MessierScott
super member
Reged: 06/18/07
Posts: 159
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At our clubs dark sky site, we have quite a few bats. They are fascinating to watch at twilight darting all over the sky catching bugs. I enjoy them so much that I built a bathouse and recently installed it down at the site. Hopefully we get a huge colony to move in and keep the area mosquitoe free!
We also have a lot of coyotes. They spend many nights howling back and forth. One late night a pack ran by close enough for me to hear their feet running through the tall grass. Never did see them, but it scared the heck out of me!
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Scott Kranz
20-inch f/4.3 Starmaster w/Zambuto mirror, Feathertouch focuser, GO TO & tracking
7-inch Starmaster
H-alpha Coronado PST
Denkmeier II binoviewers w/24mm Panoptics
16x80 binos
Astronomical Society of Kansas City
Astronomical League Messier, Meteor, Sunspotter, & Asteroid Observing Programs Coordinator
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tatarjj
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/20/04
Posts: 887
Loc: Auburn, AL
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There was one time when I thought I may have seen a drug deal going down. Needless to say, I haven't been to that particular observing site since.
Another time, a bobcat snuck up to me and started shrieking at me. Gave me quite a start at first, since the night was dead silent. That said, wildlife in Alabama isn't frightening unless it just jumps out and spooks you like that. I'm not afraid of wildlife- I'm afraid of the people I might encounter out at some of these very remote, dark sites.
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John T.
Auburn, AL
25" f/4.2 Dob
18" Obsession #701
4" Stellar Vue Achromat
8X56 Binos
Edited by tatarjj (05/12/08 03:46 PM)
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JShrum
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/14/07
Posts: 687
Loc: Bay City, MI, USA
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Yes...upon emerging from the dark into the house to use the bathroom I could see the light on inside that room from below the closed door...so I closed my eyes, opened the door and turned off the light (to preserve my night vision). The noise I encountered was horrible, and upon returning to viewing I feared for my safety the rest of the night! 
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Jeff Shrum
Bay City, MI
CPC 1100 XLT
WO 2" Crayford 2-speed Focuser
OPT 2" Dielectric Diagonal
Sunset Astronomical Society
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 13183
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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Jeff... you need an eye patch. Not as good if you are using a binoviewer, but for cyclops style observing, that eye patch is perfect for preserving dark adaption on those 'necessary' trips into the house. 
Plus, you can use it to cover the other eye while peering into the eyepiece, and keep from getting cramps in your squinting muscles. 
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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Mattias
member
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 92
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I shouldn't say scared, but I was caught off guard last summer when I used my flashlight to read a star chart. In the dim red light there was a big spider walking on my star chart!
Last winter I did get scared. I was all alone in the woods and had been out for a couple of hours when suddenly the broken light in the luggage trunk started to shine. It was quite a surprise and I decided it was time to go home.
Edited by Mattias (05/14/08 05:24 PM)
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MMICKELS
Aluminum Knight
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 24373
Loc: The Land of Shake and Bake
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Before I decided to build my scope I went with my wife and a couple of friends to a SP hosted by a Sacramento Astronomy group. It was a combined camping trip (for us) and star party. There were over a hundred scopes set up on a runway near Blue Lake, and the views were amazing, but when we returned to our campsite my wife noticed that something was amiss. The cooler was open and there was foodstuff laying around on the ground. After closer inspection we realized that a bear had visited our makeshift camp. My wife was fairly excited and wanted to see the bear, so she piled some pots and pans on top of one of the coolers in hopes that she would hear the bear if it returned. Well it did in the middle of the night, and she woke me to chase it away. I popped out not wearing a whole lot of clothing and chased the bear yelling at it. The bear ran off, but it had taken it's toll. One pound of butter, half gallon of OJ, two pounds of sausages, half gallon of milk, some cut up fruit, a pound of bacon, and the worst part (as far as my wife was concerned) was the bear only ate the cheese and sour cream off of the top of her five layer bean dip. We've still got the cooler with the tooth hole and the cover for the bean dip dish has a couple as well. The bear was small, but a golden blond in color.
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Mark
"The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever."
Herb Caen
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varmint
I invite more abuse
Reged: 02/10/07
Posts: 696
Loc: Pacifica, CA, USA
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(Mark, did you just get promoted from Green to Red and I missed the announcement???)
I have had only a couple of "startles" but no real scary experiences. The most startling was when I was deep into observing and my cat jumped on my back and dug his claws in as I jumped up ~50 ft (or so it felt...  ). He usually sat on my lap, I wasn't expecting him to jump on my back...
I did one night though scare the crud out of a neighbor walking his dog in the middle of the night. He happened to walk by my front yard (which is below my observing spot in the backyard) just as I slewed my scope from one side of the sky to the other. His night vision was shot from the streetlamps and the distance away from where I was. I almost waved and said "Hi" but he was looking a little scared so I just watched him look into the darkness and walk away briskly...
I think he's figured out by now though, I see him walk his dog a few times a week by our house and he's seen me setup my scope for cooldown at dusk, when it was light enough to see into the backyard.
Bear stories can get rather scary though, I wouldn't want to mess with one or try to scare one away when I go camping...'coons OK, but Bears, no way (and no matter how much the wife prods me...)
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Clear Skies,
Jim
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"Do, or do not. There is no try."-Jedi Master Yoda
Scopes: CGE925, Orion 80ED (w/ADM MDS&Rings)
EPs: Naglers: 31, 22, 17, 9, 3.5 Pan’s: 15
Misc: Telrad, 2x&4x Powermate, Sol/OIII/UHC/Var Pol. Filters
Imaging Gear: Pentax K100D, SPC900NC
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desertstars
Say What?
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 28624
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Quote:
Before I decided to build my scope I went with my wife and a couple of friends to a SP hosted by a Sacramento Astronomy group. It was a combined camping trip (for us) and star party. There were over a hundred scopes set up on a runway near Blue Lake, and the views were amazing, but when we returned to our campsite my wife noticed that something was amiss. The cooler was open and there was foodstuff laying around on the ground. After closer inspection we realized that a bear had visited our makeshift camp. My wife was fairly excited and wanted to see the bear, so she piled some pots and pans on top of one of the coolers in hopes that she would hear the bear if it returned. Well it did in the middle of the night, and she woke me to chase it away. I popped out not wearing a whole lot of clothing and chased the bear yelling at it. The bear ran off, but it had taken it's toll. One pound of butter, half gallon of OJ, two pounds of sausages, half gallon of milk, some cut up fruit, a pound of bacon, and the worst part (as far as my wife was concerned) was the bear only ate the cheese and sour cream off of the top of her five layer bean dip. We've still got the cooler with the tooth hole and the cover for the bean dip dish has a couple as well. The bear was small, but a golden blond in color.
The bear was next spotted rumaging through a car looking for Rolaids...
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
It is a plain road from the earth to the stars though mortal feet can not tread it. Garret P. Serviss 1888
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MMICKELS
Aluminum Knight
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 24373
Loc: The Land of Shake and Bake
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Jim, I did get a promotion. Bears do scare me a bit, but I've found that you can scare them right back. If I stop posting at some point you'll know my theory was incorrect!
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Mark
"The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever."
Herb Caen
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KI4YUN
super member
Reged: 04/21/08
Posts: 135
Loc: Satsuma, Florida, USA
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About 2 weeks ago I was up all night with my planisphere looking at the constellations and studying them, and I am doing this near my dock on this canal that goes into the St Johns river. So I hear this growling and some big splashing turns out I had 2 HUGE alligators out there and I tell you what I have never ran so fast in my life. I got out the spotlight and saw them there and gators during mating season can be very dangerous. To bad they aren't like bears and can be scared off.
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-Tristan
Orion Skyview Pro 8 GoTo
Nikon D200
"A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man will learn from another's mistakes." -Me
"When all else fails...." Ham Radio
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Tom Polakis
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/20/04
Posts: 503
Loc: Tempe, Arizona
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I was in the desert with one other guy observing. We kept hearing very distant gunfire, which was obviously getting a bit closer. As a guy who was not raised around guns, I did now know that you can make the other person aware of your location by firing your own gun. He hears the sound, and knows not to fire in your direction. That's exactly what the other person did without notifying me from a range of oh, 10 feet or so. Fortunately, the contents of my large intestine remained in place, but just barely.
Tom
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Tom Polakis
Tempe, AZ
Visual observing, DSLR photography, lunar & planetary imaging
http://www.pbase.com/polakis/
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PXR-5
super member
Reged: 03/28/08
Posts: 184
Loc: Monroe, NC
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One night I went into my shed to get a flash light, reached into drawer and felt around in the dark only to grab a SNAKE. It was quite small but I screamed like a 4 year old girl!!! 
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Jeff
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I hope you brought your credit card with you, and I hope you know how to
Drive on these long, lonely freeways and intersections we've got up
Here. We've got two cars in the garage, and
Drum-majorettes in white ankle socks and baton twirling on Sundays.
We've got stripes and the stars and Uncle Sam's on Mars....
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DanJ
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/01/04
Posts: 1014
Loc: Youngsville, NC
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One morning (~4am) while I was setting up my scope on the back porch and my neighbours horse walked right by me. Apparentely, it broke out of the barn and wandered into my yard. He ended up about two feet from me and I didn't even hear him until he was right up on me.
Talk about a quick wake up 
Cheers,
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Dan J.
XT8i
ETX 90
PST
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KI4YUN
super member
Reged: 04/21/08
Posts: 135
Loc: Satsuma, Florida, USA
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Ok the snake thing would give me a heart attack but only after I killed the thing.
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-Tristan
Orion Skyview Pro 8 GoTo
Nikon D200
"A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man will learn from another's mistakes." -Me
"When all else fails...." Ham Radio
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zee
member
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 85
Loc: Arizona (varies)
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I'm a woman, and I live in an RV alone, and I camp in very remote places, often with coyotes all around me. At first, I was nervous about people and coyotes both. But over time, I calmed down. If I die, I die, and I'll die happy, and I have to die of something, right? I do sometimes mumble to myself as I'm trying to star-hop, so I also came to realize I would probably scare off animals.
Since getting calm, I've realized that there is more wonder than the stars and have been able to pay more attention to them--I've often, now, been visited by owls, who sit within five meters of me and watch me observe (I think it's the red flashlight--must look like food to them)
Now I like the darkness and solitude and find it comforting.
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8" Orion classic dob
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Jeff Lee
sage
Reged: 09/17/06
Posts: 351
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We lots of critters where I live (creek by the house), and I don't mind the Coyotes, Deer, Raccoons, Owls, Bats and other stuff here.
But when I go to dark places, then Mr. Smith and Wesson, Colt, or Ruger keep me company. Cougars and Bears I don't mind, its the the two legged kind 50 miles from no where that concern me. View with a buddy or two, but its legal to be armed in forests in this state and I am:)
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Jeff Lee
C90,C5,C8, 10 x 50's
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Achernar
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3448
Loc: Alabama, USA
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When I was at the Okie-Tex starparty back in 2006, I saw huge brown and black tarantula like critters creeping around in the grass. Apparently, they are native to the area and they were larger than my hand. Fortunately for me I wasn't accosted by one at two in the morning because they looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. However, I have encountered threatening people more than once in the boondocks. One of them got a good look at the Colt .45 automatic pistol I had after he started to charge towards me in his truck. He wisely left after that, but I wasted no time in packing up and leaving just in case he came back with reinforcements. I never go to a remote area unarmed because of the meth cookers and marijuana growers out there who will kill people to keep their activities undetected.
Taras
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10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
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jimmoscheck
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/08/07
Posts: 909
Loc: Under the SE Michigan lightdom...
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Years ago before I knew of any safer observing spots I used to set up an 8" SCT at a nearby state game area on the shore of Lake Erie. Coyotes are abundant and can be heard most nights as are the teenagers out drinking/parking. Where I set up was next to an area in the marsh and was startled a couple of times by fish jumping at flies.
But the most eerie thing that happened to me there was on a beautiful clear June night and I noticed a dark "cloud" in the south over the lake and after a while it appeared to be moving towards me. After a bit I realized what it was and hastily tore down my rig. Just as I got the tripod in the car and jumped in the drivers seat the "cloud" descended around me and engulfed my car. I was a hatching of Mayflies and it felt like a scene out of a bad sci-fi movie, Attack of the Killer Bugs of Point Mouille. Well, maybe they are not killers, but they do make a mess and are hard to scrub off the car. Just another nice thing about star gazing near the great lakes.
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Jim Moscheck
14.5" f4.3 home built Kriege stlye clone
Stevens primary
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mttafire
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/02/06
Posts: 1114
Loc: midwest
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Not since my 9mm goes with me.
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God Bless America
Binocular astronomy
for me ONLY.
8x45 Garretts
15x70 Skymasters
2 eyes!
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KI4YUN
super member
Reged: 04/21/08
Posts: 135
Loc: Satsuma, Florida, USA
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Personally I wouldn't take a gun in the middle of the night to a remote location such as a pistol, because sometimes you take something to protect you from being paranoid and may end up accidentally shooting someone like another innocent sky watcher. I am not against guns just pistols  if your going to take a gun take something that will actually do the job.
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-Tristan
Orion Skyview Pro 8 GoTo
Nikon D200
"A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man will learn from another's mistakes." -Me
"When all else fails...." Ham Radio
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