Memorable Wildlife

[paleoman]

#6079

The Great Gray Owl I saw one snowy day in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula stands out as special. This huge bird flew within a few feet to look me over. I felt a presence in that bird out in the snowy spruce woods. What stands out for you?

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#48097

I stalked noise i heard on the other side of a knoll, thinking deer were rummaging thru leaves, only to find two huge eastern timber rattlers wrestling, 10 yards away! coiled up together, standing like cobras, falling together, and starting the whole thing over again. Unbelievable!! A biologist told me he spent his career hoping and trying to see that, and here I come, just strolling the woods with my bow…

Next would be the time I had a beautiful bull Elk stopping 12 yards from me, giving me the perfect broadside shot…..that I didn’t take!

[Ben M.]

#48298

Last fall I was drawing on a squirrel as a red-tailed hawk swooped down to nab it. The hawk barely, barely missed. That squirrel almost died two ways in the same moment.

Last spring I was headed out to a favorite turkey spot and came upon a really unusual fresh kill–a red-shouldered hawk! In all the years I’ve tramped the woodlands and prairies around here, I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it. As I surveyed the kill a pair of red-shouldereds sat in the trees above me, calling, calling, calling. I decided to ditch my hunt and carried the carcass back up to the house to show my father-in-law, a biologist. The red-shouldered hawks bounced from tree to tree, following me the entire way calling, “SLAKE!, SLAKE!”. They waited in an elm just outside the door until I came back out, then followed the same routine back to the site of the kill where I replaced the carcass. This incident affected me deeply.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#48369

Good thread.

One experience that comes to mind –

I was kayaking around the southern tip of Kuiu Island in Southeast Ak years ago. It was a foggy, calm day, and humpback whales were surfacing nearby – explosive breaths coming out of the mist, and every now and then you would catch a massive tail in the air as it slid underneath the surface. I was stopped in the middle of the bay, jigging for halibut with a handline, when the line suddenly went taut and started slowly moving sideways in that way that halibut do.

Whales continued to surface close by, as I tried to gauge just how big this halibut might be, and whether it was something I wanted to bring alongside my boat or not. And I remember thinking, “wow – there are these massive creatures cruising around me, I’ve got a halibut on the line….how could this possibly be better?”

And that’s when the howling rose up out of the rainforest and carried across the bay. I looked over (still struggling with the halibut) as one of the wolves popped out of the trees, and started trotting down the length of the beach.

The combination of all those things happening simultaneously continues to be one of my more memorable wildlife experiences.

[wahoo]

#48524

I like all critters but had a cool deal last night at work. I was driving to a tower site and a cougar came out in front of me. I sat and watched him for a bout 5 min then went back to work. Big fun

[William Warren]

#48562

Interesting on the dead hawk. Wonder what killed it. I witnessed a gang of crows after a juvie Coopers Hawk with its parents calling from nearby. Diving on the crows occasionally trying to drive them away. This went on for hours and it moved from place to place as the young Coopers tried to escape the crows.

There have been a number of unusual sights but my two favorites involve Ospreys. First I was watching an Osprey catch a fish and was pointing it out to my wife as we ran down the lake in our boat when out of nowhere an Eagle came down and engaged the Osprey making it let go of the catch and then catching the fish for his own in mid air before it hit the water. Awesome! The other was actually holding an Osprey by his talons wrapped in my sweatshirt while a fisherman untangled his rig from the birds wing. I then released him and he turned into the wind spread his wings and lifted right off the pier!

[paleoman]

#48684

That’s some good reading up there!

[James Harvey]

#48724

Duncan wrote: I witnessed a gang of crows after a juvie Coopers Hawk with its parents calling from nearby.

I was sitting at a suburban train station once and saw a big crow dive down on pigeon that was on the tracks. The crow had his feet out like a diving hawk, nailed the pigeon on the back, then standing on the pigeon proceeded to peck it’s head off and carry the head away. I looked around and no one else at the station had seen it, they were all looking at phones or books or what ever. It was incredible.

The next day I walked along the tracks near there and found another couple of headless pigeon corpses. I loved the idea that there was a crow somewhere nearby who had a nest surrounded by pigeon skulls. That’s a badass crow!

[Bunyan Morris]

#48729

AlexBugnon wrote: I stalked noise i heard on the other side of a knoll, thinking deer were rummaging thru leaves, only to find two huge eastern timber rattlers wrestling, 10 yards away! coiled up together, standing like cobras, falling together, and starting the whole thing over again. Unbelievable!! A biologist told me he spent his career hoping and trying to see that, and here I come, just strolling the woods with my bow…

Next would be the time I had a beautiful bull Elk stopping 12 yards from me, giving me the perfect broadside shot…..that I didn’t take!

Alex, I had the same experience last fall with a pair do copperheads.

[Bunyan Morris]

#48734

Smithhammer wrote: Good thread.

One experience that comes to mind –

I was kayaking around the southern tip of Kuiu Island in Southeast Ak years ago. It was a foggy, calm day, and humpback whales were surfacing nearby – explosive breaths coming out of the mist, and every now and then you would catch a massive tail in the air as it slid underneath the surface. I was stopped in the middle of the bay, jigging for halibut with a handline, when the line suddenly went taut and started slowly moving sideways in that way that halibut do.

Whales continued to surface close by, as I tried to gauge just how big this halibut might be, and whether it was something I wanted to bring alongside my boat or not. And I remember thinking, “wow – there are these massive creatures cruising around me, I’ve got a halibut on the line….how could this possibly be better?”

And that’s when the howling rose up out of the rainforest and carried across the bay. I looked over (still struggling with the halibut) as one of the wolves popped out of the trees, and started trotting down the length of the beach.

The combination of all those things happening simultaneously continues to be one of my more memorable wildlife experiences.

Chill bumps here in Georgia. What an amazing moment.

[Ben M.]

#49277

Wow, Smithhammer. Besides being the owner-recipient of a kickass name, you are a man who has truly lived.

Jim, that’s awesome! I wonder what that crow was doing with all those noggins.

Duncan, you’ve got more guts than me. Ospreys are huge and fierce. I think I’d be the guy watching you untangle it.

Birds are a source of endless fascination for me. I carry binoculars almost everywhere I go. As far as what killed the red-shouldered hawk, my money is on barred owl. Great-horned owls are known to decapitate birds their own size but there are very few of them in this area. (I never did find the head, by the way.) We probably see/hear fifty barred owls to one great-horned. I was stump shooting once when a pack of crows suddenly exploded with noise. They flew out of the woods, hot on the heels of a barred owl with a baby crow in its talons. That was cool.

[Ben M.]

#49294

Okay, one more bird story and I’ll stop. (Bird people are like that–get ’em started and they just won’t shut up.)

I was a few miles out on the windy open prairie, running up a steep incline that ended with a plateau. To my great surprise-and his-there was a male northern harrier hovering maybe four feet off the ground at the crest of the hill. I almost ran right into him! He was just out of arm’s reach from me; we made direct eye contact. I yelped, he tweaked his wings and vanished in an instant. Then I did a giddy little kid dance on top of that hill because wow.

[grumpy]

#49788

On a slate roof (hanging from a rope) the house is on a ridge just east of the CT river, between the Financial district and the park. About 40 feet off the ground, and the ridge is about 60 feet above the river, beautiful view.

I’m working and happen to look up, to see 2 pidgens flying over from Financial to the park. Didn’t think much of it till the rear pidgen exploded. Feathers everywhere. Then a Falcon casually flies off with a dead pidgen in his grasp. The other pidgen continued off to the park, and when he got there probably sais “Wonder where charlie went?” The falcon fed the pidgen to his young and dropped the carcass on some accountant in a suit that is worth more than my car.

[David Fudala]

#49814

Got two specific moments that come to mind on this one. The first happened last fall. I was walking out of one of my favorite swamps to hunt during late season. It was cold and still and clear as a bell. Maybe a mile or so off, a pack of wolves began to sing the night in and I paused to listen to their serenade. Moments into their first pause a single wolf, not 50 yards from me answered the pack! A chill went up my spine! To be so close without his knowing was surreal! I never saw him but what an experience! The second happened to me a few years ago and really, I think started me toward a different way of looking at hunting and wildlife. I was scouting a area with a secluded lake nearby and I heard something splashing in the water. I snuck to within sight and watched as a doe whitetail and her fawn played together in the water like two Lab pups. It literally brought a tear of joy to my eye to see such freedom of care for just that moment. I have not drawn on a doe with a fawn or her fawn since that day!

[Goraidh]

#50835

I once watched two bald eagles lock talons and float down in slow circles together. Was simply peaceful. And tender.

[mhay]

#51488

I put a flock of mixed age gobblers to roost one fall evening . Returned in the dark the next morning to set up on them and see how things played out .

As I slowly moved up a tractor path toward the birds I began hearing tiny particals falling from right above me . Instantly thought it to be a squirrel . PLOP ! I instantly stopped because something of considerable size just hit me dead center of the top of my head . I gently removed my cap and discovered a huge turkey turd . I looked up and could easily outline the young gobbler which was looking down at me .

Long story short , I just got crapped on by a turkey . I took a picture and went on to hunt . Fall gobblers can be very indifferent about coming to the call at times , and they simply called to me and went to another property. I backed out and circled around to hopefully get another chance at them .

So I get to a nice cedar thicket where the turkeys like to hang out and feed . I pick my set up and get comfortable against a nice tree . I see movement off to my right and it’s a nice 3-4 year old buck . He’s simply walking slow , head down . Coming straight toward me he stopped at about 10 -12 feet . He doesn’t jerk his head nor move an ear. He simply stopped and began staring a hole through me .

Now , there was no discernable air movement ,but , all I could smell was the turkey poop, even though I had removed most of it from my cap . The buck remained motionless for 10 minutes . He didn’t attempt to test the air . no head bobbing , to tail movement . Then he just turned and walked to my right , realigned his body to face me and started his staring again .

Finally the air moved , and SO DID THE BUCK!

It was a very memorable morning . I’ve talked with dozens of turkey hunters and none have been pooped on by a roosted turkey ,,,,,,,,,,AT LEAST NONE WHO WILL ADMIT IT .

[Author]

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