Catalog of Wildlife

While backpacking, we kept a running catalog of the impressive array of wildlife we spotted, not including numerous bees, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and other insects or arachnids. The List:

turkey
deer -- about a dozen does and 2 young bucks
various butterflies, some quite large
toads, 2 small rust-colored and one larger one
Scarlet Tanager
millipedes
bird of prey (perhaps a Peregrin Falcon?) with snake in beak
bat
one very fuzzy caterpillar, as well as the more frequently spotted tree-dwellers
two mice
ground squirrel
black bear
marmot (alive, for a change. . .not roadkill

The black bear (!) actually walked right through our secluded, backcountry campsite--about 20 yards from where we were seated near our tent. We would have loved to get a picture, but it was (thankfully) ambling THROUGH and not TOWARD our immediate surroundings, and we didn't think it wise to chase it with a camera. It was really neat, but we're glad he kept on walking.

Here are some that we did get pictures of:

one young buck


the larger toad


the Scarlet Tanager--it's hard to see, I know, but look for the splash of red in the center. He stayed in the trees above us for 5 or 10 minutes during one of our (frequent) breaks. He was beautiful and amazing.


my really fuzzy--and slightly blurry--caterpillar