Animals Spotted on Commute
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
From: Washington, DC
Bikes: 06 Bianchi Volpe
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.
What have you spotted?
What have you spotted?
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,277
Likes: 3
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 ride mostly in denver and the extended metro area
#9
Resident Wolverine
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 172
Likes: 1
From: Maryland
Bikes: 2004 Lemond Tourmalet, 1998 Gary Fisher Gitche Gumee
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!
#10
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.
Forgot the squirrels, but they're so common they hardly register.
#11
♋ ☮♂ ☭ ☯
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,902
Likes: 2
From: 40205 'ViLLeBiLLie
Bikes: Sngl Spd's, 70's- 80's vintage, D-tube Folder
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 ???
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 ???
#12
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.
__________________
#13
Learnin' da ropes!
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Houston
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.
#14
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.
#15
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Twin Cities, Minnesota
Bikes: Pro-flex hybrid
Animals
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
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.
My closest near miss accident
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.
#16
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,697
Likes: 12
A wild turkey yesterday, and I see a fox squirrel hanging out on the same fence post ever day. Other than that the occasional deer, goose, and coyote (rural Georgia)
--A
--A
#19
Guest
Posts: n/a
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
Koffee
#22
These go to 11.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 571
Likes: 0
From: Maryland
Bikes: 06' Trek 7.5 FX, '09 Dawes Steel SST
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?
#23
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
From: Podunc, Minnesota
Bikes: '14 Bacchetta Corsa, '93 Ryan Vanguard, Action Bent SWB USS
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.
#24
Back in the saddle
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: Kenosha, WI
Bikes: Titus Road Bike, Motobecane Cross Bike, Santa Cruz Blur XC MTN Bike
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.
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.
#25
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)
-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)





