Month: November 2024

Predators

A Loggerhead Shrike, or Butcher Bird pictured in the first photo is a fierce predatory bird. They have a specialized beak for severing the spine of their prey. They are infamous for impaling their captured prey on thorns or the barbs on wire fences. They eat insects, small rodents and amphibians. Their relatively weak legs and inability to hold their prey without talons is the reason they impale their food. It makes it easier for them to hold and eat their catch.

Some recent updates with Bobcats and Mountain Lions from the Trail Cameras follow.

I remain grateful these Lions are waiting until dark to roam the woods.

The Bobcat continues to be a mostly daytime predator. But I did manage to get a photo of two Bobcats together at night.

It may be her kitten or it may be mating season. No way to tell.

Autumn, the Briefest Season

I know that I am not alone in loving Autumn. I feel it is by far the shortest of seasons. Maybe it is my imagination because I love it so much, but it always feels like it flies by. It seems like we finally have cooler weather, the leaves turn to bright gold and far too quickly the leaves are gone, and the short dark days of winter descend.

Early Autumn along the river

We don’t have brilliant red foliage, but I love all the subtle shades of gold that paint our autumn days. Most of the leaves are gone now but there is beauty in bare branches and the silence of winter.

Out of Hiding

We have had a few storms, and cold fronts move through, and the Mule Deer rut seems to be starting early this year. Usually, I don’t see any rutting behavior until Thanksgiving which is 3 weeks away. I like to wait a few weeks to check the cameras but with daylight savings happening on Sunday I decided to go out and change the timers on all the cameras for more accurate data. What a difference a few days made. All of the sudden the big boys have come out to play!

All summer long, on the trail cams and in person I’ve only seen a few smaller bucks. I wondered if all the big ones got taken by lions, hit by cars or fell to any number hazards that they are subject to. This week several new guys showed up all at once on the trail cameras checking out the does a little early this year.

So far this is the biggest buck I’ve seen you never know who might show up to compete for the does. I think it is going to be an interesting year with everything kicking off early. I was so pleased to get the in-person photo of the stately buck I used as the feature image for this post.