Ekdog

Have you observed any interesting wildlife on your tours and commutes? I'd love to hear about your encounters and perhaps see some pictures.

One of the things I love about cycling in the wild is that you can sometimes come upon animals without their noticing you because bikes are so much quieter than cars. (I suppose that could be a disadvantage, too, if you live in an area where there are large carnivores!)

A magic moment for me on a recent tour of Castilla-León (Spain) and Trás-os-Montes (Portugal) was observing a fox as he played in the tall grass. He ran away when he realized I was watching him. He wasn't nearly as trusting as this little guy, who befriended a couple cycling through Canada.

Erick L

Squirrels, geese, cows, deer, deer and deer again, bull moose, moose calf and moose cow on the trail, cariboos, sheeps, immature and adult bald eagles, Canada jays, hawks, shorebirds by the hundreds and fighting, spruce grouse, ospreys, red and silver foxes, swallows, killdeer and turtles nesting on the bike trail, atlantic salmons, whales, dolphins, spiders, slugs, 50 snails at once on my tent and mosquitoes just to name a few. Also some gannets and seals, although those were photographed after going back there with the car and heavy photo gear.

I've been photographing wildlife for a while but it's only on my last trip that I put a real effort to do it while bike touring. There were hardly a day without an interesting encounter. The best surprises were how close I got to shorebirds (even with a wide-angle), the immature bald eagle that flew over twice (where no car could stop), the jumping dolphins on the Labrador ferry and a moose cow and calf I ran into while descending Gros Morne mountain trail after sunset. I also had a couple of moose passing or feeding a few feet from my tent.

There's a wildlife photo thread here: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/449720-wildlife-pics-while-touring.html

staehpj1

On one long tour:
A partial list of the animals we saw are seals, sea lions, lizards, snakes, raccoons, squirrels, prairie dogs, gophers, ground squirrels, ground hogs, marmots, jack rabbits,various and sundry birds including bald eagles, deer, antelope, elk, moose, coyotes, bighorn sheep, and a wolf. We did not see any bear although they were seen near where we were several times.

Neil_B

I've seen lots of deer on tour. This photo is from a day trip, not a tour.

Al Downie

Highlights from my last tour include wolf, marmots, ibex, but the real jewel was turning a corner on a high pass and seeing a pair of golden eagles sitting on the ground just about ten metres away. Without any sense of urgency, they spread their HUGE wings and took off down the hill until they caught some updraught, then they circled over our heads for a few minutes. Amazing birds.

Love the wee fox, Ekdog!

10 Wheels

Dave and the bull on Sunday's 85 mile ride.

aenlaasu

Countless roe deer, foxes, raptors of some kind, swallow hatchlings still in the nest, pheasant cocks and hens, seals, 1 moose, a couple of snakes, something my husband calls a copper lizard, geese, (barnacle and Canadian), ducks of various sorts, 1 great blue heron, quite a few mute swans, lots of hares (those really get my husky worked up). The one sighting that stands out the most was cycling along a deserted road almost 2 months after the tourist season had closed on Gotland (Sweden's largest island). All of a sudden this huge owl drifted out of the trees and across the road less than 20 feet away before vanishing into the trees on the other side. The wing span was more than a meter. Took my breath away.

neilfein

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Seen on the GAP trail, about 15 miles east of the Mason-Dixon line.

a quickr pickr post

Al Downie

Blimey! Don't eat it!

Cyclesafe

I surprised a badger climbing Badger Pass in Montana.

paxtonm

Amphibians: newts. Reptiles: turtles, rattlesnakes, kingsnakes, garter snakes, red racers, gopher snakes, lotsa fence lizards. Birds: too many to count. Cool experience was sailing down a narrow road in the mountains east of where I live, rounding a corner and surprising a golden eagle perched on a fencepost. The bird took off and soared parallel to me down the hill, barely more than an arm's length away for perhaps 75 yards. Others: bald eagles, wild turkeys, tons more. I play a game, trying to log a bird species per mile on most rides, and usually I can. Mammals: deer, antelope, coyote, bobcat, badger, fox, squirrels -- too many squirrels -- skunk, bats, weasel, rabbits, elk. These are all from my home patch. I live in a small town just inland from Monterey Bay. Some nights we've even heard coyotes from inside our house.

arctos

Grey Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Alaskan Brown Bear, Moose, Elk, Badger, Orca, Bald Eagles, Red Tail Hawks, foxes, Bobcat, Zeebra, Racoons, ferret, big horn sheep, mules, burros, deer and............

iamarobotman

I saw a huge red-albino snake in Paynes Prarie in Florida the other week. Also, I ran over a squirrel that dash right out in front of me. I tried everything I could to avoid it.

Thank God I didn't harm it; it ran right off quickly. Pretty strange experience on a bike tour.

I also saw an Orangutan (Primate Research Center) on the Pinellas Trail in St. Pete, FL.

paul2

Bears, dolphins and squirrels.

bicycletouring

I saw BIGFOOT once!

Ha! No. Just kidding. If I did, that would scare me to death. I think I'd wet my pants!

The scariest thing I actually saw was a mountain lion. I was in Virginia and on a quiet country road. The dirt road dipped down a little bit and turned to the left. As soon as I got around the bend in the road I felt this weird sensation, as though someone were watching me. I then looked to my left and saw a HUGE mountain lion sitting on the side of the road. He was just sitting there.

But as soon as he saw me looking at him, he took off. He ran parallel with me for about 10 feet, his tail flapping behind him, before he changed direction and darted up into the trees behind him.

It scared me half to death because I totally didn't expect it - and because I didn't know there were mountain lions in Virginia. Scientifically, I don't think there ARE mountain lions in Virginia, but they are spotted every once and a while... and I was one of those lucky ones who got to see one of them.

For the rest of the way I was freaked out. Every little leaf that blew or squirrel that ran across the road I practically had a heart attack. It was scary, but a really cool experience now that I look back at it.

pauldaley

cycling up into north qld I saw ...

Lumholtz tree kangaroo
Dendrolagus lumholtzii
leaf tailed gecko

australian king parrot

Platypus

Echidna

great egrets

black kites

noisy pitta

wallaby

Machka 

Where to begin?? Probably the most alarming was the cougar.

However, I've also seen ... bears (grizzly and black), wolves, coyotes, foxes, deer, elk, moose, cows, horses, llamas, possums, echidna, wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, sheep, goats, mountain sheep, mountain goats, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, prairie dogs, gophers, marmots, jack rabbits, other rabbit, cats, dogs, donkeys, miniature horses,

And chickens, including some sort of weird looking Australian chicken who tried to race me down a hill, and emus, hawks, eagles, ravens, crows, magpies, kookaburras, cockatoos, parrots, sparrows, robins, red-wing blackbirds, woodpeckers, some sort of little yellow bird that frequents the Manitoba prairies, blue jays, geese, ducks, a great blue heron, and a whole bunch more. (I'm not a bird watcher, so I don't know what they all are).

And a blue-tongued lizard, and snakes, and frogs of all sorts, and all sorts of lizard-like creatures in Australia.

And a whole bunch of different kinds of spiders and insects.

And I doubt I've covered the whole list!!


Here's one of the koalas Rowan and I saw on our tour in Australia last February.
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mwoeber

Last month, while riding through the Paynes Prairie portion of the Hawthorne trail I nearly ran over a coral snake. I've never seen one in the wild before so I stopped to check it out and it was indeed a coral snake.