Wild life around my home

Sometimes you wonder why people want to go places far away to experience something -- even before, or instead of - having explored their own neighborhood first.

And it is even more puzzling:

• why you don't see a single polar bear, or a herd of caribou after driving 1500 miles in Alaska or Norway (although we did see a pod of killer whales in Alaska), or
• why see only a handful of kangaroos in a local park and not a troop of them in wilderness in Australia, or
• not a single Tasmanian Devil in Tasmania, or
• not hundreds of thousands of pink flamingos in Celestun 
• no turtles in Leatherback or Tortuguero National Parks, or Quetzals in Quetzales National Park, or whales in Drake Bay when in Costa Rica, (although we did see lot of hummingbirds, pelicans, ducks and other birds, and monkeys.)
• the list goes on...

Just around our own house, we have:

• families of quail making a home in juniper bushes in our front yard - and training their babies how to navigate streets and jump over fences,
• black birds chirping every morning and evening on birch trees,
• occasional deer wandering during dry season, or a raccoon, or opossum,
• blue jays screeching in the back yard,
• hummingbirds hovering around, and
• squirrels first hiding and then searching for nuts in the lawn, having babies and protect them from wandering cats.  Not to mention cats and dogs, of course.

In addition, on my daily hikes, I have seen:

• hawks, crows, pigeons, sparrows and alike
• grey rabbits
• turkeys
• deer
• occasional rattle snake and
• coyote

Is it too much to expect to see a LOT more wildlife during my travels especially to places known for wildlife?   Sometimes you wonder...