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Texas Backyard Wildlife
United States
Приєднався 21 чер 2017
Welcome to Texas Backyard Wildlife!
We share our Austin home with dozens of other animals - foxes, raccoons, deer, rock squirrels, snakes, owls, skunks, hummingbirds... Some live here with us, under the deck or high up in a tree, some are just passing through. Every day we see something new, a new butterfly, a new bird, a new behavior.
We have recorded thousands of hours of video and taken hundreds of photos of the creatures who live in our yard with us here in Austin - eating, playing, taking care of babies, hunting, and just hanging out. Texas Backyard Wildlife is our way of sharing this with our neighbors here in Austin and around the world.
Dan Ballard & Jane Hunter
texasbackyardwildlife@gmail.com
We share our Austin home with dozens of other animals - foxes, raccoons, deer, rock squirrels, snakes, owls, skunks, hummingbirds... Some live here with us, under the deck or high up in a tree, some are just passing through. Every day we see something new, a new butterfly, a new bird, a new behavior.
We have recorded thousands of hours of video and taken hundreds of photos of the creatures who live in our yard with us here in Austin - eating, playing, taking care of babies, hunting, and just hanging out. Texas Backyard Wildlife is our way of sharing this with our neighbors here in Austin and around the world.
Dan Ballard & Jane Hunter
texasbackyardwildlife@gmail.com
Gray fox family: Part 1 - Dolly & Frances move into the den
In the summer of 2023 a gray fox family - mama, papa, and a single kit - moved into one of our dens. The mother fox, Dolly, had been visiting the backyard and for quite some time, and we could tell that she was nursing. We'd been hoping that she would bring her family closer and so we were delighted to see her carry a kit in past the water bowl one day in late May.
This video is the first episode in our story of Dolly, her mate Broken Ear, and their little one, Frances during their 2.5-week stay in the magic tree den. As I write this, I don't know how many episodes there will be - we have about 350 hours of great video. (Don't worry, we won't attempt to inflict it all on you, but Dan's edited highlights are still a couple of hours long, so we have some serious cutting to do.)
In this first part, we see Dolly carry Frances - then probably 5 or 6 weeks old - along the trail and into the den. She spent an hour or so settling in and reassuring Frances that her new home was safe and comfortable, and then she took her back outside for a little tour of the playpen area.
Dolly is the most attentive and loving mama fox we've ever had the privilege of spying on with our cameras. She is patient, playful, and very involved. Broken Ear was a good father, too. He was a little battle-weary at the time they moved in, and didn't much want to play, but he and Dolly split guard duty and food gathering, and very clearly (to us) brought up Frances together.
I am writing this in June 2024, and Dolly - with a new mate, Pale Fox (we believe that Broken Ear has died) - is back in the magic tree den with 3 kits. Frances is still around and has a family of her own (we can see that she is nursing). She doesn't visit our backyard very often, but when she does she is immediately identifiable because she inherited her mother's long, elegant tail. We look forward to meeting her kits one day.
This video is the first episode in our story of Dolly, her mate Broken Ear, and their little one, Frances during their 2.5-week stay in the magic tree den. As I write this, I don't know how many episodes there will be - we have about 350 hours of great video. (Don't worry, we won't attempt to inflict it all on you, but Dan's edited highlights are still a couple of hours long, so we have some serious cutting to do.)
In this first part, we see Dolly carry Frances - then probably 5 or 6 weeks old - along the trail and into the den. She spent an hour or so settling in and reassuring Frances that her new home was safe and comfortable, and then she took her back outside for a little tour of the playpen area.
Dolly is the most attentive and loving mama fox we've ever had the privilege of spying on with our cameras. She is patient, playful, and very involved. Broken Ear was a good father, too. He was a little battle-weary at the time they moved in, and didn't much want to play, but he and Dolly split guard duty and food gathering, and very clearly (to us) brought up Frances together.
I am writing this in June 2024, and Dolly - with a new mate, Pale Fox (we believe that Broken Ear has died) - is back in the magic tree den with 3 kits. Frances is still around and has a family of her own (we can see that she is nursing). She doesn't visit our backyard very often, but when she does she is immediately identifiable because she inherited her mother's long, elegant tail. We look forward to meeting her kits one day.
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Відео
Three gray fox kits on a tall stump - 12Jun24
Переглядів 985День тому
Three gray fox kits on a tall stump - 12Jun24
Texas spiny lizards: The best close-up video you will ever see
Переглядів 61014 днів тому
Texas spiny lizards are quite common around here - though, as with many other species, we don’t see as many as we used to and, actually, we hear them more often than we see them. In the summer, when we’re outside, they will rustle away from us in the undergrowth or skitter up the nearest tree, their immensely long claws making little ticking sounds on the bark. Many people, locally, call them “...
Mama raccoon & a baby - 30Jul22
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A mama raccoon in the magic tree den on a very hot July day in 2022.
Mating Texas spiny lizards
Переглядів 55421 день тому
You saw it here first (probably): Spiny lizards having sex. We’re not sure whether to warn everyone that this video is a quite graphic or shout to the rooftops that it’s extraordinary. I think we’ll go with shouting. Texas spiny lizards are quite common around here - though, as with many other species, we don’t see as many as we used to, and we actually hear them more often than we see them. In...
Dolly & 3 kits 02Jun24
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Dolly and her kits on move-in day at the magic tree den. Sunday 02 June 2024.
This is how raccoons deal with mosquitos
Переглядів 1,9 тис.28 днів тому
This great little clip shows a mama raccoon in the Hobbit box nailing a mosquito that was plainly getting on her nerves. There are two things that make this video remarkable: First, it was pitch dark in the box. We can see, because the camera is using infrared night vision, but the mama raccoon can't. And yet she zeroed in on the mosquito with absolute precision. She could hear it, and she coul...
An American opossum: Up close and very, VERY personal
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Opossums are truly unique creatures. They are America's only marsupial, they seem to be immune to the venom of rattlesnakes and copperheads, and they have some fascinating reproductive traits (as you'll see in this video). Opossums' ability to feign death when threatened by a predator has given us the phrase "playing possum". (It's worth noting that when "playing possum", an opossum not only lo...
Foxes on the rocks: A mama fox and 3 energetic kits
Переглядів 1,7 тис.2 місяці тому
Foxes on the rocks: A mama fox and 3 energetic kits
Nesting Bewick's wrens: Part One - Nest construction
Переглядів 1,4 тис.2 місяці тому
Nesting Bewick's wrens: Part One - Nest construction
Lion Tail: The world's sweetest raccoon | Texas Backyard Wildlife
Переглядів 2,4 тис.3 місяці тому
Lion Tail: The world's sweetest raccoon | Texas Backyard Wildlife
The Transformer: A great horned owl does a super-stretch | Texas Backyard Wildlife
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The Transformer: A great horned owl does a super-stretch | Texas Backyard Wildlife
Porcupines: Prickly prehistoric wanderers in our backyard | Texas Backyard Wildlife
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Porcupines: Prickly prehistoric wanderers in our backyard | Texas Backyard Wildlife
Bath time for an armadillo on a hot Texas day | Texas Backyard Wildlife
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Bath time for an armadillo on a hot Texas day | Texas Backyard Wildlife
A stunning yellow-crowned night heron fishing in the flooded creek
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A stunning yellow-crowned night heron fishing in the flooded creek
Hawk gets mugged! A peaceful lunch turns into an armed heist | Texas Backyard Wildlife
Переглядів 1,8 тис.4 місяці тому
Hawk gets mugged! A peaceful lunch turns into an armed heist | Texas Backyard Wildlife
Invisible screech owl: Can you spot the owl in this picture?
Переглядів 1,9 тис.5 місяців тому
Invisible screech owl: Can you spot the owl in this picture?
Territorial gray foxes: "Get out of my backyard!"
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Territorial gray foxes: "Get out of my backyard!"
Did that owl’s head just fall off? A great horned owl falling asleep
Переглядів 1,8 тис.6 місяців тому
Did that owl’s head just fall off? A great horned owl falling asleep
An armadillo vs two coyotes: “Come back here, you cowards!”
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An armadillo vs two coyotes: “Come back here, you cowards!”
Raccoons, coyotes, and a killer rabbit: Encounters at the water bowl
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Raccoons, coyotes, and a killer rabbit: Encounters at the water bowl
Foxes having fun: Climbing, chasing, and bounding
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Foxes having fun: Climbing, chasing, and bounding
A deer, a rabbit, and 2 raccoons: Interspecies silliness
Переглядів 2,7 тис.7 місяців тому
A deer, a rabbit, and 2 raccoons: Interspecies silliness
Two young gray foxes on a sunny morning
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Two young gray foxes on a sunny morning
Red-tailed hawk up on the nesting platform
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Red-tailed hawk up on the nesting platform
River otters traveling along the dry creek
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River otters traveling along the dry creek
Bunnies in the backyard: Eastern cottontail rabbits
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Bunnies in the backyard: Eastern cottontail rabbits
Paper wasps are actually quite intelligent. I watched a small colony, from queen to brood and not once was stung.
How did it not sting his tongue? Thats gross lol
"Damn this mf is spicy"
next, send in stumbling bumbling you-know-who. no joke. come on man... sniff snifffffff
Bro said “room service? Say less”
❤
*sniff sniff* “Snacc?” *eats the wasp* “Snacc 😋”
I was stung by a yellow jacket 2 years ago on my leg..the scar is huge and still did NOT GO AWAY…for 2 weeks I was in agony…sleep? Forget about it….
OK, that sounds awful. This was a paper wasp, and I think their stings are not so bad.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife yeah I live in Toronto, Canada it was summer and I thought to myself “boy these bees get bigger and bigger every year” all around my house..those things do not fear humans😂 been traumatized since
Pikachu vs Beedrill
Beautiful owl!
They are a lot of fun to watch.
Wonderful. ❤❤❤😊😊🎉🎉
Thank you, Lee Ann.
The species of Otter in the thumbnail is wrong/different from the one in the video, the one we have here in Texas/the one in the video is a North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis), while the one in the thumbnail is an Eurasian River Otter (Lutra Lutra)
Oh my god! Thank you. We will see if we can fix it - the video was published a while back but perhaps we can switch out the thumb.
Our video of the otters who were caught on our creek camera was so grainy and low-quality that we couldn't extract a recognizable thumb from it and we searched online for something better. We are very grateful to you for letting us know.
i thought it was literally a yellowjacket wasp lol ive only ever heard that name
It was a paper wasp.
Lovely ❤
They were pretty cute, weren't they?
That's how I do it.
I miss my mom (Foxy), dad (Mr. Fox), and 4 kits from last year!! One of the babies got hit on the highway so I buried it in my flower bed next to the den they spent their first Spring in!
Oh no! What a tragedy! We haven't lost a fox to a car accident in about 3 years (the superstitious part of me hates to tempt fate by even saying that). The world needs more gray foxes, and it's terrible to lose one you've grown to know.
yellow jacket. here in Mass
It was a paper wasp.
“Why did you change the channel??? I was watching that!!!
Wow they are magnificent mini dragons 😊❤
Up close, they truly are.
My heartburn would not allow me to attempt this technique
Heartburn and basic common sense, right?
Whenever i brush my pet house rabbits, i leave the piles of fur for the birds to take for their nests. They never do though. I have dumb birds near me.
Maybe you need some different birds. But it's great that your wife leaves the rabbit fur out.
i got stung in the back of head once and i remember my legs gave out haha and nearly rolled into the peoples pool "i was a pest control specialist" and was only half way through the job too!
Not a good look for the pest-control guy.
Awesome video, love it
Thank you!
Its a you scratch my back I'll scratch your back kinda thing.
Spicy snack!
Need to get me a ringtail, casually murking the wazzers for me 😂
oh thats nasty-family guy
The babies are called kits....
I see that I called them "pups" in the text, and we may have called them "cubs" in the narration? Either way, you're right. Raccoon babies are "kits".
European?? I’ve never seen none of these in Europe though 😂😂😂 it’s yellow jacket
It's a paper wasp, but commenters have told us that it's probably actually a Guinea paper wasp.
🎉 Escamol
Yea I’ve been stung by one of those mfs maybe not the European one but you’re damn right anybody stung by those mfs will leave the building screaming when I got stung it was pretty much directly on my knee cap over my jeans at the time after an hour of having it off me it turned Barney Purple for a month 🤣
Instinct is amazing.
And skill, too, right?
Lol I know the feeling, at work in church but to my credit never with a gun or a fishing pole in my hands!🙂
Good to hear.
Only FOX FUR will do to line her nest! She has impeccable taste!
She does, and did you notice that the titmouse and the fox are pretty much color-coordinated. Gray and soft orange. Very tasteful indeed.
Thanks. I'll remember this for the next time I'm starving and there's a yellow jacket nearby. "Chew vigorously" uh?
Ringtail was like: Ooo free breakfast 😊
She probably had babies to feed anyway
It was early January, so she probably wasn't feeding young. But she clearly was hungry.
They are awesome animal's
I was stung by a paper wasps, not a hornet, but it still hurted like hell. My arm was swollen and to this day I run Everytime I see one 😂
Smart.
Ahhhh 🥱🥱 *Mink
Wouldn't it get stung chewing it tho? Idk I'm curious about that
We think the ringtail crushed the wasp's stinger on the first or second crunch. The wasp had no time to react.
Taste like chicken