Bobcat

[iwishiwasthere]

:clap_1: :clap_1: Way to go on your posting milestone. I wonder if the next thousand come quicker as birthdays do as I get older.:funn:

 

[Uncle Timmy]

I saw a Bobcat once in my yard in Blue Mountain.

I was eating breakfast one morning and saw him strolling down the firebrake that seperates my yard from the State Forest.

I always wonder if any of his bigger cousins, (ie. Florida Panthers) are still around -waiting to jump out at me from the trees!

 

[BeachSteelers]

Saw a Coyote cross 395 just south of publix last week. A new beaver pond in the state Forest. A few years back a 700lb turtle. And a Panther bout 10 years ago. All within Walton County. Truely an amazing place.:clap_1:

 

[seal]

What about birds of prey? Has anyone seen eagles, ospreys, falcons?

I have seen several red hawks.

 

[barefootguy]

What about birds of prey? Has anyone seen eagles, ospreys, falcons?

I watched a bald eagle chase an osprey. The osprey had a fish, and the bald eagle wanted it. I was standing at my second floor window, and they flew right at me. The osprey threw his fish down in our yard, right as the eagle was reaching out with those huge talons to grab him. He threw the fish and then dove between the houses. The eagle hit the brakes, dove down, grabbed the fish, and flew off to a nearby tree to eat it. It was an amazing site!

The osprey takes a bath in our pond eveyday.

We also have a hawk that hangs around and bathes in the pond. Not sure what kind, though. Maybe a sharp-shinned or coopers. I just call them bird hawks, since they zip through the trees and catch birds. They love it when people put out bird feeders.

And ... We have a couple great-horned owls.

Oh yeah, we also have a belted kingfisher. Not really considered a bird of prey, but it dives into the pond, catches fish, and then beats them to death on a tree branch before eating.

 

[Cil]

Funny, I was going to post about raptors and here are scenethief and barefootguy doing the same. I've seen several ospreys and their nests; there are bald eagle nests along 30A and at St Vincent's.
I see those smaller hawks all the time; bald eagles about once a month, except in summer (don't they migrate to cooler climates then? Did not see them between April-August).
Two months ago I saw what appeared to be two bald eagles either playing or hassling each other.

But what I was curious about happened yesterday:
I was pulling onto 98 and saw a humungous brown bird of prey flying along the beach.
I drove along with it (seems like I always see these birds at the craziest times) and tried to get a good look at it because he was very low.
He landed on a big pine tree as I drove past and I saw his talons--yikes.
It was not a vulture nor was it a mature bald eagle, but it was gigantic.
I suppose it was either an immature bald eagle or a golden eagle?

edited to add: I love kingfishers! They look so cool with their big ole beaks and their topknotted heads.

 

[Mango]

But what I was curious about happened yesterday:
I was pulling onto 98 and saw a humungous brown bird of prey flying along the beach.
I drove along with it (seems like I always see these birds at the craziest times) and tried to get a good look at it because he was very low.
He landed on a big pine tree as I drove past and I saw his talons--yikes.
It was not a vulture nor was it a mature bald eagle, but it was gigantic.
I suppose it was either an immature bald eagle or a golden eagle?

edited to add: I love kingfishers! They look so cool with their big ole beaks and their topknotted heads.

Cil: Do you not get any turkey vultures out there? They are huge and have talons and are considered raptors.

 

[Cil]

Cil: Do you not get any turkey vultures out there? They are huge and have talons and are considered raptors.

Yeah, I see them all the time, especially along the highway eating roadkill.
They certainly are large, no question about that.
Their flight patterns seem a bit different from the eagles, though, and this guy just did not seem quite like a vulture, however I did not get a good look at his head so I do not know for sure.

 

[Mango]

Yeah, I see them all the time, especially along the highway eating roadkill.
They certainly are large, no question about that.
Their flight patterns seem a bit different from the eagles, though, and this guy just did not seem quite like a vulture, however I did not get a good look at his head so I do not know for sure.

I always thought the turkey vultures ate dead animals, and then one day there was an injured turkey vulture on my property (wing) and 2 others hovered over it for hours, would land and proceed to peck at the other.
Eventually no vulture.
My mother always lived close to the city, and she thought we were making up stories about turkey vultures size and how they looked, (we always kid around with her) and then one day as I was driving her home, one swooped over our car. She was like "holy cockapoo, was that a terradactyl? " :funn:

 

[BeachSteelers]

I seen every bird of prey but an eagle around here.