Hello, I am new here

[Debp]

Yes, It is beautiful here and very quiet, that is except for the squirrels. I have made pets of them by feeding them. Well actually I was trying to feed the birds but the squirrels got into all the bird feeders. So I finally gave up and just feed them every once in a while. Lately it has been from a container of old dog food. Today as I was watching TV, I heard a very loud  ch ripping and screeching noise by my front door. I opened the door thinking  a snake was bothering the squirrels, only to find one lone squirrel who was brave enough to come up to my screen door and tell me "He Wanted Some Food, RIGHT NOW"!!  It was so funny.

By the way Debp, what part of  Pennsylvania are you orginally from?? 

Oh, that's cute about the squirrels.  I understand there are some bird feeders with squirrel guards if you want to check it out.  I usually order my pet supplies from Doctors Foster and Smith catalogue.  They also have a wild bird catalogue with many types of bird feeders and supplies.

I'm from Pittsburgh, but have been in CA too long, so consider myself a Californian.  Are you from PA by any chance?

[islandboy]

The squirrals are fun in some ways, but I enjoy the songbirds and water birds the best. I have tried all kinds of feeders and guards. But the squirrals always manage to get the seeds or spill the seeds. I even put wire around the feeders and the squirrals wiggled their way though the holes. So now I just throw seed out in the yard and everyone gets a fair chance at it.
I memtioned in a early post that I am from Northwestern Pennsylvania.

[Debp]

The squirrals are fun in some ways, but I enjoy the songbirds and water birds the best. I have tried all kinds of feeders and guards. But the squirrals always manage to get the seeds or spill the seeds. I even put wire around the feeders and the squirrals wiggled their way though the holes. So now I just throw seed out in the yard and everyone gets a fair chance at it.
I memtioned in a early post that I am from Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Would you believe I rarely see a squirrel in our area?  There is even a park right near me....once in a great while I might see one.

In Palisades Park, Santa Monica (cliff overlooking the ocean) they are overpopulated with squirrels.  People liked to feed them (including me once in a while when I went there), but they have so many they have to catch them or something.  They have all of these little dens (holes) along the cliffs.  Whole familes of squirrels would pop out to get fed the whole length of the park!  It was amazing.

What kind of water birds do you see?  They must be really pretty.  What are the colors?  I love the flamingoes at the zoo.

[islandboy]

Sorry to be so long in answering your question. The water birds I see most often are Great White Herons, Little Blue Herons, Limpkins.
There is also a pair of Great Horned Owls and many red-tailed hawks. I see an eagle every once in a while.

[Debp]

Sorry to be so long in answering your question. The water birds I see most often are Great White Herons, Little Blue Herons, Limpkins.
There is also a pair of Great Horned Owls and many red-tailed hawks. I see an eagle every once in a while.

Herons have the long legs, right?  What are Limpkins like?  Never heard of them before.

Some years ago in a rare wind storm here, I found an injured Red Tailed Hawk at the end of my street.  It was being battered by the wind and couldn't fly.  I got a box to help protect it from the wind and called animal control.  The officer told me it was a Red Tail Hawk and the veterinarian would take care of it and then they would release it. 

I've also read that we have a couple of Peregrin Falcons living on high rise windows in downtown Los Angeles!

[Soldier4Christ]

The area around me is swarming with various kinds of birds. We have a Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret that likes to perch on the fountains in the middle of the cities lagoon that is in the center of town. Yes the Blue Heron has fairly long legs. Not as long as the egrets or the cranes but still fairly long. We also have a number of different types of owls, little owls, barn owls, horned owls .... There are falcons, hawks, eagles, the big turkey vulture, wild turkeys, pheasants, and wild peacocks. Bird hunting is a very popular sport around here.

There are a lot of the smaller song birds also like the cardinal, robin, canaries, finches, humming birds, red winged black birds and many more.

[islandboy]

Yes, the Great White Heron's are tall and have long legs and a beautiful wing-span. The Limpkins are mainly seen along the river banks and canels. They are brown in color and have a curved end on their beak that allows them to eat ramhorn snails. I had heard they are rare in some areas, as these snail shells are often gathered up to be used in shell crafts. However, we have a pair that comes every year and they stay around all summer long.

[Debp]

The area around me is swarming with various kinds of birds. We have a Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret that likes to perch on the fountains in the middle of the cities lagoon that is in the center of town. Yes the Blue Heron has fairly long legs. Not as long as the egrets or the cranes but still fairly long. We also have a number of different types of owls, little owls, barn owls, horned owls .... There are falcons, hawks, eagles, the big turkey vulture, wild turkeys, pheasants, and wild peacocks. Bird hunting is a very popular sport around here.

There are a lot of the smaller song birds also like the cardinal, robin, canaries, finches, humming birds, red winged black birds and many more.

The fountain and lagoon in the middle of the city sounds wonderful!  I love fountains and any kind of water.  We have quite a few fountains in downtown Los Angeles which I enjoy as I pass by.  Also, we have MacArthur Park Lake not too far from us....but I usually don't go there anymore.  (It's where the big "rumble" with the police and the illegal immigrant march took place on May 1.)

[Debp]

Yes, the Great White Heron's are tall and have long legs and a beautiful wing-span. The Limpkins are mainly seen along the river banks and canels. They are brown in color and have a curved end on their beak that allows them to eat ramhorn snails. I had heard they are rare in some areas, as these snail shells are often gathered up to be used in shell crafts. However, we have a pair that comes every year and they stay around all summer long.

Talking about canals....do you see any alligators, Islandboy?  Maybe you heard about our Reggie?  Two men dumped him in  a 53 acre lake here about 2 years ago.  About 3 alligator trappers failed to catch him....then Reggie disappeared for 18 months! Finally, a few weeks ago, Reggie was spotted again.  He came out on a bank and our animal control and someone from the zoo managed to catch him.  He was transported to the zoo and is still in quarantine.  I hope he will be alright until they can release him into the exhibit.  The other day they said he wasn't eating.

Reggie got quite a fan club here....tee-shirts rooting for him, etc!  People always at the lake trying to spot him....he's about 7 feet long.

[islandboy]

I have seen quite a few alligators along the banks of the canal running along Rt29 South, below Immokalee, Fl. Most of them being med- sized three foot long to up to 10 feet long. Near my dock there have been several baby alligators seen over the past couple of summers, the grasses and weeds are tall there giving a mother alligator plenty of natural cover, to lay eggs and be able to stay nearby to protect them. The babies swim out among the lily pads looking for small frogs and insects to eat. They are really cute babies, as most baby animals are. It is when they grow up that they become dangerous.

[Debp]

I have seen quite a few alligators along the banks of the canal running along Rt29 South, below Immokalee, Fl. Most of them being med- sized three foot long to up to 10 feet long. Near my dock there have been several baby alligators seen over the past couple of summers, the grasses and weeds are tall there giving a mother alligator plenty of natural cover, to lay eggs and be able to stay nearby to protect them. The babies swim out among the lily pads looking for small frogs and insects to eat. They are really cute babies, as most baby animals are. It is when they grow up that they become dangerous.

The lily pads must be beautiful....what colors are they flowers?

Must be fun seeing the little gators....of course, not so fun when they are big!  Do you  have to be careful when going around in your yard at night?  Do they come up into the yard?

[islandboy]

So far the alligators have stayed in the river. At nighttime if you shine a flashlight across the water, and see red eyes will reflecting back at you, that is an alligator. The males make a loud grunting noise during mating season, mostly heard at night. Yes, the little ones are interesting to watch. The lily pads are a wild plant, but get pretty yellow flowers on them.
The only thing I have run into out in the yard at night is the occasional raccoon or possum, or armadillos.

[nChrist]

Hello Islandboy,

Have you ever wondered if the alligators are also watching humans? Maybe they're out in the water talking, "watch the banks for flashlights because those will be humans." I can just hear them, "Those humans are kind of bony, but they taste a lot like chicken."

From the description you've given, I don't think that I would be out at night. If I was, it would be without a flashlight, and I would be REAL QUIET.   

I'm used the the other animals you mentioned and snakes, but folks from Oklahoma would have to warm up to the idea of having alligators around. There's something about being eaten by alligators that doesn't appeal to folks from Oklahoma.   

[Shammu]

If you see a gator like this....................

........................................................RUN ..................

[islandboy]

When I first moved to Florida, I used to swim in a big pond with alligators in it. Used to go fishing along the canals and go snake hunting with a friend off Route 41, in Collier County. Never had a problem with alligators. However, that isn't to say some people haven't. Alligators become more dangerous the bigger and older they get, as well as, when people feed them. That is when they become a problem. A friend who goes frog-hunting told me about using the flashlight to see where gators are in the water at night. I'm not out much at night anymore, but always found the two-legged predator to be more dangerous then the four-legged kind.