# 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:** 213
**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 26, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4244 "2026-06-26T18:51:11Z")
Oh good job, man! Thank you. 🥲 ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4245 "2026-06-28T20:54:20Z")
Went for r a country stroll in rural Surrey today and saw- I dunno, flocks (?) - of butterflies. More than I’ve ever seen at one time, I think. Managed to get a snap of one - meadow brown. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMPIY8FYh6X-Qw_UcwVJFDq6FDl9QaiTY8c23i8K93jQek6NzhP7DjgDiXzRExMxqMGZ7Bmm0_ErdoZATjyxNpXDltCTxJZpZYsxZ6-vhNKcvXodgk=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Sunday, Jun 28 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP38x7lP0UMZq_b8iCplcnuMlfmaVoNiStUEtRpOFsp5U7590p2C-tPqZCX0Dqdlw?key=WHJ1M013OU1GSmhseFVDZERwN2JaVXc1WUtoX0Z3) Not much of a photo but a decent excuse to add that we stopped off at a pub and had a beer sitting next to these guys. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP4yYCvKq24Bu-DPnGGmFaw0lXOlJamkezaXTnhBpmGh8a76z1Wl4gTo-DfHiDiLGd0vKw9amenErehoaHpvI5yerTwodZRj0qaasx5ntYXHyPLrzM=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Sunday, Jun 28 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPK0n54AgkYPbvDFfiQ4ECvRIUGGEUpyC6VRtfKU4X2vtF7D-De1seHrCriJKOoXQ?key=U3M5OWhKWFkta1hwRVhwbHlWQlZscWdtRXJLdUlR) 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:** [June 28, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4246 "2026-06-28T20:55:25Z")
Damn. Click through on both photos. 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:** [June 28, 2026, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4247 "2026-06-28T21:15:53Z")
Have you posted about that meercat pub before? I’m sure I’ve seen that somewhere on the board… ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4248 "2026-06-28T21:20:28Z")
Yeah I have - same place - but this time (sheer dumb luck) I got the photo I wanted. 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:** [June 29, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4249 "2026-06-29T00:54:36Z")
Meerkat pub is on my bucket list. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4250 "2026-06-29T05:23:11Z")
The toilet tank was running after midnight, went to check why… [![](https://i.ibb.co/vSffChN/IMG-20260629-000239023-cropped.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/vSffChN/IMG-20260629-000239023-cropped.jpg) (Had to decide if this was “nature” or “civilization”.) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4251 "2026-06-29T05:31:01Z")
I was fixing the stairs on my back deck this weekend, and I kept hearing a strange new bird call. It sounded like a man loudly imitating a crow’s kaw. I finally decided to use the Cornell Lab Merlin bird ID app - a ‘common’ raven. I’ve never (knowingly) encountered one, but I couldn’t get a glimpse through the trees. Just after I came back inside from working, my 9-year-old followed from checking on his tomato plant on the deck and excitedly said, “I just saw a crow as big as I am!” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4252 "2026-06-29T06:22:47Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > toilet tank Keep it as a pet, name it “The Plumber.” > [@garygnu](#): > > a crow as big as I am!” That’s adorable. ---
**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 29, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4253 "2026-06-29T12:30:11Z")
Poor snakie, just going for a midnight skinny dip! He looks upset that you caught him. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4254 "2026-06-29T13:09:45Z")
Black Rat Snake? It’s a beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4255 "2026-06-29T13:42:04Z")
Too bad the toilet was occupied after that surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4256 "2026-07-02T16:05:47Z")
I was geocaching and I ended up next to a telephone pole that a woodpecker had pecked out holes the full length of the pole and had filled each one with an acorn. There were hundreds of them. And then as we were about to leave, the woodpecker appeared and started working! [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/54ac8fd6-4106-4a3a-9fbb-5e2a0ffa0bb4_l.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/54ac8fd6-4106-4a3a-9fbb-5e2a0ffa0bb4_l.jpg) [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/b7beb138-21ac-4866-9f11-c5501873584f_l.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/b7beb138-21ac-4866-9f11-c5501873584f_l.jpg) [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/c282d213-1adc-48cb-be67-6ed9db649938_l.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/c282d213-1adc-48cb-be67-6ed9db649938_l.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4257 "2026-07-02T16:08:35Z")
In my yard we have lizards. Just common fence lizards about 3 - 5" long. Yesterday, I found this shedded skin. It looks lik it came from a much larger lizard. [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/a95377e9-a5a1-4029-ad09-ca0e3277e2a1_l.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/a95377e9-a5a1-4029-ad09-ca0e3277e2a1_l.jpg) ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4258 "2026-07-02T16:19:50Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I was geocaching and I ended up next to a telephone pole that a woodpecker had pecked out holes the full length of the pole and had filled each one with an acorn. I didn’t know that was a thing that woodpeckers did. Why? Does it preserve the habitat for the bugs, so there will be more there the next time the bird comes a-pecking? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4259 "2026-07-02T16:33:06Z")
I did not know either. I just now googled it and apparently it is a thing. How have I gone this long and have heard about this? > [@](#): > > They drill thousands of custom-sized holes into dead snags or utility poles and tightly pack one acorn into each hole to create massive “granaries” that can hold up to 50,000 acorns at a time. > > Here is how their obsessive acorn-stashing works: > > - **The Granary Tree:** Family groups of Acorn Woodpeckers work together to maintain and defend a single “granary” tree, which can be reused by generations of birds. [[1](https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/storing-food-the-granaries-of-acorn-woodpeckers/), [2](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/acorn-woodpecker)] > - **Constant Maintenance:** As acorns dry and shrink, the birds regularly inspect the holes, rotating and moving acorns to smaller holes so they don’t fall out or get stolen by squirrels. It’s interesting that they weren’t drilling holes from scratch, but enlarging the existing cracks. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4260 "2026-07-02T16:43:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > And then as we were about to leave, the woodpecker appeared and started working! Acorn Woodpecker looks like (who could have guessed! 😀). They are collective breeders who usually live in [highly territorial extended family “clans” a little bit like lion prides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_woodpecker#Breeding) that closely guard communal “granary trees” like your telephone pole. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Yesterday, I found this shedded skin. It looks lik it came from a much larger lizard. I’d guess from the elongated shape some species of [Alligator Lizard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_alligator_lizard). They’re quite common and kinda fun. I used to amaze friends by catching one and to show how pugnacious they are I’d let them bite my hand and then dangle them in the air that way. They didn’t like to let go once they had clamped down on the offending limb 😉 ‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair And the days surround your daylight there Seasons crying no despair Alligator lizards in the air, in the air. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4261 "2026-07-02T16:56:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does it preserve the habitat for the bugs, so there will be more there the next time the bird comes a-pecking? Nope, the acorns themselves are the food resource and a scarce one. Oak trees are unpredictable fruiters - some years produce massive numbers of acorns, some relatively few if any. So cacheing them is a viable strategy for slim years. Scrub Jays bury them individually, squirrels squirrel them away, but Acorn Woodpeckers have gone the collective granary route. It’s the strategy that probably is what caused them to develop their highly unusual social structure. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4262 "2026-07-02T17:28:05Z")
This just in, there is a peacock at my front door right now. I have no idea where it came from - first time we’ve received it as a visitor. [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/c42cb662-3511-42b1-bb42-c46bf3e7fa2d_l.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/c42cb662-3511-42b1-bb42-c46bf3e7fa2d_l.jpg) ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4263 "2026-07-02T17:52:14Z")
“Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=212) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=214)