Coyote – Trego's Mountain Ear

Patches Pieces

August 31, 2021August 30, 2021 Sam

Eventually, all critters travel the driveway. Sometimes the game cam even catches them. A daytime appearance of the coyote on the driveway is unusual. He is traveling the driveway most nights. All sorts of deer use the pond and driveway. I am not sure why it always seems to surprise me that skunks climb stairs. The game cam caught one on the bridge step. For the last several days a blue heron has been hunting frogs in the pond. So far no bear sightings on the game cam. But as the apples ripen, I expect we will see them around.

Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

Patches Pieces: More Wildlife

June 22, 2021June 21, 2021 Sam

Community, Wildlife

On the Road and Around the Pond

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 Sam

Oh the Road & Around the Pond

This is an exciting time of year as we await the appearance of babies. We have does with rounded bellies. We have yet to see a fawn. The fall burning of tree stumps around the yard resulted in holes and burrows that were not always filled before winter set in. An opportunistic skunk moved into a burrow created by the removal of a tree root. Looking out the kitchen window we spotted 4 baby skunks. The babies are really cute but not particularly welcome.

He goslings are starting to color. The ducks paused to finally get their portraits. We have spotted only a handful of tadpoles. Those tadpoles are steadily growing. The turtles are on the move and on the road. We noticed a neighbor stopping to carefully remove a turtle on the road to the safety of a grassed area.

A pair of whopping cranes are occasionally stopping to hunt in the field. The coyote is hunting in the field and along the road. The feral cats are making regular treks along the road. -Patches

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Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

The not so Perfect Game Camera: Night Video

November 10, 2020November 9, 2020 Sam

The trick to capturing pictures, and video, is to know where things are going to be and to put the camera up before they arrive. In the short term, this is a matter of luck, in the long term it becomes a matter of experience.

In winter, this is easier. Tracks in the snow provide some clues about what has been by, and where might be a good place to position a camera. As the snow piles deeper, the local wildlife is no more inclined to wade through it than we are, and cameras can be placed along cleared areas (such as plowed driveways) with greater success.

On the whole, getting good pictures and video requires luck, good camera placement, and wading through a great many bad photos and deer selfies.

-Patches