The place I work in Riverside, California is a business
park/light industrial area that’s only a couple of blocks from some hills and
some undeveloped land. I like to walk along the dirt utility roads there on my
lunch breaks. I take my MP3 player and listen to podcasts like Escape Pod and Welcome to Night Vale. Despite all the human activity and a fair
amount of truck and train traffic in the area, I see wildlife on a pretty
regular basis, especially in the winter and spring when it’s not insanely hot
out.
Last winter, a herd of wild burros moved into the area for a
few weeks, attacted by the green grass that came with the rain.
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| They want to know two things about you: 1. Are you a threat? 2. If not, did you bring food? |
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| U haz snax? |
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| Stop wastin' my time |
Rabbits and ground squirrels are plentiful any time of year. I saw this cute baby bunny a couple years ago.
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| Aww |
There are also birds, flowers and reptiles.
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| Mourning dove |
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| I think this is a finch |
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| Zoom lens says... Not a rattlesnake! |
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| I am the Lizard King! I can do anything! |
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| You can find pretty things in a ditch sometimes |
The coolest animal by far was the bobcat that hung around for a week or two last month. I'd seen it or one of its relatives the year before, but I got some good pictures this year.
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| The first time I saw him this year, he climbed out of a drainage pipe and strode past me like it was no big thing. |
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| The next day, he was chilling in the shade of a warehouse |
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| The last day I saw him, he was dozing in the bushes next to the sidewalk. I was pretty surprised to see him that close and was very glad not to be a ground squirrel. |
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| He was entirely unconcerned by my presence... |
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| ...and let me take several pictures... |
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| ...before deciding it was time to go. |
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| He had some trouble remembering where he parked... |
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| ...and ended up walking home. |
