Game Camera

The cold weather knocked out the game camera over the winter but with warmer (ha!) Spring temps, we put it back out. And boy did we get some pictures!

A smallish fisher

A significantly bigger fisher

Coyote!

Regal, isn't he?

And cautious - lots of sniffing around

Not creepy at all...

Two days later, back again!

Incredibly healthy. Great size on him too.

Deer (or dinner?)

Fisher is back

And so is the coyote. Is he looking at the camera?

I think he is.

Wait. Is he lifting his leg???

He was! And still staring right at the camera.

No respect at all.

Turkey bottom left. 

Excellent shot of our local predators and their potential food sources. Fortunately this was on the very far edge of the property so we're hopeful they won't come too close to the house. In the meantime the chickens are safely pastured and the dog is kept close by. Nothing like living in the country!

Squirrels

We had a small squash that didn't survive storage so we put it out in front of the game camera. Then it snowed and got covered up by around 8 inches of snow. Eventually it got found.

A common gray squirrel and an Adirondack red squirrel dug it up and the battle commenced. 

If you look very closely you'll see that the little red squirrel actually managed to get a bite of squash. Hooray for the little guy!

Fox

So, this is no big deal, right? I mean, we've seen this fox before. But this time is special. 

Good picture of him, isn't it?

But wait. What's that to the right?

Is it?

It is! A little female.

Odds are good they've got a den with kits in it somewhere nearby. There has been a strong scent on the wind lately but it's not directional enough to tell just where the den could be. We'll be leaving the camera right where it is for a while though and maybe we'll get to see them bring the family out for hunting lessons. 

Oh, and I'm definitely reinforcing the fence before I bring the new chickens home. 

Another installment of What the Game Camera Caught!

Jeez this coyote is big. A picture of Cooper in this same spot shows that she could walk under him. Plus he looks wonderfully healthy for a winter that's had deep snow. We haven't seen any evidence of kills but he's sure eating something!

Our resident coyote

We do move the camera around occasionally to see if we can capture critters in other parts of the property. Unfortunately it doesn't work too often - most of our game has pretty set patterns.

Cooper (just because she's cute)

And a non-game camera photo showing how much snow was sliding off the chicken coop. It was definitely a good year to take a winter break from chicken keeping.

So darn much snow

What the game camera caught

Our resident fox. Probably the same one that ate four of my chickens. Argh.

Still he's beautiful isn't he?

What the game camera caught

12:30 in the afternoon on a gorgeously clear and cold day (January 15th; 15F). 

Isn't he beautiful?

We cropped in and centered just a bit and it's a great picture of him. Unfortunately it was also the only picture of him despite the short reshoot setting on the camera. He must have heard the camera shutter and scooted off before another shot could be made. We've had a heck of a time capturing the coyotes on camera as they're so wary and quick to take off.