Critter Shootin' Near Mid-June 2019

Previously, I blogged "Lotsa Bloomin' Mid-May Near Mid-year 2019", regarding a neighborhood stroll—flora and fauna images from May 16, 17, 18. This neighborhood stroll video includes only animals; the walk took less than an hour. What a collection of critters!

1. Cooper's Hawk and mockingbird
2. Doe and two fawns
3. Red June bug
4. Doe and two fawns (Initially unsure if a second family or the same one.)
5. Caterpillar (June bug larva)

The Cooper's Hawk perched atop a foliage-free branch group. A mockingbird kept dive-bombing it. Trying to keep the camera steady at the distance and zoom challenged me.

I wasn't sure that the doe and fawns were the same family until reviewing the video clips. In the second footage of deer, they were much more energetic than in the first footage.

The June bug might have already been dead; I didn't want to prod it to find out. Incidentally, I'd uploaded the bug to LinkedIn with request for ID. The color and pose didn't resemble any of the three olivy green/brown June bugs I pic'd last year ("So How Cute ARE June Bugs?"). Maybe I should have ensured the reddish bug had its total back upward.

The caterpillar resembled several that I'd shot in April. The undulation movement intrigued me, as well as its prolegs. It took some poking around Google images to find some that resemble my "capture"; I finally found enough info to declare the critter a June bug larva. "Life Cycle Process of a June Bug" shows a basic diagram. "Turfgrass - May/June Beetle Grubs" links to a January-through-December image. Grubs don't sound good to have around. "How To: Get Rid of June Bugs", section "PREVENT DAMAGE FROM GRUBS" has a large image with caution and recommendation: "grubs that will get your grass. Lose the larvae …". Another anti-grub resource: "Grub Worm Identification and Treatment".

This year has been very good for abundant blooms, new-growth plants, and wildlife. View some via the index. Also, I'll be posting more strolling image items to share.

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For more articles about deer, enter "deer" in the search box at the upper left of this window. Or find and click "deer" link at Partial Index of Keywords section (just below Popular Posts section). BTW, additional deer videos are available at my YouTube channel.

Lotsa Bloomin' Mid-May Near Mid-year 2019

This year, May has been an especially eye-popping year for blooms. This blog and accompanying video represent sightings simply from short walks in and near the neighborhood on May 16, 17, and 18. (Includes coupla non-bloom subjects.)

While strolling in the 'hood one day,
In this kinda wet month of May,
Many blooms, so picturesque,
E'en a non-bloom piqued me, yes,
I meandered and pic'd another couple of days!

Acknowledgement to Ed Haley's "Strolling Through The Park One Day" music and lyrics. Want to sing along to the original?

The following subjects caught my eye:

• Two different prickly pear colonies with varying bloom stages (Dig those toes!)
• Small flattened snake with an intriguing pattern (to me) that looks even more interesting at the head
• Two different Mexican hat colonies, one trail with loads of color variations, one patch with a blink-and-and-you'll-miss-it bee
• Creek, somewhat vertically zigzagged
• Shoal Creek Chaste Tree, blooms sparse and pale so far this year

Prickly pear plants were predominant in this stroll. Some prickly pear references: "Prickly Pear Cactus", "Prickly pear cactus, our state plant". Mexican hat blooms were also prominent. Visit "Mexican hats el 5 de mayo, no mas el 7 de mayo" for more eyefuls and references.