The strangest, scariest, most dramatic thing that you've seen in your n'hood

[Outdoor Girl]

Would raptors really nest in my suburban neighbourhood?  I was mostly tongue in cheek with my query, as I'd be worried about the songbird population if I encouraged raptors.

You probably already have some owls in your n-hood.  But they are really good at staying hidden.

If I do, they aren't doing a very good job.  I have a rabbit problem, too.  A friend put up a rabbit fence for me in the spring.  Worked great in the spring but later in the summer when the young ones were out foraging on their own, they were able to go right through the fence.  It'll have to be redone next spring with smaller gauge holes, maybe even chicken wire.

[GreenHall]

Mine was mostly tongue in cheek, because while my mom is in a rural area, the cat does spend her days outside.  The cat is ... not a great hunter.  Probably not helped by the one time we know she caught something (baby bunny), my mom (her person) made her stop.  That had more to do with the noise the baby bunny was making, but we've never since witnessed successful hunting.

There is some hope that once the old cat and the new cat achieve detente, that the new one will be a better hunter.  Apparently has some manx, and will be a LARGE cat too, so even more squirrels, if we can just encourage her that way...

[wheeitsme]

We didn't let our Labrador out alone until he was big enough.  Big enough for what, you say?  Big enough that the red-tailed hawks, barn owls (geez they're big!), and coyotes wouldn't be interested.

...as for dramatic?  We live at the top of a ridge.  This last year I heard a loud plane.  We hear planes (I'm an Air Force brat, I think that half the time they don't even register), but this one sounded loud. I poked my head out into the back yard...and could make out the pilot in the FedEx plane going over/between my and my neighbor's house.  There were really strong winds that day, and DH think he missed his first approach and decided to circle...and didn't get up quick enough.  I've only seen planes that low at air shows.  I stayed out long enough to make sure I didn't hear an explosion, but luckily we were the highest ridge he had to go over.

[Elfmama]

If there is food available, they will.  My Mom's neighborhood had a hawk living in an enormous spruce tree last year.  It picked off all of the quail who were living there.  (Quail are cute, but dumber than rocks...sigh...) Totally suburban area in a city of about 250k.

Our area hosts a pair of redtails.  We've seen them several times; once when one of them dropped into our back yard and hit some underground critter, a mole or gopher.  He flew away with some small animal in his claws, anyway.  And the plague of moles/gophers that used to tunnel all over our property is gone.

I've also had a juvenile redtail take a male cardinal right off my back deck, underneath the feeder.  I'd been doing something in the kitchen, heard a THUMP against the window, and looked out to find the hawk on the deck with the cardinal in his claws.  There were red feathers stuck to the window with blood.  The hawk must have startled the feeder birds and they scattered.  The cardinal made the mistake of thinking that the window was an escape route, and the hawk grabbed him while he was stunned.  I considered for a second whether I should attempt a rescue, but it was obvious that while the cardinal was still alive, it was badly injured and would probably die anyway.  The hawk took the decision out of my hands and flew away with the cardinal. 

I also had a female peregrine attempt to take a kitten that was sunning himself in the window.  That he was inside the glass was the only thing that saved him.  Again, a huge WHUMP against the glass, and a rather stunned and disoriented falcon.  I kept an eye on her until she recovered and flew up into one of the trees.  Had she not come out of it in a few minutes, I'd have called a wildlife rescue organization.

[cwm]

Would raptors really nest in my suburban neighbourhood?  I was mostly tongue in cheek with my query, as I'd be worried about the songbird population if I encouraged raptors.

I live in the middle of suburbs for a major metropolitan area. We've got red-tails all over the place, and I've seen various other hawks and raptors, as well as bats and several owls. You have to know where to look, but they're there. They'd absolutely come to your neighborhood, as long as you're looking to attract species that would live there normally.

Further into the suburbs, closer to the rural areas, we've got coyotes. Whited to avoid bothering animal lovers. One of our customers at the grooming salon lost a dog to a coyote when she let him out to go to the bathroom in her back yard. So she kept his brother on a leash all the time, even to go potty. A long leash. Brother dog went around to sniff at the bush, coyote came out from behind it and ate him off the leash. Coyotes are not to be messed with. We've also had rare mountain lion sightings, but when you see them or hear about them in the area, you stay out of the area and don't provide anything that resembles food for them.

[Elisabunny]

Would raptors really nest in my suburban neighbourhood?  I was mostly tongue in cheek with my query, as I'd be worried about the songbird population if I encouraged raptors.

You probably already have some owls in your n-hood.  But they are really good at staying hidden.

If I do, they aren't doing a very good job.  I have a rabbit problem, too.  A friend put up a rabbit fence for me in the spring.  Worked great in the spring but later in the summer when the young ones were out foraging on their own, they were able to go right through the fence.  It'll have to be redone next spring with smaller gauge holes, maybe even chicken wire.

Supposedly, rabbits don't like marigolds.  My mother used to outline our veg garden with marigolds for that reason.


One day I was taking my kid to preschool, and the road was blocked off just past our house.  No problem, I just went the long way around, and came back the same way.  The road was still blocked off, so I wandered over to see what was going on.  A tractor had somehow gone off the road and landed in the creek that borders our property.  Well, not actually IN the creek: that portion is a little mini-canyon, fairly deep and narrow.  The tractor was actually suspended about halfway down.  Fortunately, the driver managed to escape harm.

[RingTailedLemur]

Rabbits love marigolds: http://www.burgesspetcare.co.uk/products/rabbit/burgess-excel-herbage---timothy-hay.html

Of course, that food is given to European rabbits.  Maybe American ones don't like them.

[Tea Drinker]

Would raptors really nest in my suburban neighbourhood?  I was mostly tongue in cheek with my query, as I'd be worried about the songbird population if I encouraged raptors.

Yes. Or at least, they like the city and the countryside: it's no longer news that there are peregrine falcons nesting on New York City suspension bridges, and there's a pair of hawks that likes one particular building across the street from Central Park. (Central Park is a bird-watcher's paradise, but a lot of those birds are just passing through.)

Mostly what raptors need is somewhere tall to build their nests: owls and at least some kinds of hawks like to nest in trees, and peregrines like cliffs (and a skyscraper or suspension bridge fits the bill nicely).

[jedikaiti]

I live in the CO foothills area, and have heard of several different species of wild animal making dinner of various pets and other smallish animals. I never witnessed this until Thanksgiving this year.

While chatting prior to dinner at a friend's decidedly suburban home we witnessed a large bird - we think it might be a juvenile bald eagle - attempt to catch a bunny. He got the bunny, who did not seem to suffer long, but had trouble carrying it away, and waited very patiently in a tree across the street for the right chance to try to move it again. It ended up hopping and dragging it across the street into a neighbor's yard before we lost track of him. I uploaded some video to YouTube - PM me if you want a link.

[Outdoor Girl]

My Dad had a mice and vole problem in his basement.  He was live trapping them and releasing them back outside.  Why, I don't know.  I'm sure he caught the same ones over and over.  Except for one.  One day, he released the little critter at dusk.  And down swooped an owl for his evening meal.  Dad thought it was pretty funny.

[kherbert05]

When I was in San Angelo, I was driving home very late and saw a "great dane" in the shadows. Then I realized it was a doe - there were about 5 and a moment later there was a huge stag in the middle of the road. I sat there in the middle of the road hazzards on for 10 - 15 minutes till they finally walked past me. 

This weekend at our farm/wild life refuge we saw the bald eagle again. Their are a pair that nest just off our property. Also Fred the hawk was there. He sits on power pole while my cousins mow and grabs the vermin that run out of the grass.

[GreenEyedHawk]

One evening at one of our local dog parks, we were just getting ready to leave to come home (so I already had my dog leashed) when a woman on the path motioned for me to stop, then pointed at the edge of one of the park's treed areas.  Standing there watching all the people and their dogs was a coyote.  I never would have thought they'd be so bold as to come to a place so full of people and dogs, but I guess they are.

Before the woman could stop her dog, he was off after the coyote.  Any other dog I'd have been more concerned but he was an Irish wolfhound.  Things did not end well for that coyote.  And yes, the lady did try to stop her dog; she certainly didn't encourage him to go after the coyote.  It's just lucky that the dog was big and strong enough to handle it and I guess it also goes to show that no amount of training will overcome instinct.  In the end the dog was totally unharmed and the coyote, well...he became an ex-coyote.

[MommyPenguin]

We live on the edge of a large protected forest, and definitely have raptors!  We're not sure if he's a red-shouldered or Cooper's hawk, and whether it's really just one, but we have a frequent visitor.  During the summer he'd come to our yard almost daily.

What we've thought about building are bat houses.  We get a lot of insects in the summer because of the stream behind our house (in the woods) and pools of standing water.  Bats are pretty amazing!

[PastryGoddess]

Yes bats are amazing.  I wish there were more in my neighborhood.

[Nikko-chan]

One evening at one of our local dog parks, we were just getting ready to leave to come home (so I already had my dog leashed) when a woman on the path motioned for me to stop, then pointed at the edge of one of the park's treed areas.  Standing there watching all the people and their dogs was a coyote.  I never would have thought they'd be so bold as to come to a place so full of people and dogs, but I guess they are.

Before the woman could stop her dog, he was off after the coyote.  Any other dog I'd have been more concerned but he was an Irish wolfhound.  Things did not end well for that coyote.  And yes, the lady did try to stop her dog; she certainly didn't encourage him to go after the coyote.  It's just lucky that the dog was big and strong enough to handle it and I guess it also goes to show that no amount of training will overcome instinct.  In the end the dog was totally unharmed and the coyote, well...he became an ex-coyote.

Monty Python reference!