Commuting - Animals Spotted on Commute

I am a relative new commuter and I've been surprised at the wildlife and animals I've observed from suburban Maryland into DC - lots of bright red cardinals, a beaver, fox (I think the same one several times), deer, a horse (with rider). It just makes the commute all the sweeter. :D What have you spotted?

I see multiple foxes weekly, occasional dear, hundreds of rabbits, the occasional coyote, racoons, mice, some thing I swear was a rat, tons of prarie dogs (nothing special here. They are everywhere), a snake last week, fish, quite a few birds, ducks, and of course our friend the goose.
I ride mostly in denver and the extended metro area

I've seen deer, wild turkeys, tons of various birds, um... squirrels.

Loads of deer (in season), lots of birds (herons are common here), rabbits, road kill, dogs, humans (hey they're animals), and squirrels.

Rabbits, tons & tons of rabbits, squirrels, geese, the odd deer or so, feral cats, plenty O' birds & a lot of roadkill.

Not exactly sure what they're called but I've heard some cyclist call them "joggers", strange animals.

Hawks, squirrels, and chipmunks not to mention hawks eating squirrels and chipmunks.

Cats running out from under parked cars. Lots.

I saw a squirrel yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it had mange. It was completely bald and was making some weird noises. It looked a lot like a rat, and it scared the crap outta me too!

Did someone says rabbits already? Let's see, skunks, coyotes, rabbits, raccoons, a largish grey mammal that likes to swim in a drainage ditch, rabbits, seagulls, bald eagles, a snowy owl, barred owls, rabbits, seals in the river, large fish that like to swim in a drainage ditch, rats, did I mention those stupid rabbits that keep running in front of me? There's probably more but I can't think of them right now.
Forgot the squirrels, but they're so common they hardly register.

Here...just about everything !!!
Always a variety of birds but the not-so-usual was a HUGE skunk in my neighbors yard
and 6 huge deer on Rt. 7b that where not scared of me at all. I used a point and slow
down gesture to warn an oncoming car of the deer and all he did was flash me with his
hi-beams. 5 seconds later I heard the ineviatable ScReeEEEEEeeeCH as the deer ran across
the road.
Now do you know why I was suggesting you slow down ???
:rolleyes:

Horses, cows, sheep, goats, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, skunks, squirrels, dogs, cats, rats, snakes, buzzards, owls, hawks, crows, cranes, egrets, geese, ducks and all kinds of frikkin song birds.

Besides the usual deer, rabbits, etc.....I saw peacocks on 2 separate occasions....in Houston....on semi major roads.....don't see that every day. It's amazing the wildlife you can see when you get out of the cage.

I always see an amazing variety of birds. Herons, seagulls (of course), not many pigeons (in fact I can't remember seeing a pigeon around here). Sparrows, chickadees, woodpeckers. On the trail I see redwing blackbirds, I've seen turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks, ducks, geese, cardinals, blue jays. The works. I also see rabbits and squirrels. If I stop by the water, I will see crabs, snails, and small fish.

Deer, rabbits, wild turkey, hawks (especially during migration times), ducks, geese, etc. I'm fortunate to bike over a wildlife sanctuary (Minnesota River Valley where it joins the Mississippi) that is a major flyway during migration season.

My closest near miss accident :eek: was when another biker, coming the other way, got distracted by deer, and didn't watch the turn in the path (a commuter bike path at a blind curve). He came around the turn on my side and ducked off the path when he saw me at the last minute (it was early a.m.; I was lit up, he wasn't); fortunately he had a patch of grass to land on.

I got a bell, not for cars, but for deer on the bike paths; they freeze at the light.

A wild turkey yesterday, and I see a fox squirrel (http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/ffws/foxsqui.gif) hanging out on the same fence post ever day. Other than that the occasional deer, goose, and coyote (rural Georgia)
--A

Mule Deer, Elk, Wild Turkey,tons of squirrels, rabbits, bald eagles. Stellers Jays, Prarie Dogs, Kestrels, bull snake, lizards,

Turkeys, Possums (when it was still twilight in early spring), squirrels, beavers.

Dead animals on the side of the road, but also rats, rabbits, squirrels, and some big animal that ran out and just missed my wheel. I had no idea what that animal was, but it scared the freakin crap out of me. It was either a fox, a dog, or some kind of wild animal that was scared of light.

Koffee

Wild pigs/Boars, weezels, ferrets, foxes

Wild pigs/Boars, weezels, ferrets, foxes, hawks, and eagles

Had this little bugger run out in front of me yesterday on a bridge, snapped a pic with my cell phone. Its a brown skink, common in Maryland but I have no idea what is was doing in the middle of a bridge?

Frogs!! Frogs by the hundreds! This time of year not as bad as the fall when the road is literally slick with frogs with poor judgement.

Coyotes, deer, occasional fox, pheasant, turkey, skunk, groundhog, muskrat, carp (I ride along a river for a ways), ducks, geese, rabbits, squirrel, gopher....pretty much you name it.

I run into the same 3 pheasant on my return trip, always running accross the street in front of me at the same place each day. Last week I was riding home looking for them and alas one of them met a car and lost....still saw the other two hanging around. You get attached to these things after a while of seeing them everyday.

On the streets of New York:
-rats
-cats
-pigeons
-squirrels
-hawks (I think red-tail by the call, but not sure) (that live on the buildings and eat the pigeons)
-racoons (in central park)
-ducks and geese (in the hudson)

In Oregon I would encounter deer and geese quite often. So far down here in Albuquerque I see a lot of road runners, and yes, I smoke them all!!

Deer, geese, ducks, rabbits, skunks, cats, dogs, crazy red neck drivers.

I've seen lots of deer, several foxes, a woodchuck, a badger, several rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, a snake, the same box turtle multiple times. On the bird side there are geese, ducks, cormorants, herons hawks and/or eagles and an owl in addition to the standard issue sparrows, robins, starlings, cardinals, etc.

there was a turtle crossing the road next to my apartment the other day :eek: ! I am surprised actually that I had the sick thought to use it as a jump. I didn't though. in retrospect i probably should have moved it out of the road.

A wide variety of birds. Everything from pigeons to blue birds. I've been seeing a lot more ducks and geese lately. Squirrels galore gnats, butterflies, flies and bees roadkill of varying species, wild turkeys, a deer every once in a while early in the morning. Stink bugs are starting to come out more and more.

I've seen the usual. There is a buzzard that hangs out near this one farm. I've seen him in the road several times lately having some roadkill. He usually waits till the last minute before flying away.

Thank you everyone for responding. One animal written about I don't even know what it is - Kestrel? Anyway thanks to everyone. Peace

Thank you everyone for responding. One animal written about I don't even know what it is - Kestrel? Anyway thanks to everyone. Peace
A kestrel is a small bird of prey, similar to a falcon.

My Siamese, Simon, whose tail and back leg I ran over as I cruised out to the street from the back yard one day :) Jeezus, I still feel bad about that, lol but I still can't stop laughing at how fast that little guy was capable of moving after :) (he was alright btw - I was on my mountain bike with 2.75" tires)

On my commute, I regularly see rats, squirrels, pigeons, geese, seagulls, some other birds (I don't know my birds too well...), and tourists; and a couple of times I saw a hawk.

Around town, I also see deer, raccoons, possum, rabbits, cats, crows, more birds, and foxes.

Pigs, mongooses, and feral cats are the primary mammals I see. (often smashed flat) Pheasants, jungle fowl (chickens), and turkeys are the other ground-dwelling beasts. My favorites are the owls, and I'm hoping to see bats eventually.

In the very early morning hours, in the hills west of downtown Portland, if your very quiet, and lucky, you may spot a double breasted two toned bushy tailed all nyte matress thrasher, a very rare bird indeed....

Okay, that was bad, sorry!

PeterMac

today I saw a bullsnake, prarie dog, jackrabbit, and dessert cottontail. Not bad for 7 miles

Yesterday I saw a marvelous large bird. I went to the net and I think it was a great blue heron.

When this thread started, I was surprised at all who have seen fox. Yesterday, I noticed on trot right into a water pipe under the bike path. I dismounted, but the wheel in front of the pipe, and peered in behind the wheel. The fox was chilling out in there waiting for me to leave. I got a few pics on the cell phone, but I think that they will suck. All cell phone pics that I take seem to suck, unfortunately.

During the Rut in the fall I see a lot of deer. Saw a live skunk last fall and got safely past it. I would like to see a lot of cane toads whenever I had some 700x43 knobbies on. Remember that video :D .

If you can't see it from space, it's not really a cane toad!:eek:

Most mornings I ride through Patapsco state park(Baltimore) on my commute and always seems to 'spook' a Pileated woodpecker(woody woodpecker type). As I enter the park he darts across the trail right in front of me in the same area. On a few occassions I see an eagle. This happens when I am near work which is located near the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, just outside the Washington DC beltway. Someone mentioned seeing fox. Not that long ago fox were almost never seen around here, now they are as common as dogs. In fact my dog chased one out of our yard this spring. Charlie

mostly just road kill for me. i commute on state highways.

When I lived in Cape Canaveral, I would take bike rides through the Cape Canaveral Air Force station (I worked there so I had a badge) and would see lots of 'gators sunning themselves along side the roads.

Also rode through a herd of cattle on the Van Fleet trail.

Good Luck,
d.tipton

I seen a school of stringrays on the 5/14. About 30 of them in the tampa bay.

Geese. F#@%ing geese. I really dont like the dirty little bastards... But I SWEAR I didnt mean to run that one over (in my car) a few weeks ago.

Let's see:

Fer-de-lance (really mean snake)
Cows - way too many cows
Horses
Oxen
Tucans
Orapendulas (bird)
Tiger Herons
Coatis (weird looking Racoon)
anteater (the smaller one)
Tiras (sort of like a Weasel - but bigger)
Jagarundis
Howler Monkeys
White Face Monkeys
(I have seen spiders monkeys, but not while on the bike)
butterflies - frogs - toads so big you don't want to hit them... Vultures (I think they are waiting for me to croak) Pavo (tropical turkeys)

And I could go on...

Geese. F#@%ing geese.

Hey, I think I'm familiar with that breed... ;)

squirrel, turkey buzzard, geese, wild turkeys, and one road kill that I've been biking by (and holding my breath) for about the last week.