Critters on the home front

We love to spend time in the woods and see all the amazing things but we are very fortunate to live in an area where there is a fairly good population of wildlife. Here are some of the animals we see at home. Check out our post about backpacking critters here.

Several years ago, a mother fox built a den underneath the neighbor’s shed. She had 4 kits, and we got to spend a summer watching them grow up. They would come up on the porch and get water from the dog’s bowl. This of course, drove Brownie (our chocolate lab we had at the time) crazy. We still have foxes in the area and see them periodically.

Deer

We have had deer in the neighborhood since we moved in nearly 25 years ago. They make me crazy sometimes as they eat my tulips and hostas, and I have to keep my tomatoes carefully fenced. It is amazing to see them wandering about the area. We have had many families raised in the area. You can see some fawns hiding in the fallen branches and one behind our shed.

We see the deer in winter and summer. One Thanksgiving, seventeen deer walked down the street. On the day I captured the shot of the fawn behind the shed, there was another fawn, 2 rabbits and some ground hogs in the yard. I wasn’t able to get pictures of the menagerie as Jaxon went racing around in delight and scared them.

Hawks

We have had Red Shouldered Hawks living in our neighborhood for many years now and we get to see the young ones learning to fly and hunt. It is so neat to see, and it helps keep the ground pests under control.

We see them in the trees all the time, and they set the other birds off.

The hawks sometimes land on the fence by the back door and use the bird bath. I was glad to capture these two shots, even if they aren’t the clearest.

Turtles and toads

There are a couple of toads that live around here, and I was able to get some shots while I was working outside. The fat one hiding under the board hangs out near the back door and Jaxon loves to chase it.

We have a creek that runs through out neighborhood and we see turtles occasionally. One evening, While Jaxon and I were walking, I found this little fellow near the creek.

Owls

We have a variety of owls living in the area. I have seen Great Horned Owls and Long Eared Owls while outside in the evening. The most common one we see here is the Barred Owl. It has a distinctive call and they live in our backyard. We hear them often in the evening. I managed to get a picture of one a few weeks ago.

I hope you enjoyed this look at some of our neighbors!