Here are a couple of the wild critters around the new house.

Someday when I get my trail camera I'll see if those paw prints in the mud were dog or coyote.

Until then, birds!

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

Pileated woodpecker. There is at least one pair of these in the neighborhood. I've seen them together a few times while out running. This guy was perforating a tree about 20' from my desk.

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

This little fellow is a blue grosbeak. He's a regular at the ground under the feeder - picking up what the swarms of sloppy sparrows throw on the ground.

Took me a long time to ID him since all of my books and all of the pics on the web say that a blue grosbeak should be bright blue, like a bluebird. This guy is so dark he looks black without binoculars or a big zoom lens.

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

Good old mourning dove, hiding his tail behind a clump of dirt.

That's what our 'yard' looks like. It's bare Carolina clay, absolutely overflowing with rocks. Not sure what we're going to do with it yet.

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

Lots of hummingbirds - including one that keeps getting stuck in our garage. Luckily, she'll land on the end of a broom so I can shuttle her outside without much drama.

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

Sometimes, they perch in the tree above the feeder and wait to attack any other hummingbirds who come close.

Nikon D90, 70-300mm

Here's a nice pair of tits. (DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!!!)

A big-ass vulture and I had a stare-off last weekend. As I was walking out of the garage, he flew across the driveway and landed in a tree, about 20 feet up. He got bored with me after a couple of minutes and whooshed off to find something stinky to stick his head in.