Animals around your house...

Some photos of real animals taken before xmas near my home...

Parus caeruleus
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Parus major
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Passer montanus
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Pyrrhula pyrrhula, female
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Turdus pilaris
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Fringilla montifringilla
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Coccothraustes coccothraustes
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Fallow deer (photo from my office e-mail, found died after poachers shooting)
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Flying cranes (photo from my office e-mail, rare migratory specie in our district)
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Great photos of birds Jarda, thank You for sharing (o)): (o)):
But it's so sad to see dead deer indeed

SUSANNE wrote:

schleich61 wrote:

Perhaps you might wait until it has actually broken into your house and is menacing you before you shoot it... :)

Yes. But how often does that happen ? I mean, really, not just "good stories".
Of course a bear can break a window, but why should he ?
I had a rooster that flew through a window, because a dog was trying to sniff him...but that is in desperation.

The bear is not in his own territory, he just smelled the food on the feeder. Why would he begin breaking windows ?

Wouldn`t for instance banging a couple of casseroles together have the same effect as shooting?
If the bear didn`t feel the shot, but ran off anyway, it was probably the noice he didn`t like.

It is a nasty, dangerous habit to go round shooting at live beings "just in case" ...

Susanne, I think you completely missed the point of what I posted above. It was an attempt to ask the young man to consider why his reflexive reaction was to consider shooting his way out of the situation. You know, stop, pause and consider what you say and do, and why...

Roger wrote:

schleich61 wrote:

Roger wrote:

trevok4 wrote:

if i had a black bear outside in my garden i will get out my dads gun and shoot it

Why are you making a comment like that on a forum where everybody loves animal figures and have a huge respect for wildlife? Quite disappointing it! Which kind of toys are you collecting? Aren't they educational enough?
Tell your father that it is dangerous to keep guns close to kids.

Well, Roger, you are the free speech advocate who doesn't like it when members object vociferously to the statements of others that they strongly disagree with...I guess you want it both ways... I seem to remember that you were quite annoyed with me for, as you put it, trying to "police" some of the threads here. I guess I should just keep quiet and leave the policing to you, eh?

FFS, he's a 13 year old lad...

Exactly Phill, a 13 years old lad. Try to check North American statistics to see how many people die because of black bears and how many people die because of guns being used in a negletful way? It scares me when kids think that life is like they see on video games. We don't have 3 lifes like in Supermario and after it we restart the game. In real life the first shot can represent game over forever, forever!!
Maybe in modern times to loose a black bear forever is not a big problem but a game over in our favorite videogame would represent a much more dramatic thing. And it is even more dramatic when kids have all the support even when they are wrong only because they are kids.
- Son, you were unrespectful with your teacher? have you broken the window glass of your class? Is she is tired of your behaviour, pick up my gun and kill her and it won' happen anymore.

I understand your feelings, Roger, and I abhor taking a life of any kind in most situations. I also don't identify with the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach to perceived danger. However, your reaction to his post was not instructive, just pedantic and insulting. There is nothing cool about a 40 year old man beating up on a 13 year old kid in the public square. Sheeesh...

Fisva wrote:

I must agree with Roger, in Poland we had NO SHOOTING since the possession a weapon is forbidden. I mean, there are no shootings in shops, schools etc. I completely do not understand letting children to possess a gun. I completely do not understand taking children to hunt some animals and teach them how to KILL. I didn't want to give my opinion when cattlecollector told us he likes hunting, but as far as I remember I've asked him why does he shoot while he is so young.
People, especially youngsters, do not understand that animals' life is the same as ours, there is completely no empathy. I wouldn't even kill a fly because I accept that it lives
As Susanne already wrote animals only look for food, why would they break the window..?

Are you a vegan?

schleich61 wrote:

Are you a vegan?

Are you going to ask if I do not eat meat, eggs and milk or I'm just a hypocrite? Unfortunately I have to eat it because at 164 cm I weight only 44 kilos, and it hurts me a lot that I simply can't be a vegan. I eat eggs and milk from ecological farms where none of animals suffer, and I eat only chicken due to the way in which they are killed (the most "humanitarian" I guess)

I am sorry everyone. Every time I make a post, it seems to upset everyone or cause an argument. I am really sorry.

cattlecollector wrote:

I didn't mention this, but a few weeks ago I woke up and looked out the window and saw a big black spot by our bird feeder. I put on my glasses, and saw a 350 pound black bear in my yard! He broke our bird feeder, along with the neighbors bird feeder. He stayed for almost an hour. I have pics, but don't know how to post them. Sorry. Up here in Michigan, you never will know what you will see!

cattlecollector wrote:

I am sorry everyone. Every time I make a post, it seems to upset everyone or cause an argument. I am really sorry.

Cattlecollector, you have no reason to be sorry; you did nothing wrong. Your original post was interesting. Please don't feel bad.

cattlecollector wrote:

I am sorry everyone. Every time I make a post, it seems to upset everyone or cause an argument. I am really sorry.

I also think You don't need too feel bad CC :) . It's not bad when people discuss about Your comments You know.
I think discussions in general are good things, You can verify Your opinion, You can know other people better, You have good reason to think about life. And the subjects connected with life and death (so also killing or protecting own life) will always cause discussions, this is something important for everyone. :)

Don't feel bad CC, all you said was there was a bear in your yard, you didn't cause anything. You did nothing wrong, and I find that interesting. Discussions can be good things, its the people within the discussion who decide what direction to take it, and as Ana said, they are constructive and help you learn more about others. :)
BTW those are nice birds at the feeders. Jarda :)

Thanks guys, I guess when everybody started getting upset about shooting and hunting that I kind of misunderstood what was happening.

cattlecollector wrote:

Thanks guys, I guess when everybody started getting upset about shooting and hunting that I kind of misunderstood what was happening.

Please, don't feel offended. Killing animals usually makes people upset, it is completely normal :) But the main point was why young people are allowed to use weapon, we've changed the topic a bit.

Fisva wrote:

cattlecollector wrote:

Thanks guys, I guess when everybody started getting upset about shooting and hunting that I kind of misunderstood what was happening.

Please, don't feel offended. Killing animals usually makes people upset, it is completely normal :) But the main point was why young people are allowed to use weapon, we've changed the topic a bit.

(o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)):

Jarda , your pictures are just fantastic !!!!

Fisva wrote:

schleich61 wrote:

Are you a vegan?

Are you going to ask if I do not eat meat, eggs and milk or I'm just a hypocrite? Unfortunately I have to eat it because at 164 cm I weight only 44 kilos, and it hurts me a lot that I simply can't be a vegan. I eat eggs and milk from ecological farms where none of animals suffer, and I eat only chicken due to the way in which they are killed (the most "humanitarian" I guess)

I understand completely. Good for you that you're trying to live up to your principles - I respect you for that. For the record, I am an omnivore, but I've been trending slowly but steadily away from animal protein and toward tofu, etc. I accept that I am complicit in the slaughter of animals for food, and I realize that my karma is affected by my diet.

I think that all living things are sensate beings, including plants, so I'm not sure that any of us is really "clean" when it comes to the karmic repercussions of our diets...

ana wrote:

cattlecollector wrote:

I am sorry everyone. Every time I make a post, it seems to upset everyone or cause an argument. I am really sorry.

I also think You don't need too feel bad CC :) . It's not bad when people discuss about Your comments You know.
I think discussions in general are good things, You can verify Your opinion, You can know other people better, You have good reason to think about life. And the subjects connected with life and death (so also killing or protecting own life) will always cause discussions, this is something important for everyone. :)

Great post, Ana. These are important discussions. CC did nothing wrong, but maybe neither did Trevok, even if we are upset with some of what he posted. Again, there are different people here of different ages, genders, nationalities, etc., and they may have been raised in different environments.

schleich61 wrote:

I think that all living things are sensate beings, including plants, so I'm not sure that any of us is really "clean" when it comes to the karmic repercussions of our diets...

I'm actually happy that you do understand me, I was afraid that we will have a true storm in our discussion :)
I must in some degree agree with you, although plants do not suffer physically, it does hurt me a lot when people cut trees - perhaps every living thing on earth has a soul :)

Fisva wrote:

schleich61 wrote:

I think that all living things are sensate beings, including plants, so I'm not sure that any of us is really "clean" when it comes to the karmic repercussions of our diets...

I'm actually happy that you do understand me, I was afraid that we will have a true storm in our discussion :)
I must in some degree agree with you, although plants do not suffer physically, it does hurt me a lot when people cut trees - perhaps every living thing on earth has a soul :)

I read some time ago that there is a Buddhist sect residing at very high altitude in the Himalayas (over 18K feet) who subsist on a diet of only two things - honey and nuts. Maybe they've got it figured out...

Fisva wrote:

schleich61 wrote:

I think that all living things are sensate beings, including plants, so I'm not sure that any of us is really "clean" when it comes to the karmic repercussions of our diets...

I'm actually happy that you do understand me, I was afraid that we will have a true storm in our discussion :)
I must in some degree agree with you, although plants do not suffer physically, it does hurt me a lot when people cut trees - perhaps every living thing on earth has a soul :)

I agree with everything you said!.Its hurts me too when people cut down trees.This year I got our family to get a fake christmas tree

cattlecollector wrote:

I am sorry everyone. Every time I make a post, it seems to upset everyone or cause an argument. I am really sorry.

Cattlecollector, please don't feel sorry! although it is not the discussed subject, let me tell you, with my rustic way, a little story and you'll see how controversial is to kill an animal!
Several years ago, at this time of the year, I was visiting some old family of a friend of mine with his girlfriend.
They were elderly people who lived in a cottage surrounded by chickens, sheep and a donkey.
As usual, they received us in the kitchen and I remember seeing two mature ladies very busy and a very old man dressed in black with a staff in his hand and apparently indifferent to everything.
Suddenly, amid the bustle, a cockroach appeared in the middle of the kitchen floor.
The girlfriend of my friend jumped up from the chair she was sitting and started yelling:
- Kill the beast ... Kill the beast!! : cry :: affraid :: affraid:
Exactly when my friend was prepared to step on the cockroach, the old man beats with his staff in the floor and says:
- Stop! In this house we only kills what we need to eat!
The girl, surely thinking in the next romantic kiss with his boy friend, changed her mind and pleaded:
- Pleeeease, don't kill it!

Great story I relize now that I had no reason to be sorry. I just felt that somehow I had started the argument by posting about the bear, ( who is hibernating now, I found his den. I didn't go to close to it though. )

Update from our bird-feeder!
Right now we experience an invasion of a flock of Siskins (Carduelis spinus) - about 15 birds!
Sorry, no photo, as I don't want to scare them by moving away from window (I'm sitting next to it).

Here are some animals that live around my house (all from around last summer through this winter):

Black bear (he wasn't very afraid and came very close to our garage.)
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Black bear again as he was walking away.
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White tail doe (not the best shot, it was very foggy that day if memory serves)
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Sharp Shined Hawk (another bird that deserves his own figure!)
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Oriole (they love grape jelly and oranges!)
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Luna Moth (unfortunately missing a part of her wing from a bird attack)
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Cecropia Moth (very large fellow, as big as my hand!)
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Jefferson Salamander
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Black Caped Chickadee
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Pileated woodpecker
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Wow. What a fear! A black bear close from house!

Exciting and wonderful! Thanks for your great pictures! That's impressive how can someone feel confortable living next to these bears. I love the idea and these animals but I hope it is not dangerous.