Urban wildlife

I work at a major medical complex (employing well over ten thousand
people) in a major metropolitan area. A few minutes ago, I was
standing outside watching a peregrine falcon as it sat on a liquid
oxygen container waiting for a sparrow or a mouse to make a mistake.
Evidently its patience was rewarded, as it suddenly hopped off the
tank and disappeared into a small hidden courtyard.

Last weekend, while taking Cullen for a romp in the greenbelt along
the Menominee river, we scared up a large whitetail buck. Only six
points, but a massive rack nevertheless. On seeing the dog coming
toward him, the deer loped off about fifty yards and then stood
watching. This performance was repeated several times till Cullen got
bored.

About a year ago, Cullen got bit by a coyote.....one of a pair he
approached a wee bit recklessly.....on a chunk of vacant land behind a
chocolate factory a couple of blocks from the duplex we used to rent a
mile or so from where we saw the deer last week, and where we have
seen many others.

For a week or so, early this last spring, I saw a family of red foxes
cavorting at the edge of a parking lot here on campus each morning
when I came to work.

We've got an unknown but apparently large number of raccoons living in
the storm drains on our block. The best time to see them is the last
hour before sunrise when they head home after a night of foraging, but
they'll show up occasionally at just about any time of night.
Sometimes you can even see them in daylight.

Red tail and rough legged hawks are common sights along the freeways.

And all this within the limits of the city of Milwaukee. Oddly, I
generally see more of these and a few other species (with the
exception of the deer) here in the city than out in rural areas.

Wolfgang
no bears or jaguars yet.......i think the geese scare them off.