SM & DF,

Thanks for the info. No .17 or high end pellet gun then. Maybe a low end pellet gun. I had a friend once who taught neighborhood cats not to use his wife's flower beds as their toilet by shooting them in the butt when they came into his yard. And I've been noticing one of the neighboring cats in my yard lately, and we plan to begin flower beds and gardens this year.

Crows can be annoying, but I like most native birds, and fortunately haven't seen any starlings at the new house yet. Speaking of wildlife, I was down at the bottom of my hill last weekend prowling around, and the deer have created a highway and freeway system of trails down there. I've only seen five, but there are trails for a hundred.

Sg

I have a couple of friends from here in Missoula that bowhunt bears over bait in Idaho and on a few occasions I've gone and helped them freshen baits and did an evening sit with them. When we'd go in and add bait we dumped bread and meat scraps into the open crib then reloaded the bait barrel with dry dog food and dumped old resteraunt fry oil over it and resealed the barrel.
After recharging the bait stations we'd head back to the pickup and change into clean/scent free hunting clothes then head back to the bait for an evening hunt. When you approached the bait again (probably 1-1 1/2 hrs later) there would be an insane number of ravens on the open bait pile in the crib. 20-30 ravens would probably be a conservative number, they were never noticable in the area when we packed the bait in..
They would all fly off when you approached and climbed up in the tree stand. Once we were in the tree and things settled down, not one of those ravens would come to the bait again. They would all sit in the tree's 50-75 yds away in a complete circle around the area and sqwak a bit and watch the bait but would never come near it. It was usually 2-3 hours til dark and regardless of how still and quiet you were, they just knew you were still in the area and wouldn't come near the bait..It was still enough that the bears would sneak in cautiously but not one of those ravens would come down for the rest of the evening..

Yeah, however the hairy vagrant bastard that sh!ts in my green house and hangs out near my birdfeeders will get more than the slingshot next time I see it in my yard.

Cat sh!t is not a fun find when working in the beds barehanded. . . . . .

My dog isn't allowed to run loose and sh!t in your yard, (not that I would allow mine to anyway), your cat is not welcome in mine. . . . . .. . .

Well, I have aquired a new creature that's been hanging out for a couple of weeks.....a bobcat. My wife and I were watching it walk towards us tonight. I got about 25 yards away before it saw my wife move and left. It's a pretty cool animal to watch. It has been feeding on the doves that come in for food every day. I no longer have dogs or any other pets, so it's welcome to come and go as it pleases. One of the neighbors will probably kill it sooner or later.
So now I have a beaver and a bobcat, countless numbers of birds, eagles, hawks, herons and coyotes.
It ain't the animals that are spoiling things.

sounds cool dude. The more we F with them, the more they F with us. The rabits, owls, coyotes, ducks, herons, deer and black bear are welcome in my yard. The more gun shots I hear from my neighbors, the less I see of them (fido does his part too). Alot of People think that they are invading OUR space, but they aren't. you see a black bear in your yard, it's probably because someone's tearing down his home. Invasive species do deserve a bullet though. The neighbor dogs get into my trash more than the coons. I don't mind, it gives fido someone to play with. Alot of peeps kill the coyotes because they think they're the neghborhood dog killers, but I think the barn owls are the weener dog killers. We got some BIG ones.

+1

The Raven at Point Defiance will talk if you go early AM and it's really slow. When a lot of people come around he clams up. He says "Howzitgoin" and "Hi".

I'd like to pop the squirrels around here. Some asswipe in the neighborhood thinks its cute to feed them so a few years ago, the greys moved in and ran most of the reds off.
Problem is the neighborhoods full of uptight retired people.

I need something silent.

Ever seen a Great Horned Owl? I saw one about 25 years ago, of all places South Park area right at dusk, the sucker flew right infront of my car.I'll never forget the wing span on that sucker, real wide wings too. Anyone seen one?

I don't know man, but I approached a big one perched on a branch and it took off a few feet from my head. This was just a few months ago. This thing had a wider wing span than me. HUGE. I didn't know what it was on the branch until it's head did a 180. It was so silent, my dog didn't even see it. I don't know what kind of owl it was. We got a crop of field mice for them to munch, but this thing would need a schitzu or pomeranian to fill it's tummy. When the owls are hooting, nothing else makes a noise.

I had an owl (Barn I think) that almost took my hat off while I was duck hunting one day.

I was hid out in some swamp grass waiting for shooting light. Next thing I knew a big azzed owl buzzed me and could have sunk his talons in my scalp if he'd wanted to.

The freaky part was,I never heard him coming. I just felt the air move over me as he swooped down. It wasn't until he was a few yards past,that I realized WTF it was.

Buy some of these. Out of a .22 rifle,they're quieter than a cheap pump action air rifle. I killed an opossum with one a few years back. Hit him behind the shoulder,he took about three steps and fell over dead. A squirrel would never know what hit him.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=295321

In the fall when it rains, we get a mass migration of frogs across the road by our house.

There are a couple GHO's that stand in the road and eat frog after frog after frog. They'll let you walk up pretty close to them to watch them stuff themselves with frogs. They don't make a big commotion when they take off like a grouse or pheasant does. They go all stealth-mode, make a couple silent flaps of the wings, and are gone. You don't want to be a squirrel in the sights of an owl.

You seeing them GHO at night ?

Yeah. But there are lights around, so it's not a problem seeing/watching them.

That's the only time I see them around my house.........when it's frog-feast time.

That must quite a sight...prolly French GOH.