Wildlife around your house

I've seen a few birds up here, but the most wildlife I see up here are kids and crazy drivers. I kind of miss the skunks, opossum, ducks, coyotes, doves, and deer that used to cross our property. I can see them when I visit my folks, though.

 

Taken by my neighbor a couple of days ago:

 

While I never thought of them as wildlife (I do see the connection when I think about it), we have (had?) a lot of skanks around our 'hood.'

 

Picking blackberries in my friends' backyard. Babies were inside their grill. Crazy.

 

Found this jelly down at the beach only a few kms from home...

 

So that's who keeps making all that racket in the roof!

 

I was thinking about this thread as I sat on the porch today. Bird life seems to be a lot more active here at the new house (or maybe I'm just more aware of it since I'm outside more.) I've seen robins, cardinals, wrens, blue jays, woodpeckers, and a few birds I haven't identified yet hanging out at the bird feeder & suet cake. There are also two squirrels who frolic about and do squirrelly things. I suspect there's a bunny or two in the back yard, but no confirmed sightings on that yet, just overly excited pups securing the perimeter

As I was having my coffee this morning, I decided I'm going to get some peanuts for the jays. Also considering a bluebird house and another feeder specifically for finches.

 

Seems we have a bald eagle in the neighborhood. Not sure if he's staying or just passing through.

 

I've been watching a mourning dove sit on a nest in our peach tree for about two weeks. Yesterday I thought that I saw some movement in the nest, but I'm not certain and I'm not going to move in for a closer look for fear of disturbing her.

Note--Mourning doves build flimsy nests in really bad places. The last one I spotted was just a few bits of sticks barely sitting on a Y in the tree branch. It was totally exposed, high winds blew it out of the tree. Another time they made a nest in the rain gutter; something killed the baby birds before we had enough rain to drown them.

 

The mourning doves returned to the nest ^ a few of weeks ago, and there now two baby birds. The other day I saw papa bring momma something to eat, and she fed the babies. I mentioned this to my wife, she could've lived without hearing about the regurgitating part.

The nest low enough in the tree for me to get photos, but I'd need to get fairly close. I really don't want to frighten them.

Nature can cruel, and that is part of keeping things in balance. It includes dogs killing helpless creatures. I just hope that my dogs don't find one or both of the young birds on the ground.

 

There is currently a chubby little groundhog living just beyond our backyard. He comes up to visit frequently. Luckily, I don't think the pops have spotted him yet.

 

Since the feeder is so high-maintenance (cleaned every other day) I consider myself to be "keeping" two hummingbirds. We also have mourning doves, Gila woodpeckers, Great-tailed Grackles, Inca Doves, and Verdins. It is very chirpy here. We get visits from desert cottontail rabbits and have a steady supply of little gray lizards scurrying about too.