# 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:** 25
**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, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/482 "2021-03-23T21:38:09Z")
Today in nature I saw a nice big tree [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZAE4KYEzkZk/maxresdefault.jpg "Cowell big tree") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAE4KYEzkZk) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/483 "2021-03-24T16:22:23Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Today in nature I saw a nice big tree > > [https://youtu.be/ZAE4KYEzkZk](https://youtu.be/ZAE4KYEzkZk) How beautiful! I love trees. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2021, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/484 "2021-03-25T13:34:17Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > responses to the calls of another crow lodged high in a tree nearby. The bird was the lookout for traffic. There’s lots of turn offs around my condo, but vehicles have also been known to barrel down the road at very excessive speeds because the cops never come by. The crow would caw, everyone would fly away That’s _really_ cool. Yeah, yeah, corvids are smart … but it’s something else entirely to witness them coming up with their own solutions & communication strategies firsthand. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/485 "2021-03-25T14:25:09Z")
Not really “nature” at all, but the neighbor behind me as an excessive soft spot for animals, and eagerly feeds all manner of vermin. She keeps a bowl of some sort of kibble on her front stoop. In the winter, I saw some sort of electric warming pad, and this morning I saw some kind of plastic “dog house” sort of shelter. This is in a residential suburb of CHicago, w/ 60’ wide lots. This morning, while walking the dog around the block, I noticed some movement up on her stoop, and was surprised to see a red fox just calmly chowing down from the food bowl! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/486 "2021-03-25T14:29:08Z")
While walking the dog yesterday afternoon, I heard all kinds of crow commotion. I looked up and saw 3 crows chasing a hawk. I’m not sure what kind, probably a sharp shinned. Those crows were not giving up. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/487 "2021-03-25T14:48:51Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > 3 crows chasing a hawk. Yeah, one thing I won’t forgive crows for was ganging up on a peregrine falcon that would sit in a dead tree at the top of my yard and hunt for critters. They took over the tree but the voles took over my yard and house for a while because they weren’t being hunted by the crows. ---
**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 25, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/488 "2021-03-25T14:51:24Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > This morning, while walking the dog around the block, I noticed some movement up on her stoop, and was surprised to see a red fox just calmly chowing down from the food bowl! Totally nature! I think that’s great. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/489 "2021-03-25T19:07:42Z")
The duck couple that lives in my neighborhood is in my driveway this morning. Note 1: one of the houses near me has a bird friendly set up. I assume that’s where they live most of the time. Note 2: my driveway floods when it rains heavily as it did last night. Some parts get deep enough for the ducks to be able to swim. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/490 "2021-03-25T19:40:54Z")
Spent my first frustrating stretch in my backyard trying to identify migrating warblers. I’ll say that the gray conditions made it difficult to spot identifying characteristics. Anyone buying that? Hell, I wouldn’t recognize these little fuckers if they came up and introduced themselves! Yet I persist in trying. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/491 "2021-03-25T20:56:28Z")
There were two blue jays dancing around the branches of the spruce tree in my front yard. I don’t know if they were looking for a place to nest, but they were fun to watch. ---
**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 25, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/492 "2021-03-25T22:14:29Z")
I see crows mobbing hawks pretty regularly through the summer. You’re right about them never giving up - I’ve never seen the crows on the wrong side of that contest, even when they take on much bigger birds. Went out on the bike today to cycle up a very sheltered south-facing road, which is where I always see the first bluebells of the year. I guessed I would be too early, and I was; but lying in amongst the bluebell leaves I saw a male pheasant. How on earth does [this bird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant#/media/File:Pheasant.jpg) think they are well camouflaged by short green foliage? It seemed offended that I had managed to spot it. At the top of the hill I watched a pair of buzzards working a field together - I presume it must be male and female, and I’ve only seen a pair working together like that once before. (I’ve been caught out by the use of the word “buzzard” in the US vs UK before. The [common buzzard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_buzzard) soars over open woods and fields, waiting to swoop down on its lunch). j ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/493 "2021-03-25T22:27:36Z")
If I can go back to this week I had a roadrunner, a steller’s? Jay, 6 ravens, and four ground squirrels running thru my yard. The roadrunner isnt seen too often. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2021, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/494 "2021-03-26T11:31:04Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Spent my first frustrating stretch in my backyard trying to identify migrating warblers. There’s an app for that! Check out [Merlin](https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/495 "2021-03-26T14:10:01Z")
Had some rain the last couple of days. This a.m. I saw the year’s first earthworm on my driveway. How’s THAT for exotic?! ---
**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 26, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/496 "2021-03-26T15:42:38Z")
This sort of counts, I guess: yesterday I saw my neighbor in the apartment common area, staring down at the ground and taking hesitant steps along the sidewalk. When I looked closer I saw some kind of lumpy brownish thing at her feet. Turned out she was taking her new pet tortoise for a walk. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/497 "2021-03-29T00:38:05Z")
I just looked out a window and saw three Turkey Buzzards soaring in an updraft. I am so happy, they are one of the first signs of spring. (A friend who used to work with me still teases me about the time I showed up at work all happy and explained that it was because I had just seen a Turkey Buzzard eating a roadkill skunk and that meant that spring was finally here.) ---
**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:** [March 29, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/498 "2021-03-29T01:30:39Z")
That’s not snow - it’s pear tree petals that have been blown out of the trees by a very windy storm front that is going through today (looks like you have to click to see the whole thing): [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JW5ONC6AZqgTd93CmNUmHGKrtgCywBlDk8ni8_VKQFz_AnT3OyRMv-TdepZsgahbP8WAwlY0n4Aqtaaa2I_oSLr_LWa6niDgi8TyCsqMk2C1rnLctDNtfxhzPf2iRyanGOQVjcPkBwA=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Romansperson") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPiilNRnV83ogqlDMEr_wsR9WCI2ge2LhthLJ-LtzqAdCQ36FyEK_rIpUO9SlpBjg?key=b2c3NTVSTkw3RElTU2ZpdTl5d0JXeWVydk1iZEhR) ---
**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 29, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/499 "2021-03-29T20:53:07Z")
Today in nature I saw…something odd. It’s not exactly in nature, as it was in a deer park - this deer park, in fact ([google streetview](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.2351713,-0.2549467,3a,75y,200.92h,73.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sX4yTutyw2KQydPXA86lSBg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)). OK, you get the idea - it’s a big deer park, and it falls away from the road so, as you cycle by, you can see right across the park. Today, all of the deer (that I could see) were densely packed into a small circular area in the middle of the park, almost like they had circled the wagons. Most of them were laying down. There didn’t appear to be any distress or nervousness about the herd. Very odd, I thought to myself, never seen that before. I’ll look that up when I get in. And so I did, and I found - nothing. Well, OK, something about Alaskan caribou huddling up to protect themselves from insects - but this is the South of England in March, fer Chrissakes. My first thought was, maybe it’s birthing time and they do that for mutual protection, but it seems to be a bit too early to be that (I never bothered to think about it before, but I think they’re roe deer). I didn’t stop to take a photo because I was in a hurry and, well, I thought it was going to be an easy lookup. Anyone got any ideas? j ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/500 "2021-03-29T22:03:40Z")
I was down at the nearby saltmarsh flipping driftwood, and found the biggest red velvet mite I’ve ever seen! Almost 3mm long. Normally they are too tiny to photograph, so I was delighted to find such a monster. It posed nicely for me… [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51082566587_771e90a74d_b.jpg "P1010372 red velvet mite, Trombidiidae sp. copyright Ernie Cooper 2021") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/creepy-crawlers/51082566587/) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/501 "2021-03-30T00:46:24Z")
2 Swallow-Tailed Kites in the past week… Last night trying to drift off to sleep, when I hear the most histrionic caterwauling outside. Pop the window, and it’s two barred owls raising Cain with each other! I hope it is a mated pair about to consummate their bond and lay some eggs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=26)