indyfabz

Thousands of these future frogs lined the beach at Brighton State Park in VT.

Eric F 

Saturday's ride took me on a paved bike path next to a small airport (single-engine plane size). Sitting on the short fence between the bike trail and the runway area was a medium-size brown hawk (Cooper's Hawk, probably). I assume it was enjoying watching the plane takeoff and land, possibly puzzling about their lack clumsy movements and lack of articulating wings. I should have stopped to grab a pic, but was kind of in a nice tempo groove.

Other things I see regularly (mostly on MTB and gravel rides)...Coyotes, deer, rabbits, lizards, snakes (rattler and gopher), tarantulas, and bears. I haven't seen bobcats in a while, but they live in our area.

terrymorse 

Those guys hang out in the local salt evaporation ponds at certain times of the year. Must be a hundred or more, just chillin'.

indyfabz

I didn't know what they were when I saw them. I thought they looked like pelicans, but I had no idea that pelicans range that far north. I always associated them with more southerly climates. When I returned home, I googled "birds of Montana" and found them. Turns out, they migrate as far north as Alberta, Canda.

genejockey 

Same list for me, plus coyotes, but leaving off the tarantulas. Also, zillions of blue belly lizards of all sizes on the edge of the road. And one time a baby rattlesnake, stretched out across the Ralston Trail. I used my Zefal HPX at full extension with the locking lever flicked out as a snake hook to lift it up and deposit it in the bushes by the trail.

Steve B.

Used to mt. bike the high country in New Mexico, saw a big horn sheep on Tesuque Peak, a female elk in Taos, coyotes all the time, used to have to bunny hop the early season rattlesnakes that would lay across the trails to get warm in the sun, then a cinnamon bear (version of a black bear) near Taos once. Lots of deer, owls, hawks, turkeys on Long Island where I do most of my riding. Herons, and assorted water birds all over the place,

Repack Rider

Mountain bike touring in Canada's Northwest Territories in 1984, we stopped to have lunch by a creek. I heard something splashing, and got my camera out in time to capture this caribou. Later when I enlarged the photo, I saw that it had a gaping wound on its neck, and a flap of skin hanging down. Clearly it was running away from something that wanted to eat it.

indyfabz

Bald Eagle, wild turkeys, osprey and Dahl sheep.

indyfabz

Pronghorns (second fastest land mammal in world) and a prairie dog in SD.

indyfabz

A female snapping turtle laying eggs near Westhampton, MA. She digs a hole and can deposit up to 100+ eggs. She was putting out one maybe every minute. That is the end of her maternal involvement. The survival rate to adulthood is rather low, which would explain the "carpet bombing." In some cases, raccoons dig up the eggs and eat them. (Second photo.)

rosefarts

Nothing of note recently.

When I was in southern Colorado, I definitely ran into tarantulas pretty often. Once, a roadrunner which is pretty rare there.

I saw a Lnyx while on a road bike, which probably never happens.

Years ago, a mountain lion cub ran across the trail in Wyoming. Mom never introduced herself to me thankfully.

20-25 years ago, I’d see porn blown against a fence fairly often. I think the internet has reduced nudie magazine sightings for sure.

Doc_Wui

This time of year, it's wooly bear caterpillars, Run over one, and you make it rain, according to Pogo,

Erzulis Boat 

A dead badger right outside Los Olivos, California. I had to turn around and stop to confirm what I knew I saw! Didn't take a picture, because nobody would believe me anyway.

They are incredibly rare, but do exist in SoCal.

kevinkay

Saw a Fisher Cat (in cape cod) that started to cross the road - saw us (we on a tandem bike) then turned and ran back. We both thought it was a extra extra large Weasel until internet photo confirmation

indyfabz

A live badger ran across the road in front of me while I was climbing Big Hole Pass in Montana. After the descent I started climbing…wait for it…Badger Pass on the way to Dillon for a rest day.

They can really move. He was coming from my right, kicking up dust. I stopped to watch him run across the road and up a rise on the other side. Wasn’t sure what it was. At the pass, there were some flangers stationed due to road repaving. I described what I saw, and they confirmed my suspicion.

pdlamb

Forgot about, not badgers, but porcupines. I'd come across a couple big road kill in Wyoming, and gave them a wide berth -- I don't know if those hollow spines can penetrate a tire and break off, and didn't want to find out. Then this past summer, there was a much smaller porcupine running across the path in front of me and off into the brush beside the trail.

I was surprised to come across a couple groundhogs nearer to home this summer -- I thought this county was too suburban, but apparently not!

88ss

I saw two whitetail deer run across the road in front of me 100-feet this morning early. I often ride through wooded country and have seen countless turkey, geese and other wildlife of all sorts this year. Came very close to running over a few chipmunks. Had a Blue Heron fly very low over my head this year while going over a bridge. And of course then there are all the dead animals on the side of roads that were hit by cars..............

indyfabz

I saw a huge porcupine while riding a trail through the Lehigh Gorge in PA in the dark. It was coming towards me. At first, I thought it was a young bear.

Groundhogs are common in suburban Philly. I live in the heart of the city and have raccoons and possums in my alley. They get into garbage if you are not careful. Year ago, I accidentally left my trashcan lid ajar. The next morning I discovered that the bag inside had been torn nearly to shreds and there was the scat of a small animal on my back deck.

One of many I have seen over the years. My next-door neighbors have to anchor their flowerpots with wires because the 'coons will knock them over. They have also had fake plastic fish go missing from their fountain. Probably stolen by a 'coon. They are impish. Several years ago, one tried to run off with one of my panniers while I was on tour. I was camping in NJ bear country, so I had put all my attractants in the bathhouse. The pannier was completely empty.

pdlamb

I've got an old design storm sewer in front of my house, which sporadically serves as a possum den. If I can ping one with a BB, it'll usually go elsewhere. ("Real" guns can't legally be discharged in the city limits, and I don't want to have a dead possum rotting in front of the house for a month.)

Why do I need reading glasses? One reason is I read, "Several years ago, one tried to run off with one of my partners while I was on tour." Personally, I never thought racoons were all that attractive...

indyfabz

Aww.. Possums are not a menace. They don't carry rabies and they eat ticks. It's estimated that the average possum consumes 50,000 of them/year.

obrentharris 

More recent research suggests that possums are not the tick vacuum cleaners that the original study suggested.
Brent

indyfabz

They’re still cute.

ralphs

I beg to differ. They're not cute at all when they're hissing and growling at you.

indyfabz

I’ve never had one do that to me. Not even the ones that have walked along the walls like the raccoon pictured above. Sometimes they have their little ones following behind. They even ignore my cat when he starts making noise at them.

LesterOfPuppets

Pronghorn watched me set up camp in Wyoming. After the sun went down I wondered if they were still watching me but not enough to bother digging up the headlight to check.