I’m for the Birds! Woodchucks are decent folk too.
I saw a strange cloud in nature today.
I was sitting by the pool yesterday when a lizard fell out of nowhere and landed on my chest. Maybe a bird dropped him?
My favorite thing about groundhogs–and they’re common where I live, I seem them in my yard about once a month–is that their name in English is the same name in Dutch for a completely different animal.
My latest cool nature thing has been at my school: there’s an indigo bunting that likes to hang out in a dead tree just by our campus and sing his little heart out. Three years ago I saw my first indigo bunting, and then earlier this spring, with the help of the Merlin App I saw my second one. Then, about three weeks ago, I was walking around my elementary school with the Merlin app open, and it was hearing an indigo bunting, and I was like NO WAY, but I kept looking, and finally I learned to see him. Now, almost every morning, I go out and find him. He’s so lovely.
I was sitting on my couch yesterday afternoon eating peanuts from the can when I heard some sounds on the balcony immediately to my right. I look over, and there’s a squirrel looking at me. He walked right up to the screen on the slider, stood up, like he wanted in the house. For some reason, I couldn’t get my dog to pay any attention whatsoever. He’s usually obsessed with them outside.
I figure it smelled my peanuts, and someone in the complex has a feeder, it thought it would come to the source?
Out doing Dog Nonsense in the Desert.
I was looking at feral horses off in the distance, when Teddy Dog caught a mouse and chomped it down (was not fast enough to wrest it from his jaws, not even close, really), and a giant bird grabbed a snake and flew off with it.
An eventful day, overall. Visually.
That’s awesome. They are lovely birds.
I’m envious - never seen one. We do get the rare stray once in awhile in the Spring, but I’ve never gotten close to one. We do get lazuli buntings breeding locally in the Spring though and they’re almost as good 
.
That’s a lovely bunting @Tamerlane
I was on holiday near the Welsh borders last week - high points wildlife-wise were skylarks over the Cotswolds, swifts over the Malvern hills, martins over the Wye and (I’m almost sure) a peregrine over Worcester cathedral.
Back to the Lea valley lakes this weekend - saw Common Terns there for the first time this year.
Also the cygnets are growing up fast:
https://i.ibb.co/HPPHX1M/02-Swan-cygnets.jpg
I suspect you’re right about the peregrine.
Saw one at Salisbury cathedral last year. Notably rounded tail.
j
I frequently see two rabbits in the backyard. I assume they are the same two rabbits.
Yesterday I saw movement out the back door. It was a fox chasing the rabbits. It chased one into the woods behind the backyard, then went after the second one. That rabbit escaped as well.
“I’m a hawk, I’m so cool”.
What a jerk. 
He keeps hanging around my deck, I’m so blessed 
That is lovely! I love how proudly they sing.
I was going to take a picture of a hawk on a fencepost this morning, now I’m glad I didn’t! Would’ve just been embarrassing. 
The squirrel biologist set up his blind last weekend and spent three days observing the area where he previously released a bunch of fox squirrels. He contacted us yesterday with the results of his observations.
The squirrels that he released are thriving, and so are squirrels in general. He thinks the feeding station he set up where we dumped a nut/cheerio mix he’d supplied has benefited the overall squirrel population. We know we’d been seeing them everywhere.
Ideally, he would prefer they stay in the habitat where they were released, but they are hitting our bird feeders hard (not that we mind). We go through 50 pounds of sunflower each week along with shelled and raw peanuts, shelled corn, and cracked corn. Before letting the dogs out, we yell, “RUN!!” and the squirrels scamper.
There’s an indigo bunting that hangs out near the bike trail by us. I had seen him a couple of times last year. This past Saturday, he flew out in front of my wife. She hadn’t seen him before. Now she understands why I get excited when I see him. They are beautiful birds.
I was walking the dog down the sidewalk this morning and maybe 20’ ahead of us three squirrels crossed the street together. Two were gray and one was black. They weren’t quite the size yet of a full-grown squirrel so I assume they’re this year’s babies and siblings. I’ve never seen a group of squirrels hanging out together. I’ve seen two together, but it’s always a not-so-friendly chase.
What a beautiful red shouldered hawk. Looks like a feather-stylist primped him for the picture.
Yes, yes he/she is 
. Really, one of the handsomest raptors IMHO and that’s just awesome that they love your deck.
They have a reputation of loving rabbits and squirrels. @squeegee: what’s in your yard?
My house is on a steep hillside - at the front door you’re at street level, by the time you walk to the back deck you’re 4ish stories in the air. The land behind me is deeply wooded, but for fire suppression I’ve cleared it 40+ away from the house. So I guess my deck makes a good eyrie, a good place to spot small animals emerging from the woods.
I’ve been branding this one “he” because I’ve read that red shoulder hawk males are smaller than the females and this bird, despite the stately appearance, is quite small. I had a different hawk last year that was maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 larger, so I’m guessing that one was a female.