# 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:** 28
**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:** [April 19, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/542 "2021-04-19T15:03:14Z")
I saw an adolescent woodpecker at the suet feeder yesterday. He seemed not quite sure of what he needed to do to get at the suet (our feeder has metal plates with small holes in them so a bird needs to poke its beak into a hole to get the suet out). ---
**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:** [April 19, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/543 "2021-04-19T15:05:14Z")
I’m so envious that you can just go outside and see baby alligators!! ---
**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:** [April 19, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/544 "2021-04-19T15:21:33Z")
They are cute at that stage. But every once in a while, you can go outside and see Mama Alligator! She’s not so cute. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/545 "2021-04-19T15:36:39Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > A new crop of baby alligators swimming near the culvert under our road. Wow. Seeing alligators in the wild, in ditches alongside of roads, was to me more amazing than seeing the VAB and other sights at NASA Kennedy Space Center. I mean, we see images of the space hardware all the time, so finally getting to see it in person isn’t that big a deal. Seeing actual alligators nearby was quite the jolt! ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/546 "2021-04-21T12:37:28Z")
I’ve been watching this tiny spider for a while. It is in the carapace of a pitcher plant. A couple of days ago it had caught a fly that is much larger than the spider. This morning I happened to have camera in hand when a very fat little spider emerged with the remains of the fly in hand (claw) and went to the edge of it’s plant and dropped it off. Then returned to it’s lair. [![](https://i.imgur.com/qTDTjWl.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/qTDTjWl.jpg) ---
**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:** [April 21, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/547 "2021-04-21T12:48:07Z")
I love all the tiny stories of mini-drama y’all are including! ---
**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:** [April 22, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/548 "2021-04-22T20:45:59Z")
For the first time this year, today I saw early purple orchids. I checked the wiki and it seems these are not native to the US, so here are a couple of pics and some details: > **[Early purple orchid | The Wildlife Trusts](https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/early-purple-orchid)** > > The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green with dark spots. These are usually the first orchid I will see during the course of the year. It really feels like the year is warming up now. They were on a south-facing bank where they grow each year. I counted four spikes - in a good year the bank will have fifty or more, but it’s still early in their season, so we’ll see. Less interesting in the greater scheme of things but just as interesting for me, there are literally scores of common spotted orchid plants in our front lawn this year - perhaps as many as a hundred. They appeared a couple of years ago, just invited themselves in, and they are thriving. So far, all you can see are the little rosettes of leaves, but fingers crossed, in a month this could be spectacular. Another first for the year today - the first wild garlic flowers are appearing. j ---
**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:** [April 24, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/549 "2021-04-24T19:04:49Z")
I’m in Arcadia Florida today, where it seems that Sandhill Cranes have the right of way: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51136535279_2042a114b9_c.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51136535279_2042a114b9_c.jpg) ---
**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:** [April 24, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/550 "2021-04-24T19:49:50Z")
On my lunch break, watching the robins. One walked up to a grape hyacinth, pecked experimentally at the flowers, then stalked off, unimpressed. > **[Muscari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscari)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > See text > Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers resembling bunches of grapes in the spring. The common name for the genus is grape hyacinth (a name which is also used for the related genera Leopoldia and Pseudomuscari, which were formerly included in Muscari), but they should not be confused with hyacinths. A number of species of Muscari are used as o... ---
**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:** [April 26, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/551 "2021-04-26T12:28:03Z")
Cool picture, blondebear! We see the cranes frequently here in Gainesville. There are a pair that live near my workplace and mosey through the parking lot like they own the joint. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/552 "2021-04-26T13:56:17Z")
On last week’s bike rides we saw the first goslings of the year. Somewhat less pleasantly, after each of our 2 rides, I found TICKS on me! Not cool! ---
**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:** [April 26, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/553 "2021-04-26T14:29:39Z")
The hummingbirds are back! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/554 "2021-04-26T18:33:46Z")
We’ve got our feeders out, but I imagine it will still be a few more days… ---
**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:** [April 26, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/555 "2021-04-26T21:04:09Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > On last week’s bike rides we saw the first goslings of the year. Me too - what a hell of a thing to be ninja’d on! I had been planning to compile a week’s highlights, just as an experiment, but as goslings are now out there… Thrus (22 Apr) - my first goslings of the year. This year I have a mental resolution to keep gosling spotting, because last year, for the first time, I saw them being kindergartened (so to speak). All of the goslings of the local geese - maybe 30 of them - had been gathered together and had protective adults stationed around them. Is this a regular thing with geese? Fri - digging my raised beds in the afternoon I heard a crunch-crunch-crunch in the rhododendron hedge to the left, and a fox emerged at the end of it and trotted across the yard, around the house and out of sight. They’re getting very bold… Sat - walking along [the boardwalk on Shoreham beach](https://thecoastalpath.net/2013/07/15/54a-shoreham-beach-to-south-lancing/) we saw (separately) two lizards. In England, in a cold April for chrissakes - astonishing. I can’t even remember the last time I say a lizard here (excepting slow worms). According to the kingfisher board\* they were wall lizards. > **[Podarcis muralis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podarcis_muralis)** > > Podarcis muralis (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about 20 cm (7.9 in) in total length. The animal has shown variation in the places it has been introduced to. Fossils have been found in a cave in Greece dating to the early part of the Holocene. > The common wall lizard is a small, thin lizard whose small scales are highly ... Sun - first ducklings of the year, a group of ten (!) Mon - having a coffee in the kitchen at 9.15 AM, a fox sauntered past the door. It went to the end of the garden wall and exited into the front garden. I was expecting it to cross the road into some wooded land, but it turned up the road and trotted along the sidewalk until it got quite close to a pedestrian and scooted off down a cul-de-sac. I think the relationship between us and the foxes is now this: they know they’ve got humans, but they’re willing to tolerate them. j \* - household term. Nature reserve information boards invariably claim (with ridiculous optimism) that one of the species you might see is the kingfisher. Hence, kingfisher board. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/556 "2021-04-27T01:07:52Z")
At the Flamingo Marina in Everglades National Park, an American Crocodile: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51141892779_71b5c4cf43_c.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51141892779_71b5c4cf43_c.jpg) ---
**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:** [April 27, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/557 "2021-04-27T12:47:31Z")
Oh, cool. You don’t see those guys very often. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/558 "2021-04-27T13:04:07Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I think the relationship between us and the foxes is now this: they know they’ve got humans, but they’re willing to tolerate them. Very much the same around us. They barely even pay attention when we are walking our dog. Of course, it doesn’t help that our neighbor feeds them! 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/559 "2021-04-27T13:21:55Z")
The day before yesterday, I saw the largest living thing on Earth: the General Sherman tree, in Sequoia National Park. The massive trees in the park are breathtaking. They make you feel like you’re a bug in a primeval forest, gazing up at the tree-mountains. It also started to snow while we were in the Giant Forest. Seeing the colossal fox-red tree trunks through drifting snowflakes is an experience that will stay with me a long time. At one point, we pulled to the side of the road so I could touch an unprotected tree. I expected the bark to feel hard, like marble, or like stiff leather. Instead, you can tell that the bark is as light as styrofoam, except its structure is layered and flaky rather than foamy. I also saw Douglas’s squirrel (immortalized in Sally Carrighar’s book _One Day On Beetle Rock_ as “the chickaree”) for the first time. It’s a smallish, brownish tree squirrel with slight tufts on its ears. Also saw many Stellar’s jays and jaywalking deer. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/560 "2021-04-29T13:24:45Z")
There is a very young rabbit living in the bushes down the street from my house. We caught him having a romp the other day. Majestic pose: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51146462658_01ca8067fc_b.jpg "2021-04-29\_07-46-20") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/190534151@N04/51146462658/) Having a romp: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/31337/51147348020_058c4b657d_b.jpg "20210427\_185617") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/190534151@N04/51147348020/) ---
**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:** [April 29, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/561 "2021-04-29T13:50:53Z")
Crazy bun! 😄 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=29)