In The Woods; Over and Under

We're done with the loop and I'm now moving the cameras to the creek. With rain coming tomorrow, though, I decided to make a couple of pit stops along the way; sure don't want the cams to get washed away by melting snow water!

I found a couple of broken pine logs that overlapped just a bit, creating an opening under one of them. First up, a couple of pics to show you the basic spot, and then, a few videos to show you some of the activity under the logs.

In the first video, a male cardinal who thinks he's the boss.

Who's the tough guy now?

I had to watch the next one a couple of times. There's only about 18 inches of clearance under the log. The Air Force would be impressed!

Upper Route, Section #33

Just a few more moves and this camera will have covered the entire Path of Least Resistance. The creek is down a steep drop to the right of these photos. It's a difficult stretch of the path for the camera since there's no way to aim at the path without catching the late-afternoon sun.

Very little new today except for one woodpecker (the first pic). I think it's the first Downy woodpecker we've seen along the path. They are similar to Hairy woodpeckers but have much shorter beaks.

Pretty nice catch of a bird in flight

 

3 different bird species in one photo

Upper Route, Section #31

The path drops steeply here to its lowest point, so it was a bit tricky to set up the camera. I ended up putting it on the ground, held in place by a large rock.

It was a bit odd how the squirrels were there one day and the cardinals and doves the next. I suspect that as the squirrels eat the shelled corn, they crack it into smaller pieces - making the dropped leftovers easier for the birds to consume.

Upper Route, Section 30, part 2

I guess I didn't move this camera the last time I swapped memory cards, so here are more visitors to the same spot where the 'rainbow' appeared the other day. One new bird to add the list - the dove.

Upper Route, Section #30

I stayed out of the woods for the most part during deer gun season, and when I did go to the cameras, I found absolutely no deer photos. My friend Kess hunted 5 of the 7 days with no luck, though I have to give a tip-of-the-cap to Tim of Team Tim & Amy who walked back and popped one in less than an hour!

Here is a mix of pics to get the blog rolling again. The camera is now facing the downhill stretch to Luggage Beach. The first photo you'll see appears to show a rainbow that has formed in the valley. I have no idea what it really is, but I'm taking it as a sign of good news. You see, there IS a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow - Nigel and Natalie's new son Wilder! I'm happy to report that both mother and baby are doing just fine, and that I've never seen a prouder papa than Nigel ;)

Meanwhile, the other camera at the top of the hill seems to have spent the week with dead batteries. It caught this image shortly after I visited to swap memory cards, and didn't take another photo for the next week. You might remember, this is the camera with the digital display that no longer works, so I don't get the usual low-battery warning these days.

Upper Route, Section #27

A couple more camera moves and we'll be paralleling the creek again, but for now, this camera is still in the pines and the visitors are familiar ones, starting with a squirrel with a mouthful of peanut.

Upper End, Section #10, Part 2 of 2

We'll start with today's mystery bird. My guess is a Wood Thrush, but I am open to correction.

I like it when they look right at the camera.

Two of the smaller forest creatures - a chipmunk and a field mouse.

Here are two of the 30+ rabbit photos.

And finally,a couple for the bird watchers.