Texas Backyard Wildlife

25Aug26 - The baby raccoons living under the shed are becoming more photogenic by the minute. A couple of days ago they decided that a cinderblock in their under-shed hideaway was the most comfortable bed in the house and they took turns napping on it.

Remember to double-click on the previews to see the entire picture; with these little guys, it's worth taking the trouble.

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3 days ago | [YT] | 1,760

Texas Backyard Wildlife

19Aug26 - There is a mama raccoon with her 4 small kits under the shed. When they arrived, the kits were just opening their eyes; now, they're mobile and funny, and we've managed to get some great snapshots of them. The mama has an injured leg/foot - she can't put it down - but she is coming over to the house so we are able to keep her fed. A few days ago, we published a video of one of the kits dramatically falling asleep. Very sweet: https://youtu.be/rkUvDy8lGVM

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1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,892

Texas Backyard Wildlife

14Aug26 - 10 pictures showing screech owls being quirky. A snapshot can capture a moment in time that might slide by unnoticed in a video clip. Here are some of our recent favorites.

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Texas Backyard Wildlife

12Aug26 - Back in January some raccoons took to snoozing under the shed during the day. At one stage, I counted 8 of them, all piled up and snuggling. We took some snapshots from our live camera, and I've been meaning to post them. Here are some favorites. I especially like #4, which shows a sleeping raccoon with clasped hands. (They truly do have hands and fingers.)

The snapshots are all landscape views, so remember to double-click to expand each one and see the whole picture.

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2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,593

Texas Backyard Wildlife

03Aug26 - We talk a lot about the tree stump den. It's a natural hollow under the stump of a massive live oak that died about 20 years ago.

When Dan chainsawed the tree down, he deliberately cut the stump into a chair shape and then posed for the camera sitting proudly on it. He was probably the last human to do so. Now it belongs to our gray fox friends.

Fox families use the den almost every spring - it's a safe place to bring up kits. The parent foxes love to sit on the stump when they're keeping an eye on things. It's apparently comfortable and it's got a great view.

Anyway, here's that photo of Dan sitting on his live oak stump. And I'm reposting a photo from a couple of weeks ago showing two smiling foxes - it's their stump now.

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Texas Backyard Wildlife

31Jul26 - This tiny gecko had become entangled in a cobweb just outside our back door. I was cleaning and wiped him up thinking he was an old cocoon of some sort - he was wrapped up like a mummy. To my astonishment, he twitched in my hand and I took a closer look. I don't know how long he'd been trapped, but it was long enough to have killed his tail - it was a dried-up blackened nub.

I managed to remove the worst of the spider web, but then I brought him in to Dan. I have shaky hands, and completely freeing this little fellow was a very delicate business.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of what he looked like before we began cleaning him up, but here are a few shots of the end of the process.

I released him outside and he ran off and disappeared under a shady stone.

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,892

Texas Backyard Wildlife

28Jul26 - Two cardinal chicks. There's still one more egg to hatch. The papa cardinal is busy bringing food for the family and the chicks are looking good.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1,341

Texas Backyard Wildlife

27Jul26 - And speaking of cardinals... Dan found yet another cardinal nest yesterday. Hiding in plain sight at about eye level in a tree I walk by at least twice a day on my way to and from the water bowl. If it had been a snake, etc, etc (but luckily for me, it wasn't). The nest had 3 eggs in it yesterday, and today there are 2 eggs and one chick! So, if we're lucky, and the cardinal gods keep a watchful eye to keep blue jays and ringtails and, well, snakes away, the world will be 3 fledgling cardinals richer in about 10 days.

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 850

Texas Backyard Wildlife

21Jul26 - Has anyone ever seen a bird this wet? We certainly haven't. It's hot here today, and this cardinal clearly felt the need to cool off, but usually bathing birds show a little more dignity and restraint. This guy is soaked to the skin and, frankly, not a pretty sight. We'll publish a video - it's only a 10-second clip, but we think it's funny.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1,696

Texas Backyard Wildlife

19Jul26 - We love our gray foxes. However, they're a bit elusive on video - they trot by the cameras and rarely deign to hang around unless they're in a den (and this year we only had one precious week of watching a denning family, sadly). So here a few snapshots to fill the void.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 2,127