fauna

Animals

Marbled Godwits

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The marbled godwits are back. I saw the first ones a couple of days ago and they have been on the lawn for at least part of each day since. There seems to be more this year than last. The most I counted last year at one time was 17. Today there were 20 or … Read more

Spiders

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Found an interesting colored spider crawling on my arm today. Decided to take a closer look at it and try to get a decent picture of it. I happened to discover the spider while down on campus, but my camera was at home. In the mean time, while trying to keep it from getting too … Read more

Common Snipes

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Went for a hike up Indian River valley yesterday. In the muskeg near the second bridge, I saw at least three different common snipes. I did not see any of them until they took off, but I watched where they landed and tried to approach carefully to get a picture. They blend in well and … Read more

Migrating Geese

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I saw a couple of flocks of geese migrating north today. The larger of the two must have been 100 or more. I counted up to twenty and had not made it through most of one side of the V. They were flying over just after dusk. I could just make out the honking if … Read more

Common Snipe?

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I saw a bird as I was leaving for work this morning. It had been on the edge of our lawn and flushed as I walked towards it. I did not see it until it was flying and it reminded me of a sandpiper type of bird, although a little rounder than most sandpipers. I … Read more

Western Screech Owls

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Went for a walk on Tuesday (12 April) and heard what sounded like a couple of screech owls calling back and forth at the edge of Totem Park. I was a little surprised at this since it was the middle of the afternoon. I went back that evening and heard them again around 7pm and … Read more