July 2025 – Northern Desert Photography

Mountain Lions

After about 5 years of monitoring the area with my Trail Cameras, I finally got daytime photos of the Mountain Lions. It was a jackpot of photos so forgive me for sharing probably too many of them. It looks like Mama Lion has said farewell to last year’s mostly grown kittens. She now has 3 healthy half-grown kittens following her around. They actually lay down in front of one of the cameras and relaxed, played around and groomed themselves.

I was thrilled to see all the excellent daytime photos but was also alarmed to look at some of the times stamped. They are pretty much active in the area at some of the very times I am out grabbing the memory cards out of the cameras. It has been very hot and not so many people are venturing out there during the day which explains the Lions unusual daytime activity.

I hope the fawns can avoid the cats, but I am sure with three mouths to feed some will undoubtedly fall prey to the Lion family. One of the photos shows a kitten with a deer leg in its mouth. By the size it looks like a mature deer, but it is inevitable that the Lions will take a toll on the fawns.

Great Horned Owls

This spring I encountered Great Horned Owls both in person and on my trail cameras. An owl family set up housekeeping near my camera route. On a particularly windy day the mama owl and baby roosted low enough in the trees to avoid the gusts and I was able to get some photos though the lighting was bad.

New Generation

Lots of fawns showing up on the trail cameras this summer. It looks like the first week of June is when most of them are born. I am seeing at least one set of twins which is not unusual for Mule Deer. I caught some interaction between bucks and fawns which is interesting. More bucks are hanging out with does through the summer than I have seen in the past. They usually break away into bachelor groups until the fall. Animal behavior is always interesting.

Desert Pelicans

Living in the desert, a long way from the ocean, it is always a bit of a shock but a pleasant surprise to see American White Pelicans return in the Spring and Summer. I run into them on the river and lakes in the area. There is a large breeding colony on Anaho Island in Pyramid Lake.

More Deer this Year

I haven’t posted trail cam photos for a while as I have been busy with my new camera equipment. I have been checking them regularly and am excited to see more bucks showing up than at any other time this early in the season. I usually only have a few small bucks appear during the summer and the big ones seem to hide until autumn romance time. I am also seeing lots of fawns and at least one set of twins. Here are a few of the most recent trail cam pics of bucks. Some look like they may have some decent antlers going into the fall.