Are you sure they aren't turkey vultures? When we lived in Morgan Hill, CA, we had the turkey vultures do that a lot.

Johannian said: Are you sure they aren't turkey vultures? When we lived in Morgan Hill, CA, we had the turkey vultures do that a lot.

That's what I was thinking too but the pictures are not clear enough for me to make a determination for sure.

You can see the beak on that one....looks like buzzards to me to.
I have a hawk that guards the neighborhood chikkins. And a critter eatin with the cats on the back porch.

Johannian said: Are you sure they aren't turkey vultures? When we lived in Morgan Hill, CA, we had the turkey vultures do that a lot.

To be honest, I am not sure...way too high for me to see them clearly, plus I was walking home just as the rains were starting to pour. So the angle of light is so awkward. I am glad my phone camera did its best to zoom way up there.
I was actually trying to wait for at least one of them to flap their wings so I can also get a good shot of its wing span, but it was getting too cold.

Anyways, whatever they are, I am happy to see them there...like a good ol' winter reunion they have year after year.

Quite a sudden drop in temps that day from 54F to 39F in two hours.

Got to admire these wild birds, just holding on as much as they can on those treetops.

This photo taken last January..when you feel something is staring at you...there probably is! As I do some late night clean up near the kitchen sink:

Oh my goodness, raccoons are adorable! As well as possums (though some people like to disagree ) the only problem is that possums and raccoons I believe have rabies. Other than that, I'd love them visiting.

Fieldsof_flowers said: Oh my goodness, raccoons are adorable! As well as possums (though some people like to disagree ) the only problem is that possums and raccoons I believe have rabies. Other than that, I'd love them visiting.

They can have rabies. Just like any wild animal can.

Lately we have not seen the raccoons...maybe due to our other 3 random feline visitors:
We call this one Tikoy Jr.


This one we call Tabby cat


And this one we call Newcat:


So just letting them visit and have a safe place to eat, drink, rest..it also amuses our indoor pets when they see them come over:

flaflwrgrl said: They can have rabies. Just like any wild animal can.

I'm sorry, I have to disagree with you there. Maybe I should've worded it better:
Raccoons and possums have a much higher chance of having rabies than a lot of the other wild animals.

tarev said: Lately we have not seen the raccoons...maybe due to our other 3 random feline visitors:
We call this one Tikoy Jr.


This one we call Tabby cat


And this one we call Newcat:


So just letting them visit and have a safe place to eat, drink, rest..it also amuses our indoor pets when they see them come over:

All of them are just too cute

The tabby cat is soo fluffy!!

Fieldsof_flowers said: I'm sorry, I have to disagree with you there. Maybe I should've worded it better:
Raccoons and possums have a much higher chance of having rabies than a lot of the other wild animals.

Yes, it was the way you worded it. I just wanted to make sure you knew the distinction. You know people will read stuff on the Internet and take it as gospel when we all know just because it's on the Internet doesn't make it true.

Yes, exactly. I should've worded it better.

Them cats on my porch are not mine.....they think they are. The lady next door died an she had 20. They've just sorta started hangin out here. Not all of'um.....about 5 or 6.

tarev said: To be honest, I am not sure...way too high for me to see them clearly

I'm definitely not an expert bird identifier (or even a bird identifier, at that!), it was just odd for me to see hawks together like that (they're usually not that social), so that's why I thought maybe they could be turkey vultures.

@BigBill is an expert bird identifier though, so maybe he could maybe identify from just the form of the birds?

Tabby cat is indeed so fluffy!..quite fun when I saw her in the igloo one time.





It also likes to scale our fence:

I think she's a very pretty tabby. Typically I'm not a fan of tabbies, but this one is actually pretty and unusual. I've never, ever seen a tabby with long fur like that.

Sharing some photos and video of Mr.&Mrs. Raccoon's nocturnal visit to our sideyard a couple of nights ago. I thought they have left the area, since our security cameras have not gotten footages for awhile.
Hopefully stray cats will eat more during daytime and finish off the food, not try to come back at night so they won't see these two.



Our cat Susie avidly distracting the two so they came closer to the glass door.
https://youtu.be/v23Oadd1rdA
We plan to raise those igloos on the table and pull further away the chairs..hopefully it will make it a bit more difficult for the raccoons to reach the leftover catfood. Though I know these guys easily climbs up our city trees. hopefully just make less easier access for the time being for the raccoons.

Cute raccoons, Tarev.

I think a lot of gardeners & farmers have love-hate relationships with raccoons, much like deer. They're so cute and so curious, but suddenly they're not when they're getting into your trash or killing your chickens.

We don't have any 'coons around here.

Yes..unavoidable love 'em or hate 'em...but they are not always here. I think they were attracted initially to the catfood also served by my neighbor across us..and then they also sensed the catfood we give to the 3 stray cats.

That was my initial concern before so I do not have catfood left outside..but seeing the 3 stray cats, I felt sad..and it is winter so we resumed putting out food.

It was interesting to see how Daddy coon waited for Mama coon eat first inside the igloo, while he patiently guarded the entrance and wait for his turn.

So far, they do not damage any of my plants. ..yet..they just want food and very brief shelter I guess.

Anyhow's will see how it goes.

I have a Momma cat who lives on my porch. I bought her a heated cat house which she loves. Our winters can get very cold here so I was glad to be able to get her some cozy shelter. I have seen baby possums on the porch eating the dry cat food that she didn,t finish. baby possums are adorable! apparently cats and possums get along. However racoons are a different story. Yes they're cute but very, very destructive. We had a pair living next door and they became more and more aggressive as time progressed. My housemate works on his car in the garage late at night and every night he could hear them "talking" to each other. He could see their eyes watching him when he walked down the driveway. They took to climbing the crepe myrtle to go across the roof and get to the house next door. A 20lb racoon does not walk softly! they starting getting into peoples trash cans and generally making a mess. I always have my cans covered so as not to attract them. they gnawed a hole in the roof soffit to try and gain entry-which is common for them to do. Instead they hit a brick wall and gave up. From the hole they gnawed I got a roof leak so that had to be repaired. Not cheap. I stopped leaving Mommas food out at night and that discouraged them. I make sure her dish is empty before bed time. These animals are just that-a wild marauder who can do a lot of damage. I suggest you do not encourage them and take the food in at night. the ferals will come back to eat during the day.