One of my favorite spots to view wildlife (both mammals and birds) is the churchyard at St. Paul’s, Ivy. The churchyard was originally part of the Lewis (as in Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame) family estate. It is surrounded by woods on three sides so there is a good space for animals to graze and then escape into the surrounding woods, down a burrow or up a tree depending upon the animal.
I have seen a buzzard drying his wings on a teak bench.
Sometimes a fickle fox will pop out of the underbrush long enough to be seen.
Vultures sometimes roost in the trees.
A fat groundhog has a burrow under the Osage Orange Tree.
Deer come and go as if they own the place.
The squirrels are present year around.
We’ve even had a black bear walking around the Churchyard. I think that may be the same bear that followed the railroad tracks into our neighborhood last Friday.
Wow–even a bear! I’ve never seen one of those here, although there are many on other parts of Vancouver Island. We don’t have groundhogs, but there are raccoons and deer and squirrels. Bald eagles and ravens fly over regularly, and hummingbirds are around all year.
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I envy you the year-round hummingbirds. We had them in San Diego. Here I see them in the late summer and early fall. We do have eagles and lots of hawks.
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They’re Anna’s hummingbirds. Their range has extended northward because of warmer winters and people growing ornamental plants that provide nectar. And there are more hummingbird feeders too. I don’t remember seeing the birds much in the ’70s, but now they’re all over the place here in Victoria.
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Lovely and maybe additional proof of climate change.
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I think climate change is a factor. Apparently many species are shifting northward.
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Or slowly going extinct like the Picas in the Rocky Mountains.
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Or polar bears.
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That’s great! On oasis of life.
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I think so too, Denzil. We also have rabbits (which I have seen) and likely raccoons (which I have not seen.)
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Fascinating. I saw a fox when I was making photographs for this book https://derrickjknight.com/2013/04/07/the-magnificent-seven/ I wasn’t quick enough to catch it.
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Nice–they are very quick and agile. Hard to catch.
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Thanks for following the link
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My pleasure.
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Wow. Unexpected graveyard activity, Pat. And the bear was a big surprise –big in more ways than one! Yikes! That one tree was truly glorious. Thanks for this post. Hugs on the wing!
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Thanks, Teagan. Hope the Delta Pearl will be back soon. Hugs lurching your way on bear feet.š»
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Haha… That’s one big bear! I can’t imagine my own reaction if I walked out the door and saw that.
Yes, thanks. I have the Delta Pearl scheduled for midnight Eastern. š
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Excellent. Glad I didn’t see the š» in person. I think this one may have been a teenager.
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Nice place. Actually it is a lot like our place sans the vultures, and it has been years since we saw the bear. And since we have a pond we have a lot of water birds. All those critters are essential to me in this time of self quarantine.
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Wildlife is a pleasure these days. They can do things forbidden to us.
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That’s certainly a lot of wildlife for one spot!
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Yes, but not all at once. These pictures cover a few years.
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It looks like a great place for wildlife Pat, but I’m glad I don’t have to watch out for bears on my walks!
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The bear was the first one I have heard about in the almost four years we have belonged to that church. I believe they follow the railroad tracks down from the Blue Ridge Mountains looking for easy food.
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I love walking around churchyards/graveyards but we don’t have too many animals lurking in those which I frequent.
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Our church yard is fairly rural and not too far from the Blue Ridge Mountains so I think that helps us have do many animals. I like walking around church yards too.
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