Wildlife encounters

Yeah, cave cricket, Jerusalem cricket, potato bug, etc. I caught plenty as a kid, but never handled them directly enough to get bitten. Been bitten by grasshoppers, praying mantises, gopher snakes, bluebellies, and alligator lizards though.

 

On the way home from BB last night, I got a call from a friend to come and rescue a rattler they had trapped in their back yard. That's the second time I've rescued a rattler from their property. A little 15" cutie Southern Pacific rattler, pissed off and rattling away. I will release it today in the mountains.

Pics added!

 

My go to place to ride on the weekends is Hensley lake. About 80% of the riders up here won't go there because of the Rattlers. 3 years of riding and I haven't seen or heard one........go figure.
Ohhhh by the way, the Ranger confirmed the feathers on the trail are from a young Eagle being chased out of the area by an adult. He didn't let me keep one.....

 

I had a grey squirrel, which seemed somewhat tamed, grabbing peanuts off the deck railing at the cabin while I was in Big Bear. It would drop down onto a over hanging branch above the deck railing and then it would rapidly tap is foot on the branch to get my attention. I would tell it "come and get it" in a soft/warm voice, and it would drop down onto the railing and grab a peanut. It wouldn't drop down until I spoke to it and it came back several times. Hilarious.

 

I believe keeping anything from a bald eagle is a Federal crime except for Native Americans, right?

 

Shark today. No pics. First one I've ever encountered in the lineup. I am sure they see me, but I've never seen them before. Maybe 6 footer? Don't know what kind. He was too curious for my comfort.

 

Likely a juvenile Great White. So Cal is a known nursery for the species and they are commonly seen near the shore and even in the surf. As long as you've still got all of your appendages, no worries.

 

Until Herzie wants to play surfing again. Sorry Herzie; I’d be bummed if I were a surfer. Maybe in our teens and 20s it wouldn’t matter as much, but I’ve been spooked too.

 

Where were you surfing? A 6ft curious shark is no bueno. I've been nailed twice by sting-rays and that was painful enough--I don't need to know what a shark bite feels like.

 

Swimming next to a future man eater is not unlike cleaning the techiest bike run of your lifetime. It’s all about the rush, regardless of how it comes.

 

I prefer to get my rush from the surfing, not from shark avoidance. Pretty similar to mt. lions and mt. biking. I know they see me, but I would prefer not to have an encounter. I like my "thrills" to be self-selected these days.

 

Trail 1 at San Onofre Bluffs. There were several juvenile great whites reported there about ten years ago, but I hadn't heard of any there in the past 5 or so years.

https://www.ocregister.com/2010/05/25/san-onofre-is-ground-zero-for-sharks/

 

Well, now you are “experienced”.

 

Yes it is a $10,000 fine for having anything from a Bald Eagle.
Native Americans can have feathers, give them to eachother, but they can not give them to non-natives

 

Pussy.

 

I would've called it a day.

 

Working outside on the ranch this afternoon I see 3 deer about 20 yards from me running up the hill, they stop, turn around, and start hauling white tail down the hill. I'm looking up the hill to see what the stampeed is about, nothing there.
I turn to see what they are running twards. About 10 yards in front of them was a yote running for his life. The deer actually chased him all the way to the road.
It was funny. I never seen anything like that.

 

My sister has a cabin in Big Bear.
This morning she heard a loud screech, looked up and a eagle was landing in a nest way up in a tree on her property.

I'm going there in 2 weeks to visit and will definitely check it out. How cool is that, eagle nest in your yard.

So if a feather is 10k fine, what is it for having a whole nest and a bird?

 

Let's see, County line I dive off the point. I look up and see feet dangling not far above me, I look around and see a horned shark, guitar skate, leopard sharks. Sharks are not dangerous, Tv sharks are. The ocean is a big empty place, this is why we hang in the littoral zone.
Happy ocean days

 

"What's a Yote", did you say Ute? Judge Chamberlain Haller

 

I took it as a Coyote. 'Yote would then be correct, kinda like people say Cali.

But he may have abbreviated peyote, but the context wasn't correct, unless he had imbibed.

 

Does it smell like fresh meat in here?

 

I'm curiously watching...

 

Nice!

 

This guy was just off the trail yesterday. Unusual greenish color in person. Thought it might be a green but looking at the picture later and zooming in I think it just our usual Southern Pacific.
Still awesome to see on a ride.
What do you think @SnakeCharmer ?

 

@Herz I usually surf trail six and walk south on to the base. There are a couple of sandbars as the coast dips in that produce a nice break if the tide is right. Plus, We have the waves to ourselves, except for dolphins, sharks and ol'naked dudes on the sunny days. Last season, I was watching a fin, at first I thought it was a dolphin but instead of going up and down, it just kinda floated. A few feet back, I saw the tail fin going left to right. I immediately calmly started paddling towards the nearest group of surfers. Safety in numbers. Except south side of HB pier that is...

 

I had a nice close up encounter with a mature male Desert Spiny lizard during my chunkfest ride this morning in J Tree. He even put on a show by gobbling up some tasty ants while I sat close by and watched.

 

What did my cat catch this time?

 

What city do you live in? I’m thinking it’s most likely a Western Patch-nosed snake. Perhaps a Garter.