Truculent turkeys, cagey coyotes and a liberated lobster: The year in Boston wildlife

In 2018, turkeys and coyotes continued their colonization of the land formerly known as the city of Boston. But they were joined by frisky foxes, sassy seals and even a wild whale - and one lobster, liberated from a tank at a West Roxbury supermarket and returned to the sea. Here are some of the animal highlights of the year:

Who are you, who, who? 1/23/18 Meaghan Sinclair spotted this snowy owl in her Somerville neighborhood today. This has proven to be an "irruption" season...

Would be hard to find a boot that would fit a coot 1/26/18 Coots are interesting birds. While they're in the water, they look like small ducks. Then they stand on a rock and they look...

Screw the pizza rat; we've got pizza gulls! 2/15/18 @universalhub pic.twitter.com/0zy6M6aTHf— HOOD WILL HUNTING (@benmohr85) February 15, 2018 Hood Will Hunting...

Citizen complaint of the day: Crazed Baker Street turkey grows more violent by the day 2/15/18 Larry, the formerly peaceful turkey turned fire-spitting hellspawn by a misguided, if well meaning motorist, is upping his...

Larry the bird remembered in West Roxbury 2/17/18 Somebody created a small memorial at VFW Parkway and Baker Street for Larry the Turkey, killed yesterday when he refused to...

Owl hit by car in O'Neill Tunnel 2/22/18 Updated. A snowy owl that somehow got into the O'Neill Tunnel fared little better than Larry the Turkey: Mass....

Not everybody staying away from Morrissey Boulevard 3/3/18 Kelly Lewis reports at least one swan found a flooded Morrissey Boulevard to its liking today.

What are you looking at? 3/4/18 JP Shipley was boxed in this morning on Mass. Ave. in Harvard Square by a trio of turkey toughs, one of which turned to give...

Boston firefighters free bird 3/6/18 Late this afternoon, a hawk got trapped in some netting towards the top of the Cutler Majestic Theatre. Robert Schepis...

Little bun in the big city 3/9/18 Jorge APB spotted this rabbit on the Greenway today.

MIT visitor is remarkably coy 3/16/18 Marshall Hansberry came across this coyote, acting all casual and stuff, by Eastman Court, outside MIT's School of Science...

Always something good to eat in Chinatown 3/16/18 pic.twitter.com/NykFhUNVB3— Yousef (@yousefhals) March 16, 2018 Although this hawk, which Yousef watched outside...

He soars like an eagle - after staring down at a photographer at Jamaica Pond 3/20/18 Erik Pettaway reports he was walking his dogs around Jamaica Pond on Jan. 30, near where Perkins Street and Francis Parkman...

By now, of course, we all realize Mr. Carlson was right, right? 3/28/18 David Schachner looked out his office window, on the fifth floor of 359 Newbury St., shortly after 1 p.m. and came face to...

Winged terror: Another turkey crashes into a car hurtling down a highway 3/31/18 For the second day, a Massachusetts driver has come face to face with fowl death in the form of a turkey that smashed into a...

Roslindale resident buys the biggest lobster at local market and sets him free 4/6/18 Ever since Roche Bros. in West Roxbury re-opened its seafood department before Valentine's Day, one lobster went unsold: The...

Duck on a rock 4/10/18 At Jamaica Pond.

Prime parking spaces always go fast 4/22/18 Victoria spotted tons of turtles at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir this morning.

Coyotes getting pretty aggressive in Stony Brook forest 4/28/18 BJ Ray reports he was walking his two dogs in Stony Brook Reservation (where West Roxbury, Hyde Park and Roslindale come...

The ban on smoked meats reassured Tom the library was safe 5/1/18 Catacomb Society spotted one of the BPL's more feathered patrons at the North End branch library yesterday. Meanwhile,...

For second time in two weeks, Saugus power plant knocked offline by a raccoon 5/9/18 A Saugus facility that generates electricity by burning trash automatically stopped making power Monday night when a raccoon...

Never mind the ducklings, make way for giant turtle 5/9/18 Roving UHub photographer Elisha Meyer found herself stopped on Allandale Street on the Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury line around...

Peeping tom reported at Harvard 5/14/18 Ray the roving UHub photographer spotted this tom peeping into a dorm room at Harvard (the Phillips Brooks House) today.

Picnic baskets of Newton Centre safe once more: Bear tranked and transported 5/17/18 State Environmental Police report that last night they found (based on the photo, near 128) and captured the black bear that...

Picking up some takeout at Jamaica Pond 5/17/18 Late yesterday afternoon, this hawk sat in a tree on the Jamaica Pond shore along Parkman Drive. Oh, look, it has some dinner...

Newton city councilors have bats in their belfry 5/24/18 If you watch one city-council video this year, make it this one - and watch the woman in the lower right corner.

Run: Rabid riverbank raccoon reported 5/31/18 Allison Mahler reports from Watertown: There is rabid raccoon on the outbound Charles river path near the Perkins School...

Takes a lot of doe to go to Northeastern 6/2/18 We had an unusual guest on campus this morning. Thank you to @northeasternpd for their help! As always, when encountering...

River snake in West Roxbury 6/2/18 You never know what'll slither into the Charles River when you're just standing there, where Sawmill Brook enters the river...

He had just one egret 6/10/18 Roving UHub photographer Noah Sachs was ambling along Long Wharf today when he spotted two unusual white items in the water:...

Toasted bagel, hold the shmear 6/15/18 Is that a Rosenfeld's bagel this squirrel is enjoying? Welcome to Dot found himself in Newton this lunchtime, watching a...

Hummingbird on the verge of a meal 6/16/18 B. MacLean photographically captured a hummingbird at a feeder in the front yard of his Milton home yesterday. Copyright...

Bird food at Castle Island 6/25/18 Eileen Murphy reports the grackles at Castle Island have learned where to go when they're hungry: The grackles around...

You casually turn to look out your window and OH MY GOD! 6/28/18 Welcome to Dot reports from Bodega Bay, um, Dorchester, that somebody was checking out his house yesterday. Earlier:...

Everybody paused and stared at the stranger who'd just interrupted their deliberations 6/29/18 Looks like Hyde Park might need some more "Deer Crossing" signs. Kristin Shoemaker, who lives near the George Wright Golf...

Feeling blue 7/10/18 A flock of blue damselflies were hanging out on the shore of Jamaica Pond, on the Parkman Drive side, near the Arborway.

If only the man had looked to his left 7/11/18 Mary Ellen watched a deer watching a man who had no clue he had two sets of eyes on him Tuesday morning at Millennium Park...

Heron run at Jamaica Pond 7/12/18 Over the past few days, three herons have taken up residence at Jamaica Pond, along with the ducks and the geese. They'll...

Turkeys returning to their secret lair 7/18/18 Ben Walsh spotted a couple of turkeys getting back to their hideout off Forbes Street in Jamaica Plain this morning. Has...

Riding the T takes more doe than it used to 7/21/18 MassDOT's Jacquelyn Goddard fawned over this deer crossing the Riverside Line at Chestnut Hill this morning (it didn't try to...

Getting her ducks in a row 7/22/18 A mama wood duck watched over her brood as they turned in for the night on a log at the north end of Jamaica Pond late this...

Egrets, she's seen a few 7/30/18 Eileen Murphy reports she saw three dozen egrets at low tide at Finnegan Park in Dorchester's Port Norfolk yesterday.

A whale of a time in Boston Harbor 8/26/18 LauMalo83 watched a whale off Spectacle Island today. #Humpback in #BostonHarbor @universalhub @maureencaught #...

Reversi-goose goes goth 8/28/18 Scott Tetreault spotted this unusual goose at Mount Hope Cemetery in Roslindale yesterday.

Whale breaches in Boston Harbor in front of plant that made it possible 8/28/18 A juvenile humpback whale was seen breaching off of Spectacle Island earlier today a beautiful and rare sight to see,...

A Meleagriean show of force in Jamaica Plain 9/2/18 Sue O'Connell reports: Why is traffic allowed on Centre St in Jamaica Plain during the Turkey Pride Parade?

Braintree becoming quite the snakebit town 9/15/18 Braintree Police report a man coming out of one of the hotels on Wood Road - between the Blue Hills Reservation and the South...

Watching her like a hawk in the Back Bay 9/19/18 Maddie Yardley spotted this fine feathered specimen today on Cumberland Street behind the Midtown Hotel.

Citizen complaint of the day: Whack-a-raccoon in Mattapan 9/22/18 A concerned citizen asks the city to do something about a roofy raccoon on Temple Street in Mattapan.

Steve the Squirrel seems to have gotten tired of all the tourists in the Public Garden 10/1/18 Maureen O'Hara reports that Steve the Blond Squirrel seems to have said nuts to the Public Garden and moved on down to the...

Citizen complaint of the day: Damn dirty seagulls 10/4/18 A disgusted citizen files a 311 complaint about the condition of the tops of the newly rebuilt seasoning shakers along the...

Urban wildlife: South End doorcam captures hawk grabbing a meal 10/13/18 Erik Hjortsho has posted video from his doorcam showing a hawk swooping in and grabbing the pigeon that had been resting...

Hmph! Tom was all set to scratch out a lease until he saw the development's logo 10/19/18 B2 Beighlie watched the scene unfold outside the management office at Stony Brook Common in Roslindale today.

Must've gotten lost on the way to the woods - or Egypt 10/22/18 The Downtown Boston BID spotted this bird downtown today and wondered what it was. We're hardly bird experts up here at...

Citizen complaint of the day: Aggro Ashmont avian harasses students, commuters 10/26/18 A fed-up citizen managed to get to a safe space to file a 311 complaint about a turkey that has mistaken Ashmont Street in...

Safe for her to get some coffee again 11/24/18 Nicholas Agri caught that most New England of scenes this morning: A turkey heading for the entrance of a Dunkin' Donuts, in...

Deer hit by car on Washington Street in West Roxbury 12/1/18 Kim Kendricken reports that around 8 p.m., she drove past an unusual scene on Washington Street inbound, just before West...

Dead deer turns up not far from where deer, car collided in West Roxbury yesterday 12/2/18 According to a 311 report filed around 10 a.m., there's a dead deer at the intersection of Blue Ledge Drive and Enneking...

Quick brown fox looks for lazy dog to jump over in Brighton 12/8/18 Roving UHub photographer Karen Bidwell spotted this fox (not in socks) on Oakland Street near Brighton Center late this...

Citizen complaint of the day: Cold turkey 12/9/18 A concerned citizen expresses concern in a 311 report about the poor Ashmont turkey in Dorchester: Turkey needs assistance...

What does the fox eat? 12/9/18 Roving UHub photographer Gad Liwerant stopped to watch a fox enjoy a little squirrel snack on Chestnut Hill Road in Newton,...

Wile E. finally gave up on the bus ever getting there 12/14/18 Jason Bylsma spotted this coyote sauntering down Centre Street at Montclair Avenue on the West Roxbury/Roslindale line...

Citizen complaint of the day: Something stinks in South Boston 12/16/18 An aggrieved citizen files a 311 complaint about the skunks waddling rampant in South Boston: Wide spread skunks. There...

Fort Point Channel gets approval of seal 12/19/18 Lis the roving UHub photographer spotted this seal in Fort Point Channel in front of the Children's Museum near Seaport...

Rozzie santamanders 12/23/18 Paul Friedmann of Roslindale found a pair of salamanders yesterday under a planter he was moving.

It got a bit aukward at Castle Island today 12/23/18 Mary Ellen spotted a razorbill - a member of the auk family - at Castle Island today.