# What kind of wildlife do you see? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025 "2007-11-11T17:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/1 "2007-11-11T17:00:20Z")
I’ve been thinking about this while on my nightly drive home as I dodge various animals in the road. Contrary to popular belief New Jersey isn’t completely paved. I live in a pretty rural area in the west of the state and I see a lot of animals on my ride home from work at 2am. So what kind of animals do you routinely see in your area? For me: Of course squirrels and rabbits. groundhogs millions of white tailed deer raccoons fox coyotes black bear (not in my neighborhood but in the state) turkey vultures wild turkeys chipmunks ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/2 "2007-11-11T17:05:27Z")
Deer Fox Turkeys Pheasants Coyotes Racoons Possums groundhogs porcupines Bald Eagles Peregrin falcons hawks Sandhill Cranes Swans Geese Blue Herons seagulls quail And over the past decade, we’ve had two bears wander thru. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/3 "2007-11-11T17:11:24Z")
I should have said it would help if you mentioned where you are from. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/4 "2007-11-11T17:17:19Z")
Wisconsin, along the Lake Michigan shoreline. And all the animals I mentioned have been spotted on my property. Including one of the bears. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/5 "2007-11-11T17:21:00Z")
Along roadsides (including dirt roads) or in and near towns around here I have seen: White-nosed Coati Crab-eating Raccoon Mantled Howler Monkey White-faced Monkey Geoffroy’s Tamarin Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth Northern Tamandua Nine-banded Armadillo Jaguarundi Grison Collared Peccary Variegated Squirrel Red-tailed Squirrel Central American Agouti Capybara Green Iguana Black Iguana American Crocodile Spectacled Caiman Among the larger birds: Parrots Toucans Pigeons and doves Caciques Oropendolas Peregrine Falcon Chachalacas Caracaras Herons Pelicans Cormorants Frigatebirds Gulls ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/6 "2007-11-11T17:21:30Z")
I live in Tennessee and drive approximately twenty miles to Chattanooga each day but don’t see very much wildlife as it’s mostly city and interstate driving. I have passed what looks like a dead deer while travelling southbound the past two days, though, and I had to change lanes to avoid further mutilating what I’m assuming was a dead possum today. There’s also a flock of ducks that apparently live somewhere near the Wal-Mart about a mile from where I work and they sometimes hold traffic up while crossing the street from it to the office buildings across the road. I think they might live in the stream a little further up the road but I never see them anywhere near it and have no idea why they always seem to cross at that particular spot. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/7 "2007-11-11T17:21:48Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] I should have said it would help if you mentioned where you are from. [/QUOTE] I’m from the Bronx. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/8 "2007-11-11T17:34:47Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] Of course squirrels and rabbits. groundhogs millions of white tailed deer raccoons fox coyotes black bear (not in my neighborhood but in the state) turkey vultures wild turkeys chipmunks [/QUOTE] Not surprisingly most of your list. I am down in Monmouth County in NJ. I live near a reservoir and I take a sailboat out on the Navesink River. I have seen everything on your list except the wild turkeys & coyotes, but foxes are rare and only one bear. I think you missed opossums. I have seen muskrats and big ugly wharf rats swimming. Do feral cats counts? I will add: Ospreys, Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Cranes, Swans, Egrets, Cormorants, Seagulls, Crows, Cardinals, Blue jays, Black Birds, Starlings, Canadian Geese (way too many), Orioles, Red Wing Blackbirds, Robins, rarely Hummingbirds, Doves a cooing in the morning, etc. Rarely stumble upon small snakes, turtles, frogs, red salamanders & toads. Mammals living in my yard are squirrels, rabbits, too many groundhogs, 4-6 white tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, moles & mice. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/9 "2007-11-11T18:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] I’m from the Bronx. 🙂 [/QUOTE] smartass ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/10 "2007-11-11T18:06:06Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Not surprisingly most of your list. I am down in Monmouth County in NJ. I live near a reservoir and I take a sailboat out on the Navesink River. I have seen everything on your list except the wild turkeys & coyotes, but foxes are rare and only one bear. I think you missed opossums. I have seen muskrats and big ugly wharf rats swimming. Do feral cats counts? I will add: Ospreys, Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Cranes, Swans, Egrets, Cormorants, Seagulls, Crows, Cardinals, Blue jays, Black Birds, Starlings, Canadian Geese (way too many), Orioles, Red Wing Blackbirds, Robins, rarely Hummingbirds, Doves a cooing in the morning, etc. Rarely stumble upon small snakes, turtles, frogs, red salamanders & toads. Mammals living in my yard are squirrels, rabbits, too many groundhogs, 4-6 white tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks, moles & mice. Jim [/QUOTE] Yep missed possums. I didn’t mention too many birds because I am not that up on them. I’m sure I have seen quite a few. Completely unscientific but it seems that there is a big surge in the fox population. I don’t remember ever seeing one while I was growing up. In the last 10 years it seems like I see one every night. This is either where I live in Hunterdon county or where I work in Middlesex county. Same with coyotes. I drive around a lot at night. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/11 "2007-11-11T18:15:25Z")
At my house we don’t see a whole lot, since we’re in the city (technically suburbs, but pretty close to the city). Squirrels, birds, rabbits, and every once in a while a random turkey, which is odd. At my mother’s house in rural New Hampshire there are a lot more squirrels, birds, chipmunks, black bears (she has a bit of a bear problem), the occasional deer, raccoons, porcupines, turtles, toads, frogs, newts, and lots and lots of black flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, and no-see-ems. Going a little farther afield we’ll see the occasional moose. I’m sure there are others. ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/12 "2007-11-11T18:16:00Z")
small rat terrier chihuahua finnish boyfriend homeless hipsters in haight-ashbury ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/13 "2007-11-11T18:25:29Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] Yep missed possums. I didn’t mention too many birds because I am not that up on them. I’m sure I have seen quite a few. Completely unscientific but it seems that there is a big surge in the fox population. I don’t remember ever seeing one while I was growing up. In the last 10 years it seems like I see one every night. This is either where I live in Hunterdon county or where I work in Middlesex county. Same with coyotes. I drive around a lot at night. [/QUOTE] I still haven’t seen a coyote, but they have been reported in my town and the next two towns. I forgot the most impressive mammal I have ever seen in the wilds of NJ. On the Shrewsbury river, a large Dolphin took refuge next to our old wooden sailboat. It was seeking protection from the “crazy motor boaters”. This lady of the sea had wandered through Sandyhook Bay and all the way up the Shrewsbury to Monmouth Beach. She was getting chased by “crazy motor boaters”, including one slightly drunk one that asked if we had seen the seal? The dolphin was large, larger than Flipper, it was black. I never have figured out what it was. Maybe a large common-dolphin. Jim ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/14 "2007-11-11T18:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I still haven’t seen a coyote, but they have been reported in my town and the next two towns. I forgot the most impressive mammal I have ever seen in the wilds of NJ. On the Shrewsbury river, a large Dolphin took refuge next to our old wooden sailboat. It was seeking protection from the “crazy motor boaters”. This lady of the sea had wandered through Sandyhook Bay and all the way up the Shrewsbury to Monmouth Beach. She was getting chased by “crazy motor boaters”, including one slightly drunk one that asked if we had seen the seal? The dolphin was large, larger than Flipper, it was black. I never have figured out what it was. Maybe a large common-dolphin. Jim [/QUOTE] I suppose the various sea creatures I’ve seen off the coast of NH might count. So add humpback, finback and minke whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and a couple of basking sharks. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/15 "2007-11-11T18:59:05Z")
Here in my residential neighborhood in uptown Santa Barbara I see: coyotes raccoons opossums mice rats rabbits skunks lizards frogs toads salamaders hawks quail woodpeckers buzzards ravens finches jays ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/16 "2007-11-11T19:16:16Z")
Wolves, Bears, Tigers, Webelos. 🙂 Coyote, fox, deer, racoon, in the neighborhood. Golden & occasional bald eagle, redtail hawk, bear, coyote, fox, and once a tiger salamander, at work. Elk and antelope outside of town a couple miles. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/17 "2007-11-11T19:22:26Z")
I live in the High Desert of California and spend part of my commute in the Angeles National Forest. In my neighborhood: quail crows red-tailed hawk roadrunners goldfinches turkey vultures barn owl great horned owl some kind of falcon I haven’t identified coyotes Mojave Green rattlesnake common Western rattlesnake gopher snake gophers field mice rabbits Jackrabbits (hares) On my commute I can add: muledeer, foxes, racoons, mountain lions, black bears ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/18 "2007-11-11T19:23:17Z")
Animals I see almost daily: Mexican free tailed bats Grackles Coots Mallards Herons Ibis Nutria Swans (mute and black, do they count as wild?) Squirrels Buzzards On occasion: Possums Armadillos Deer Coyotes ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/19 "2007-11-11T19:27:05Z")
Bald eagles Various raptors Crows or ravens Herons Raccoons Rabbits Squirrels Deer The occasional deal opossum Coyotes ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025/20 "2007-11-11T19:31:53Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin] On my commute I can add: muledeer, foxes, racoons, mountain lions, black bears [/QUOTE] Oh and I saw a bobcat once. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-wildlife-do-you-see/426025.md?page=2)