Pretty Ducks & an Adorable Squirrel!

[HappyKatz]

I just wanted to share some photographs! :-D Nature is so wonderful & beautiful :smt049

These ducks got pretty close to us - it was great!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee273/Katz4Life/Our%20Photography/OurCats444-1.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee273/Katz4Life/Our%20Photography/OurCats455-1.jpg

This is a resident squirrel that comes to our garden:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee273/Katz4Life/Our%20Photography/OurCats392-1.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee273/Katz4Life/Our%20Photography/OurCats389-1.jpg

[Moli]

How lovely, the first picture looks as if he is telling his Missus off!!!

[HappyKatz]

How lovely, the first picture looks as if he is telling his Missus off!!!

Thank you :) That duck was being really noisy - we were laughing so much :lol:

[dandysmom]

Oh, those duck pics are great!. Your squirrel looks like a red, not the horrible Eastern grey squirrel that's so destructive in gardens!

[Mags]

Lovely pictures of the squirrel......:D

[HappyKatz]

That squirrel always comes around to get sunflower seeds. He/She is a nice squirrel :-D

[angieh]

I am so interested to know that you have red squirrels in USA - I had no idea! Our native red squirrel is in decline, due to competition from the much more aggressive greys that were introduced from USA (not sure when) and also I believe the reds do suffer from a virus.

Of course, the USA has a huge diversity of wildlife, depending on area - would you mind me asking whereabouts in the States you are HappyKatz?

(Of course that's one thing for my list of 5 things I'm interested in - wildlife!)

[HappyKatz]

I am so interested to know that you have red squirrels in USA - I had no idea! Our native red squirrel is in decline, due to competition from the much more aggressive greys that were introduced from USA (not sure when) and also I believe the reds do suffer from a virus.

Of course, the USA has a huge diversity of wildlife, depending on area - would you mind me asking whereabouts in the States you are HappyKatz?

(Of course that's one thing for my list of 5 things I'm interested in - wildlife!)

Thank you for sharing that about squirrels in your area :) We have a good population of red squirrels around here in Michigan. By our house we have 2 red squirrels that are always making noises at each other. The one that I took a photo of is one of the nicer squirrels. I rarely see grey squirrels - usually they are deep in the woods. Sounds like thats a good thing though!

I love wildlife as well :smt049 We have lots of woods here so there are always animals to see :-D

[dandysmom]

Thank you for sharing that about squirrels in your area :) We have a good population of red squirrels around here in Michigan. By our house we have 2 red squirrels that are always making noises at each other. The one that I took a photo of is one of the nicer squirrels. I rarely see grey squirrels - usually they are deep in the woods. Sounds like thats a good thing though!

I love wildlife as well :smt049 We have lots of woods here so there are always animals to see :-D


Count your blessings! I am notorious here for my anti-squirrel rants! :-D There is a huge population of them here where I live; they dig up and eat bulbs, uproot newly planted plants, steal tomatoes as they're ripening and devour the birdseed! Plus chew holes in the soffit boards on the roof to nest there..that has happened to me and my neighbor!

But with the exception of squirrels I love wildlife also; we have raccoons, opossums, foxes, quail and the occasional deer right here in the City...I'm only 2 blocks from the woods! Oh, and mallard ducks on the nearby reservoir!

[HappyKatz]

Count your blessings! I am notorious here for my anti-squirrel rants! :-D There is a huge population of them here where I live; they dig up and eat bulbs, uproot newly planted plants, steal tomatoes as they're ripening and devour the birdseed! Plus chew holes in the soffit boards on the roof to nest there..that has happened to me and my neighbor!

But with the exception of squirrels I love wildlife also; we have raccoons, opossums, foxes, quail and the occasional deer right here in the City...I'm only 2 blocks from the woods! Oh, and mallard ducks on the nearby reservoir!

Those squirrels do not sound very nice in your area! Thankfully the squirrels we have around here are respectful - they eat out of the bird feeder & when they are full, they leave...We are also close to the woods, we seen bears, cougars, bobcats, deer, cranes, falcons! We seen lots of beautiful animals & birds...Wildlife is wonderful :-D

[dandysmom]

Those squirrels do not sound very nice in your area! Thankfully the squirrels we have around here are respectful - they eat out of the bird feeder & when they are full, they leave...We are also close to the woods, we seen bears, cougars, bobcats, deer, cranes, falcons! We seen lots of beautiful animals & birds...Wildlife is wonderful :-D

You've seen a bobcat? How wonderful! We have peregrine falcons nesting downtown on the building ledges but I've never been fortunate enough to see one..:(

[HappyKatz]

You've seen a bobcat? How wonderful! We have peregrine falcons nesting downtown on the building ledges but I've never been fortunate enough to see one..:(

We have seen so many animals & birds :-D We go walking in the woods all the time so we usually come across them while we are out. The bobcat was very cute - we only seen the one though. Should of seen the time we seen a young cougar - it had prey in its mouth, when it seen us, it stopped, looked at us for a little, & then it jumped into the woods. Just the other day we saw a younger falcon perched on a tree - first time we ever seen one up close. :)

[angieh]

Peregrine falcons! They have been nesting in Chichester Cathedral for several years now and we do see them quite frequently. The RSPB has a camera in the nest and visitors to the cathedral can watch the various stages of the eggs and hatching the young.

The year before last a young peregrine took a collar dove right out of the air outside our front window - it was just getting dark and we did take some photos - a bit grizzly and the photos were grainy, but it was amazing to watch.

Sounds like you live in the ideal place for wildlife HappyKatz - I am quite envious!

[HappyKatz]

Peregrine falcons! They have been nesting in Chichester Cathedral for several years now and we do see them quite frequently. The RSPB has a camera in the nest and visitors to the cathedral can watch the various stages of the eggs and hatching the young.

The year before last a young peregrine took a collar dove right out of the air outside our front window - it was just getting dark and we did take some photos - a bit grizzly and the photos were grainy, but it was amazing to watch.

Sounds like you live in the ideal place for wildlife HappyKatz - I am quite envious!

Wow that is so neat that falcons are nesting in the Cathedral!
And its great how people can watch them...Falcons are amazing birds :-D

We love the place where we live because we are big nature lovers. There is plenty of nature & wildlife to see! When there isn't anything to do - why not take a walk in the woods! :D

[angieh]

Here is the website link - I would have sent the link for the RSPB cam, but as the young have fledged this year, the camera has been turned off.

http://chichestercathedral.co.uk/cgi-bin/frameit.pl?page=/dyn/_pages/_folder5/page_17.html

[HappyKatz]

Here is the website link - I would have sent the link for the RSPB cam, but as the young have fledged this year, the camera has been turned off.

http://chichestercathedral.co.uk/cgi-bin/frameit.pl?page=/dyn/_pages/_folder5/page_17.html

Thank you for sharing that link with me! :-D Besides the beautiful falcons - I love churches, especially a church as beautiful as Chichester Cathedral...

[Kim]

I love wildlife too and your red squirrel is beautiful I don't think I ever have seen one here in the UK. Churches and cathedrals are another of my passions too! :)

[dandysmom]

[quote=angieh;489529]Here is the website link - I would have sent the link for the RSPB cam, but as the young have fledged this year, the camera has been turned off.

http://chichestercathedral.co.uk/cgi-bin/frameit.pl?page=/dyn/_pages/_folder5/page_17.html[

My thanks for that link also, Angie!]

[angieh]

So glad you liked it!

I had a great friend, Val, with whom I had several good holidays and we used to go for walks and to the cinema. She loved to visit old churches in the area and joined a society that tries to help with the upkeep. Sadly, Val died a couple of years ago and I miss her company on our walks and visits to those little country churches. There are a lot of very old ones around the area I live. Have to say I do much prefer the little parish churches to the great cathedrals, but Chichester is lovely and a lot goes on there, such as lunch time musical recitals. The Bishops's Gardens are open to the public and are lovely, well kept and peaceful. They have art exhibitions sometimes in the cloisters - not just known artists but exhibitions of work from local schools too.