CreekWalk: Raccoonville

The fresh snow made for a difficult and disappointing trip to the trail cams today, cameras I'd left undisturbed for 4 days. Turned out, the wildlife had barely disturbed the cameras either, though the below-zero temps may have had a lot to do with that.

First up, a final video from Amy's Crossing. I've seen squirrels stand like this many times but never a raccoon.

From the other camera, about 50 yards upstream, a few still photos. The streaks in the 2nd one are from falling snowflakes, and notice the temps in pics 3 and 4.

After swapping memory cards today, I climbed up a steep hill with one of the cameras to a shallow cave-like structure. Here's a look down from the cave, followed by a shot of the camera I left there. I'll go back in a few days to see if there are any visitors to share with you. If nothing else, you'll get to see what the camera sees from that spot.

CreekWalk: The Bird Log

Here's a look at the basic setup. I put a camera on a standing tree next to one that's partially-fallen, with the goal of seeing how many different birds would find the feed I spread on the log. I believe the answer is '8', though a couple of my bird IDs may need corrected.

First up, two easy ones, as both a Bluejay and Cardinal appear in this 8:40 am video.

#3, as far as I know, is a Carolina Wren

#4 is a Mourning Dove. This one surprised me as I'm used to them eating on the ground.

 #5 The Nuthatch. Must have had 10 videos of them.

#6 The Red-Bellied Woodpecker

#7 Unless someone corrects me, I'm going with Song Sparrow for this one.

#8 And finally, a Tufted Titmouse

Last Stop Before The Creek

You can see the creek in the still photo. The shore on this side of the water is Luggage Beach and that's where the February CreekWalk will begin.

In today's videos we learn how a squirrel finds food after a fresh snowfall, and see a couple of scenes interrupted by late-arriving visitors.

It's easy to find food when there's no snow on the ground, though an annoying itch can slow things down a bit.

When the snow falls, the nose knows what to do ;)

Up next, a small bird nearly gets squashed.

And finally, the camera is recording before the squirrel arrives.

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!

Lower Route, Section #28 (Videos)

Some short video clips of various bucks that visited in the last couple of days. Note: 1) I have not yet corrected days/times, 2) The color is not good, partially due to the heavy shading canopy but mostly because I have the camera pointed toward sunset, 3) You'll see examples of both very good racks and a very poor one, 4) You will get an extreme close-up, and finally, 5) You will see than when they're not competing for a doe, two bucks can get along fine.

After the videos, I have tacked on a still photo taken by the old Stealth cam. For now, I'll pulled that cam from the woods to see if there is anything I can do about the non-working digital display.

Sunday Special Edition: Thanks, Mom!

(subtitled: Why I Hate Blue Jays at the Feeders)

My wonderful Mother bought me a new Stealth trail cam for Christmas! Before I take it to the woods, I wanted to do a quick test of the video feature.

Watch the completely wasteful and annoying feeding habit of this Blue Jay.

Spooked Squirrels

Something scares them - but not enough to keep them from coming back to the corn and sunflower seeds.

Don't Give Up

Some of the guys hunting here this week are getting frustrated that they're seeing very few deer. Here's a video of one that stopped by last night. Don't give up guys!

Click here, Willie Nelson will encourage you.

Testing the Posting of Videos

I set up one of the trail cameras this morning, so hopefully I'll have new photos to share tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a short wild turkey videos from the past.

Video: He Came Back

Here's a much better look at yesterday's buck. I hate that he's limping, though. There were only two videos from the feeder last night -- the buck and one of a rabbit.

Video: Buck at Night

I do not recognize this buck. He seems to have a very wide rack. Today I moved the camera to a tree closer to the feeder. Hopefully I can share a better view of him in the next day or so.

It's taken three weeks...

...but the deer are starting to use the new feeder station.

The Heat is On!

After 3 years of trail camming, this is the first time I've caught what you'll see in the first 12 seconds of this video. (There's no need to watch the remaining 30 seconds - nothing happens.)

A Short Video

I'd completely forgotten that this particular Moultrie camera could shoot video, but it appears I changed the menu setting without realizing it. This one is just 10 seconds long, but it's the best thing I have to post today.

Early Rising Buck

This guy was up and at 'em just as the sun was coming up.

Doe and Owl!

Night vision on the Stealth Camera delivers. This is one of the best videos my cameras have caught in a LONG time! I can't tell if it's a Barred Owl or a Great Horned Owl...anyone?

Nice Buck to Start the New Season

I now have one camera set up and will gradually bring this blog back to life over the next few weeks. My first 'catch' of the new season is a pretty good one!

Mystery Solved

No surprise that a squirrel was one of those that feeds on the bird seed.



The second visitor did surprise me, however.

Another New Bird?

A close-up but quick look at a bird I cannot identify. I'm guessing it's one of the sparrows, but can't seem to find this exact bird in my field guide. Anyone?

(By the way, you can pause the video at any time by hitting the 'play' button again while the video is running, giving you a freeze-frame.)

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?