Your best critter in a tree story

JeffGu said:
They're a large family of flies that resemble bees... they're pollinators, and fly like a hummingbird or helicopter... hover in midair, stop, back up... fun to watch. Don't sting or bite but they look very much like some kind of bee and are often mistaken for bees.
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Thanks for this post; I had never heard of these things before. I'm not sure if I've ever even seen them; I suspect not.

Tim
 
Jeff said:
The "Foreign Objects in the canopy" thread got me wondering: What's everyone's best animal in a tree story? Not the usual "the raccoon hissed at me" daily stuff, but more like Big Rig's golden shower and StihlMadd's stepping over a koala.

Mine: We were working downtown, removing every tree in 1 city block so they could put up a new parking garage. Easy bucket work, just hack and slash. One small maple had a Eastern Gray Squirrel in it, and despite several suggestive attempts from the guy in the bucket, it didn't want to come down and instead just kept climbing higher. Bucket guy kept limbing up the tree, and of course the squirrel kept climbing higher until he reached the top. (Maybe 50'?) Squirrel finally decides it's hopeless and jumps. Now remember, we're downtown in a concrete jungle, so all of us on the ground said "Ooooh, that's gonna be a messy splat!" Squirrel did his best spread eagle and managed to 'glide' across the narrow street to a vacant lot. About 3' off the ground, he grabbed the tippy top of a volunteer piece of woody brush, which bent over and stopped in an upside down U shape, with the squirrel now only 3" off the ground. He looked at us, let go of the brush and stepped off as calmly as if he was getting off the elevator, and ran off.

Once we all picked our jaws up off the pavement, the question arose: Did he plan that? Had he done that before? Or was he just 1 lucky s.o.b.?
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We were pruning Malayans (coconut palm)and Phoenix canarieniss (Canary Island Date palm)
at a hotel in Coccoa beach. A lot of bucket work in the parking lot and front entrance,anywhere we could put the bucket truck. There where 7 Washingtonias around the pool that could not be accessed with a bucket so I climbed them,and it sucked! Wile up in the cluster f&$c of palm fronds I ran into a nest of rats and it scared the shit out of me and I burned hitch out of there! This was years ago when I was young and dumb! Now I'm just dumb!
 
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Frightening. I ran into a guy once who had to empty dumpsters for a living. He'd have to get out of the truck fairly often, I think to check to see if the dumpsters were full or not. He carried a pistol on his hip; it was probably a pellet gun that used compressed gas canisters or something. He said it happened fairly often that when he'd slid the cover open on the dumpster to check status, he'd surprise a rat, and that it would try to go for his throat. Thus the need for the pistol.

Nasty, nasty animals.

Tim
 
Joseph Hodgin said:
...I ran into a nest of rats...
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Roof rats! Named for their habit of living in thatched roof material... but in the wild palm fronds are a favorite for them. Bastards have spread all over the world, mostly when the Europeans were exploring the new world. First time I saw one was up in a palm tree on the Gulf coast, but I've since found them in attics even here in Nebraska. They have a longer body and are better climbers than the common Norway rat (the ones most folks call "sewer rats") but they're also very common. Don't see them very often, they're real secretive.

I don't particularly care for either of them. In fact, I pretty much consider squirrels to be tree rats. They'll all bite the shit out of you when you startle them. Disease carrying beasties, too. Another one that creeps me out are oppossum... stinky, nasty-tempered garbage eaters. Butt ugly, to boot. I had a girlfriend years ago that saw one in the driveway one night, and came in the house screaming that there was a big, 25-lb rat outside. I rolled laughing. Still can't believe she made it into her mid 20's without ever having seen one before.
 
JeffGu said:
Roof rats! Named for their habit of living in thatched roof material... but in the wild palm fronds are a favorite for them. Bastards have spread all over the world, mostly when the Europeans were exploring the new world. First time I saw one was up in a palm tree on the Gulf coast, but I've since found them in attics even here in Nebraska. They have a longer body and are better climbers than the common Norway rat (the ones most folks call "sewer rats") but they're also very common. Don't see them very often, they're real secretive.

I don't particularly care for either of them. In fact, I pretty much consider squirrels to be tree rats. They'll all bite the shit out of you when you startle them. Disease carrying beasties, too. Another one that creeps me out are oppossum... stinky, nasty-tempered garbage eaters. Butt ugly, to boot. I had a girlfriend years ago that saw one in the driveway one night, and came in the house screaming that there was a big, 25-lb rat outside. I rolled laughing. Still can't believe she made it into her mid 20's without ever having seen one before.
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Yes sir,Possums are narly! Some folks think they play dead. Oh hell no,poke my head up in the canopy and seen one arch its back with rased hair showing there nasty teeth. Again scaring the shit out of me. Definetly one you won't turn your back on!
 
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Years ago, green as grass: Doing hack and slash line clearance on spurs. Big live oak. I was only about 15 ft up bucking down 2' pieces when the spar went hollow. The cavity was about 8" in diameter......knew I was in for it.

Started making another cut and a squirrel ran out the top and down the other side of the tree.....giving me a false sense of security. I finished the cut and as I was tipping it over, another one jumped out of the bottom side of the log I just cut as it was just about 90 degrees from the spar, right on to my chest. I screamed like a little girl, and my raging masculinity scared it down the tree.

No squirrels where harmed and I am happy to say that after I inspected the goods, I did NOT crap my pants.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
Another crew came back to the shop one day and told about their scare: Climber on spikes, chunking down a spar. The groundies saw the spray of blood, freaked out and started screaming, the climber starts screaming (because the groundies are screaming) but can't figure out where he got himself. Once the shock wore off and everybody settled down, climber realized he cut thru a cavity and its inhabitants (raccoon, R.I.P.)
 
Kinda sad story here. Was taking down a declining laurel oak at a business and dropped the top at the edge of the road. Ground crew got it out of the way and I was finishing my 2nd or 3rd trunk cut when I noticed fur and blood on the bar. I think it's a natural reaction to wonder if it's your own blood, which I did for a second, but the log dropped, when I soon realized I had cut a poor raccoon in half. The fur color pattern was unmistakable. I was a lot more distraught over the whole thing compared to the ground crew, who just called me a murderer for a month. I couldn't believe the thing didn't jump ship, due to the prior saw vibrations. Plus the entrance cavity to its den was below where I was cutting, so it had a way out, and plenty of chances to bail. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to make myself feel better. The worse part was having to finish the job, and watching the other half launch out of the next log to hit the ground. :sick: I gave it a proper burial close by.
 
Jeff said:
Another crew came back to the shop one day and told about their scare: Climber on spikes, chunking down a spar. The groundies saw the spray of blood, freaked out and started screaming, the climber starts screaming (because the groundies are screaming) but can't figure out where he got himself. Once the shock wore off and everybody settled down, climber realized he cut thru a cavity and its inhabitants (raccoon, R.I.P.)
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I had that happen to me but it wasn't an animal... It was just your average water filled cavity, but the water was blood red. It just gushed out, I got soaked, and of course I played it up for all to see. I didn't let it go on too long because I didn't want the paramedics showing up. You also don't want to be the boy who cried wolf!

+ I don't have any good critter stories... a raccoon hasn't even hissed at me. :(
 
Jeff said:
Another crew came back to the shop one day and told about their scare: Climber on spikes, chunking down a spar. The groundies saw the spray of blood, freaked out and started screaming, the climber starts screaming (because the groundies are screaming) but can't figure out where he got himself. Once the shock wore off and everybody settled down, climber realized he cut thru a cavity and its inhabitants (raccoon, R.I.P.)
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And now I read this...duh. Same thing here Jeff, but the groundies didn't notice until they saw the first log hit...
 
TreeLogic said:
Kinda sad story here. Was taking down a declining laurel oak at a business and dropped the top at the edge of the road. Ground crew got it out of the way and I was finishing my 2nd or 3rd trunk cut when I noticed fur and blood on the bar. I think it's a natural reaction to wonder if it's your own blood, which I did for a second, but the log dropped, when I soon realized I had cut a poor raccoon in half. The fur color pattern was unmistakable. I was a lot more distraught over the whole thing compared to the ground crew, who just called me a murderer for a month. I couldn't believe the thing didn't jump ship, due to the prior saw vibrations. Plus the entrance cavity to its den was below where I was cutting, so it had a way out, and plenty of chances to bail. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to make myself feel better. The worse part was having to finish the job, and watching the other half launch out of the next log to hit the ground. :sick: I gave it a proper burial close by.
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Yeah, that has to be really tough to live through. Sincere condolences, as funny as that might sound. I know we love nature, and do not wish to cause harm if it can be avoided. I think it was not your fault, the poor guy just froze.

Tim
 
Thanks Tim. I've killed for food before, but I was mentally prepared for it. The racoon incident just came out of nowhere, and happened while I was doing something totally unrelated. So needless to say, there was a little shock involved.
 
Flying squirrels have to be the coolest critters I've dealt with. No worries bout them, they fly. They are common in big Red Oaks round here. They form cuddle piles in cavities. We always look in the cavities if possible for them. They are like ninjas. As the piece begins to fall they run out and take flight, they are unbelievable the distance they can attain horizontally. One flew right at me, over my head and turned to land on a near by tree.
 
TreeLogic said:
Kinda sad story here. Was taking down a declining laurel oak at a business and dropped the top at the edge of the road. Ground crew got it out of the way and I was finishing my 2nd or 3rd trunk cut when I noticed fur and blood on the bar. I think it's a natural reaction to wonder if it's your own blood, which I did for a second, but the log dropped, when I soon realized I had cut a poor raccoon in half. The fur color pattern was unmistakable. I was a lot more distraught over the whole thing compared to the ground crew, who just called me a murderer for a month. I couldn't believe the thing didn't jump ship, due to the prior saw vibrations. Plus the entrance cavity to its den was below where I was cutting, so it had a way out, and plenty of chances to bail. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to make myself feel better. The worse part was having to finish the job, and watching the other half launch out of the next log to hit the ground. :sick: I gave it a proper burial close by.
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Jeeze man...are you a vegan after the incident? Not your fault bro!
 
i found a crab about 25' up a red oak the other day. id started reading this thread and regretted no camera for proof. it was what i call a dock crab they are like fiddler crabs but tiny pincer and all brown. not sure what he was doing there but something must have enticed him up that high.
 
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