046 "2026-03-13T19:07:08Z")
Sun dogs and 22-degree halo today, March 13, in Maryland [https://flic.kr/p/2s1XCnE](https://flic.kr/p/2s1XCnE) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4047 "2026-03-13T19:25:17Z")
Hmm, normally these show up in the thread, but just click the link and you’ll see it. It’s worth it, I promise. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4048 "2026-03-13T20:22:46Z")
Yeah, that’s cool. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4049 "2026-03-13T20:56:33Z")
Beautiful! 😇 ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4050 "2026-03-13T21:38:08Z")
Spectacular, @zimaane ! Less spectacular - yesterday I saw my first bluebells of the year. Really scrawny, but another sign that spring is almost here. I’ll post a photo when they’re worth looking at. Also: I usually nominate a bird of the year (South East England division) based on how well particular species are doing. This year you just can’t go anywhere without hearing the sound of woodpeckers drumming. We live in a town - OK, it’s pretty well wooded, but it’s still a town - and there are woodpeckers either side of our house who spend hours drumming away at each other - never known anything like it before. So, Bird Of The Year: Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Side note: you can be confident it’s Greater Spotted because the Lesser Spotted is so damn rare. But it is believed that a breeding pair may have been found in a wood not so very far from us (!!) > **[AI helps discover rare lesser spotted woodpecker’s call in Sussex](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j5v3j33g1o)** > > Artificial intelligence helped process more than 30,000 hours of recordings to track down the birds. Cool! j ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4051 "2026-03-14T01:15:35Z")
Yeah, that’s a great halo, @zimaane . This evening, I was out walking the dogs with my mom and a couple of her neighbors, and there were four deer ambling around in a front lawn a few houses down from us. They maintained that distance as we approached, but didn’t seem to be nearly as perturbed as they should have been by a pair of wolves and four predatory apes. Eventually they ducked down a driveway into a back yard; not sure where they went from there. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4052 "2026-03-23T13:23:49Z")
Cool! A great horned owl killed one of our chickens. I mean, that’s terrible. But also really cool! He’s liable to get seconds if he hangs around, because the rest of the flock didn’t learn a damn thing. They’re out foraging all over the yard. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55163919408_08773c229e_b.jpg "GHowl") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/45215582@N06/55163919408/) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4053 "2026-03-23T13:36:36Z")
My friend in San Diego (Scripps Ranch) had a coyote checking out her patio yesterday: [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP9HSdGvJFSNCSQ7RTLSWLNBCypjSH-UfcHnhxZMlgWuT1XVrWIwFVFPziLbtIFjUBnSYOETaRVavvhYa5ERsqC_KY0Fd9Oi61g3IGNvztJkjYHMCKDAhIvTiiGgGy0PFUBcSLM1Pm1kIHAoKkDv0QfSQ=w720-h796-s-no?authuser=0) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP9HSdGvJFSNCSQ7RTLSWLNBCypjSH-UfcHnhxZMlgWuT1XVrWIwFVFPziLbtIFjUBnSYOETaRVavvhYa5ERsqC_KY0Fd9Oi61g3IGNvztJkjYHMCKDAhIvTiiGgGy0PFUBcSLM1Pm1kIHAoKkDv0QfSQ=w720-h796-s-no?authuser=0) ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4054 "2026-03-23T13:38:28Z")
Awww, so cute! And I hope your friend doesn’t have any outdoor pets… ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4055 "2026-03-23T13:43:38Z")
Extremely cool indeed! Is the owl fulfilling **[Socrates’ last wish](https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/the-last-words-of-socrates-at-the-place-where-he-died/)** or is he **[Jewish Orthodox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapparot)**? It was not the eve of Yom Kippur, was it? Then it must be a wise owl (symbol of **[wisdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_of_Athena)** anyway) versed in the history of philosophy. Chickens a dumb anyway, let the owl get seconds. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4056 "2026-03-23T14:47:40Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Awww, so cute! And I hope your friend doesn’t have any outdoor pets… Yeah, cats and small dogs are definitely on the menu for those critters. When I lived in San Diego the apartment complex was on the edge of a canyon. Often times when new people moved in with cats it wasn’t long before I’d see “Missing Cat” flyers posted on the community bulletin board. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4057 "2026-03-23T18:35:36Z")
I caught Venus and a fingernail moon w/earthshine on Thursday night, and then some Turkey Vultures wheeling in the sky in front of the moon the next day: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55164390091_922c20f5fd_b.jpg "DSC\_4498") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/55164390091/in/dateposted-public/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55164640434_58f6a522ba_b.jpg "DSC\_4581") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/55164640434/in/dateposted-public/) ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4058 "2026-03-23T18:54:47Z")
I love that first one so much. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4059 "2026-03-23T19:27:42Z")
Great photos @beowulff ! Here’s some urban wildlife. Seagulls ripping a refuse bag open to get at lunch; and a robin helping me weed my allotment. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPVq5j0FyPhzC6pdGh1o6MyHasA05ipgi132Z_b1wjKDLJezaM7hI2wHIx38tUoIbjIOhrbfUf39yhkW6XS7Qy9HYxeTa9hmQ8h7OHVP9xmGH19zh8=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Saturday, Mar 21 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP6bBco-23DDNH9rsQZrVDUKNkIPC1fSFvc_t9gq_tKRPohHr6wEgDqlqnlf2x83Q?key=OTRWUWRCYXhraldNeW0zRnRWdHNvVVhpaGFSaktB) [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPIXd7kBOh7V7wSKAM8QQv-hsJk2op1dwWz2cyMOIK5yPW_7eq1aoJ13XWAR-vX1PY2Wz7E2pA8ID5I7l1l3LbkdO2tfX73ClxQBdmQoz0q65EPt5U=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Sunday, Mar 22 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNNrung-FVGcc2dFyDlAEpZPQYx2dmc0hXs2BCn4SyoRBEeHmsDh9IdV1MwBg4Okw?key=MVdHS2xWZEdORlhVNTUyUUMzejEzWnNjeFptbWxB) j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4060 "2026-03-23T19:51:57Z")
And here’s a third urban wildlife (avian division) note. I _think_ it’s a legal requirement that every English cathedral has to have a breeding pair of peregrine falcons joke. We were in Chichester on Saturday and yes, of course, they have their falcons. They also have a falcon cam, and here it is: > **[Chichester Peregrines](https://www.chichesterperegrines.co.uk/copy-of-webcam-2024)** > > Chichester Peregrines stunning photographs the home of the Peregrine falcons that live on Chichester Cathedral for all the information and live pictures from the nest in the season. All the latest news on the falcons as the story unfolds on the spire... It’s quiet at the moment - the falcons are around but are not yet in breeding mode. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Chickens a dumb anyway They ain’t as dumb as pigeons, There were literally scores of them flapping around that nest box and perching in it’s vicinity. Interesting aside about peregrines and peregrine snacks: > The breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests. The only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. That makes it the world’s most widespread raptor and one of the most widely found wild bird species. In fact, the only land-based bird species found over a larger geographic area, domestic and feral pigeons, owe their success to human-led introduction. Both are domesticated forms of the rock dove, and are a major prey species for peregrine populations. Due to their greater abundance in cities than most other birds, feral pigeons support many peregrine populations as a staple food source, especially in urban settings. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_falcon) j . ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4061 "2026-03-23T20:07:38Z")
That robin is adorable. Not much happening in falcon-land right this minute, I’ll have to check back later. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4062 "2026-03-23T21:19:47Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > He’s liable to get seconds if he hangs around, because the rest of the flock didn’t learn a damn thing. I once saw a ranking of farm animals by intelligence, that went something like: Cat Dog Pig Horse Cow Wheat Sheep Rocks Chicken ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4063 "2026-03-23T22:28:23Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > They also have a falcon cam, and here it is sigh - My local peregrine cam has gone silent after avian influenza seemingly wiped them out 🙁. [The population in my region seems to have dropped by over two-thirds in the last few years and still is struggling.](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/bird-flu-peregrine-falcons-21959370.php) Hopefully the survivors start building back immunity in the future, but after booming the prior couple of decades it’s been a disheartening crash. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Cool! A great horned owl killed one of our chickens. That is very, very cool. Though I imagine the chickens might disagree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=202) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=204)