Special Edition: More From Amy's Crossing

While my cameras have been snapping hundreds of photos of squirrels and rabbits, Tim and Amy's cam down by the creek, left unchecked for a couple of months, has caught some spectacular photos. Big thanks to Amy for sharing these!

First up, coyotes stop by day and night. Don't think my cameras have EVER caught one during the day.

Take a look at those vultures - wow!

So now it seems there are both stray cats AND dogs passing through the property.

And then there are the magnificent bucks, both at night...

...and during the day!

Sad to see the growth near this guy's eye.

And finally, a couple of turkeys stop by for a drink of water.

One other note: The camera caught a clear image of a trespasser walking the creek. Luckily, he didn't see the camera or he would have taken it. I had one taken a few years ago from the same creek, though I had left it in plain view. Amy's cam was not nearly as obvious ;)

Sunday Special Edition: Return to Amy's Crossing

Not only was I honored and pleased to attend Tim and Amy's recent wedding, but this week Amy shared some photos from their trail cam in the woods. You may recall that Amy found this active spot last year where deer (and other critters) cross the creek.

Today you'll see a coyote, a buck with an unusually-narrow rack, and another buck with a beautiful rack. Amy's already claimed dibs on that one!

Creekwalk Sunday Special Edition: Return to Amy's Crossing

Earlier this week Tim and Amy stopped by to check their trail cam for the first time in two months. Along with pictures of birds and raccoons and squirrels and dogs and me, they found these!

A 10-pointer!

Devil Deer

At first I thought the cam caught the coyote taking a leak, but in both of these pics and a 3rd blurry one that I didn't include, the same leg is off the ground. Makes me think that perhaps the leg is injured.

A BIG thank-you to Amy for sharing these with me and breathing some life into the blog!

Upper End, Section #14

I'm including this first photo so that you can see what this section looks like in the daytime. Around the bend there is one more rise and we will have reached the highest point on the path.

Remember how I explained that this camera is set to take 2 rapid-fire photos when it's triggered by motion?  Here are a couple of sets of pics that illustrate how much can change in just a second or two.

If you look closely at the first one, you might think that this deer has some extra back feet. The second photo, snapped just a second later, explains why.

You should also know that trail cams are awakened from an energy-conserving state by motion, but that there is a delay between the time a cam detects motion and the time it snaps the first photo. The length of that delay is one of the features that separates cheaper cameras from better ones. If, for example, a deer runs by a trail cam, it may be out of range by the time the camera awakens and snaps the photo. In the first photo below, the camera snapped a photo but there are no animals to be seen.

That's not always a bad thing, though. While you may miss what was running by, the camera snaps another pic a second later. Sometimes you get lucky and see why the missed critter was running!

Is this another coyote?

Lower End, Section #12

The lower end of the path has been disappointing recently with very few photos, and while I have only 2 to share today, one of them adds a new critter to the list! 

Hope there's no debate about this one. I'm saying coyote.

Coyote?

Not a great photo, but I don't know what else it might be.

A "First" that I'm Not Crazy About...

...because it appeared on a camera that is less than 50 yards from my front porch. This is my first daytime "catch" of a coyote. The video was shot in infra-red mode because the sun wasn't high enough in the sky yet to light the woods well. You will see it up close at first, and then again in the background about 10 seconds into the video.


Could this have been the reason the rabbit took off so quickly in Sunday's video, shot at the very same spot? Could this be why Luggage (my cat) has been reluctant to join me on my walks in the woods like she normally does?

My First Coyote on Video!

I've had only one photo of a coyote so far (see archives, 11/15/08), and now have my first one caught on video. This camera was set up less than 50' from where the 11/15 photo was snapped.

I've Heard Them Many Times...

...but this is the first coyote my trail cams have ever photographed.