While waiting with two avid birders(Mary and Martha) for the much reported and photographed White-faced Ibis to make an appearance at Coast Casey Forebay in Mountain View, California, we had a different visitor entirely. A Striped Skunk, apparently not realizing that 9:00 AM was not it's normal foraging hours, came up the opposite side of the road behind us and immediately had the three of us paying it very close attention. After turning away from us momentarily to show us his "Business End" (not for the faint of heart), it then proceeded to cross the road, ambled into the weeds and moved down the slope to the Coast Casey Forebay.

Note: Be extra careful around wild animals that approach humans. An animal need not be "foaming at the mouth" to have rabies. Other signs include difficulty walking, a general appearance of sickness or a change in the animal's normal behavior.