"Visitors" to the stream

We don't get much human company around here, so the wildlife feels secure in just dropping in on us. Spring and fall are particularly busy times. We never are quite sure of just what will show up. Of course there are ducks that pass through and try to find a secure nesting spot, but sometimes the visitors are exotic. Just a few days ago a Cooper's Hawk was checking out possibilities for dinner in the front yard, unfortunately he didn't stay long enough to get his picture taken.

Of course we always have deer and squirrels. Our cats do a good job of taking care of moles, voles and those nasty little mice and chipmunks. Occasionally they take on more than they can handle. A visiting turtle looked like a possible lunch to them, but they seemed a bit unsure of exactly how to tackle such a beast.

We had a fox for the longest time, but this year he didn't come back. There are ALWAYS buzzards, once in a while they come right up to the front yard, but mostly they hunt squirrels at the top of the canopy.

Wild turkeys drop by from time to time. They are just beautiful, but we discourage them because there have been cases of leptospirosis this year, if it weren't for that I'd feed them. When we first moved here there were peacocks, but I don't know what happened to them. I miss coming home and seeing them on the rooftop.