# 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:** 60
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1182 "2022-02-13T17:31:10Z")
Pileateds are just about my fave bird. I can remember the first one I saw - sitting very prominently and screaming. Then I learned more about them, and realized they were all over this place in MI. This a.m. I noticed a little yellow on the male goldfinches on our front feeder - which was cool. Haven’t heard the cardinals singing yet. Cardinals and goldfinches are 2 of our fave birds and 2 of the most common at our feeders. We recently moved some furniture around such that we had walls that could use art. So we bought a couple of high-quality Audubon prints of those 2, and have them being framed. Will be a neat main point in our living room! ---
**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:** [February 13, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1183 "2022-02-13T22:07:42Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > A pileated woodpecker just visited my suet feeder. Fabulous. I would see them when I was a child at our family’s cabin, but as the older trees died and were taken down, they have moved on. I haven’t seen one in years. To be fair, the family cabin became my youngest brother’s home and he is not one for trees. But I’m sure plunging populations play a part. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1184 "2022-02-15T02:07:57Z")
Saw a huge bald eagle and even larger golden eagle sharing brunch (what remained of a deer or antelope… it was not recognizable enough to say which). About a half-mile from that, I saw another large bald eagle perched in a tree along the road I was on. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1185 "2022-02-15T02:34:38Z")
People in my neighborhood have sited bald eagles here. Every time I leave the house I keep an eye out, but no luck so far - hawks and vultures are as good as it gets. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1186 "2022-02-15T18:40:31Z")
This morning heard my first cardinal of the year. Up here around Chicago, that is generally the first sign that spring is coming! 😃 ---
**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:** [February 19, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1187 "2022-02-19T21:27:58Z")
Back to that muddy field twenty-odd miles south of London ([Post 1136](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1137)) Today we went for a walk with friends, and as a sort-of prank I took them past that field. OK, so if there had been nothing there, it would just be a walk, but obviously I was hoping for it to be a walk with rare cattle egrets - a chance to show off my find. But it’s been very wet and extremely windy ( **red** weather warning yesterday) so I didn’t really know what to expect. Fifteen egrets. FIFTEEN. And you know what? I STILL got trumped. For nearly a week our friends had a bald ibis hanging around in their garden - it disappeared just a couple of days ago. > **[Northern bald ibis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_bald_ibis)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or waldrapp (Geronticus eremita) is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This 70–80 cm (28–31 in) glossy black ibis, which, unlike many members of the ibis family, is non-wading, has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, curved red bill. It breeds colonially on coastal or mountain cliff ledges, where it typically lays two to three eggs in a sti... I mean, Christ, _that’s rare even in zoos_. But I saw the photos. Amazing. Maybe it went back home to its owner. Hope so. j ---
**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:** [February 20, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1188 "2022-02-20T22:13:00Z")
A pair of bald eagles flying in the Minnesota River Wildlife Refuge. Obviously, hasn’t laid eggs yet. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1189 "2022-02-21T15:24:22Z")
Last week - Thurs I think, we saw the first daffodil leaves poking up. The brick house at the south end of our block always has the earliest diffs an crocuses. That afternoon they got about 6" of snow dumped on them. Spring in Chicago! ---
**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:** [February 21, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1190 "2022-02-21T15:28:57Z")
Walking in the woods, my gf pointed out coyote tracks. I mentioned that they could be dog tracks, but she countered with the “big picture”. The coyote tracks went in a very efficient straight line. Our dog’s tracks went all over. Also the coyote pads were more oval, dog pads were round. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1191 "2022-02-21T16:14:46Z")
Neat. I’ve read books on tracking, and enjoy seeing them in nature. But with a couple of obvious exceptions like deer/rabbit, my wife’s and my analysis is generally of the, “Whaddya think made those?” variety. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1192 "2022-02-21T16:22:00Z")
Tracks can be difficult to interpret. I had pictures of weird tracks in the snow in our yard that didn’t make sense. Because they were near our bird feeders, I posted the picture on Reddit “what’s this bird?. Unanimous agreement among birders that the tracks were from a raptor dragging its kill. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1193 "2022-02-21T17:04:39Z")
I remember one time I took a Cub Scout den on a winter hike w/ another parent who was a hunter. It was amazing what stories he could tell from a few marks in the snow. Mice tunneling under the snow, tracked by a fox. A hawk killing a rabbit… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1194 "2022-03-01T20:49:52Z")
Heard my first Red Winged Blackbird of the year. And saw my first snowdrop. Just about time for a March snow! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1195 "2022-03-01T22:16:33Z")
A ground dove (or so I’m told) decided to nest in a planter on my front porch. I almost didn’t see her, and it’s possible she’s been there for a few days. She has one egg right now. And she seems rather peaceful 🙂 ---
**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 1, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1196 "2022-03-01T22:40:23Z")
Every little birdie I see this week has a mouthful of nesting material! That reminds me, I need to go close the garage. ---
**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 2, 2022, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1197 "2022-03-02T11:52:56Z")
Heh, once it warms up if our garage door is left open a wren will build a nest and then we have to leave the door open till the offspring fledge. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1198 "2022-03-02T18:11:18Z")
Saw/heard sandhill cranes today. Always a joy in spring and fall! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1199 "2022-03-03T03:49:31Z")
I didn’t know squirrels were terratorial but today I saw a squirrel run up a tree and soon there were tussling and chattering noises and it came back down followed by another squirrel that seemed upset at it. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1200 "2022-03-03T15:37:10Z")
This morning, I found two baby chics in the nest along with the parent Dove. (I understand that the parents take turns, so I’m not sure which one is there right now.) The incubation period is supposed to be 2 weeks, and I only saw one egg on Tuesday. I just looked at the picture of the egg I took then, and maybe there was already a chic in the nest. ---
**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 4, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1201 "2022-03-04T02:15:03Z")
I was finally able to ID that warbler I’d been seeing on and off. It’s a pine warbler. It eats at the mealworm and suet feeders and flies off to the stand of tall pines across the street. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iwC131YPP69HopVwbaqRPOdlXhCSqCdpVhACA8y22--Up1w1fXwPvVGhsbSt0mLPxaWmeFcoGM1TklY4yexGEProtqupdjNjWExLWf4YE0KsWSnmr_rZWS0Tgtc3Bmf85dVWZqYkPnE=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Romansperson") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/DQYGcpvn9JvjTG4T8) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=59) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=61)