Winter Survival

Let there be know doubt that this winter is turning out to be a tough one.  Lots of snow, extended periods of very cold weather.  Below zero weather.

The resident deer herd seems to be weathering what Ma Nature is throwing at them. At least so far.  Like these does and last spring's fawns.

It remains to be seen how the fawns fare as the winter months progress.

Making the Rounds

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Still checking on the cameras almost weekly.  It's like running a trap line. 

Cold day when this photo was taken.  Also, had to mush the trails wearing snowshoes. 

Plenty of the white stuff on the ground...

Photoshop Phun

Fun photo effect...

Snow Squalls on the Peninsula

The other day brought an interesting weather phenomenon.

Snow squalls.

A perfectly clear winter day, bright sun, blue sky - interrupted by snow squalls that materialized out of nowhere.

Very cool...

About the pheasant tracks and pheasant scat that has been materializing on my porch.

The culprit revealed himself the other morning.

He's been dining upon the dregs of Russian kale in the kitchen garden and then climbing up on the porch to seek a sunny spot out of the wind.

Smart bird.

When the Labs saw this and cut loose with their barking - Mr. Ringneck skedaddled...

Winter Hike

Snowshoeing today.

It was flipp'n cold with deep snow.

Dogs are snoozing...

Habitat

I hadn't ever considered my yard to be wildlife habitat - much less pheasant habitat.

But I have noticed over the years that the local pheasants sure like hanging-around in the tangle of ancient lilacs that have grown-up like a Norman hedgerow around the former house foundation.

With all the cold weather lately I noticed fresh pheasant tracks leading to a clump of cedars in a corner of the yard.

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Sure enough - thermal cover for the birds to hunker down and hide from the wind and snow.

Come to think of it - that old, rubble stone foundation where the homestead stood more than a hundred years ago makes for a perfect dwelling place now that it's been backfilled.

A winter hibernaculum for the snakes! 

Gentlemen's Club

Snapshots of a nice handful of bucks - some of trophy quality - taken over a short period of days...

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Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus - the Eastern cottontail.  

Not quite as large as a Snowshoe hare this critter sports a brown coat in the winter.  Snowshoe hares are white in the winter. 

This prolific mammal is capable of producing multiple offspring as many as five times throughout the year making it an important part of the food chain among predators.

Female cottontails are called does.  Male cottontails are called bucks. 

Schnee Hirsch

Snow deer.

Whitetail deer sport a uniquely adapted winter coat.  The insulating qualities are so efficient that snow on the deer doesn't even melt.

Based upon the time and location of the deer in this picture...

They are likely the very same deer in these pictures...

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Scouting trails in the winter snow and patterning the movement of elements of the local herd.

 

Hoofing It.

20 degrees and sunny last Saturday.  Absolutely bracing. 

Took the girls out for a romp in the fresh snow to swap-out the SD cards on the trail cameras. 

In some places there was a foot of snow on the level. 

And the plow guy is constructing a couple of artificial Matterhorn-like mountains of snow with every visit.

100 Degrees of Separation

Six Degrees of Separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world.

I've never tested that hypothesis but I know that I have 100 degrees of separation just outside the door.

The difference between the water temperature in the hot tub and the outside air...

Can It Be?

Some people will tell you that if you see one deer you've seen them all.  Sure, antlered deer can be distinguished from one-another but whitetail deer basically all look alike.

I disagree with what those people say.  Having followed deer with my silent sentry network of trail cameras I can tell you that not only can you distinguish one buck from another by their antlers but many deer have modified markings on their coat and even their faces can be slightly different.  You can tell them apart.  

Sometimes their attitude sets them apart.  I think I got the same buck fawn on both of these pictures - 6 months apart.

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Road Kill

Went to the dump yesterday with a couple of trash cans filled with recyclables, post office and grocery.  Saturday errands.  There was a truck on the lot at Marchant's with a smashed headlight lens and dented grill and hood.  I thought to myself - Deer strike.  I've seen that before.

On the way home I spied this.

A lone whitetail deer foot sticking out of the snow in the ditch just a ways past the house.

Winter Wildlife

Overnight low of -3.5 degrees.  It's currently 8 degrees.  Lots of snow on the ground.

Saw a group of deer move through this morning and a flock of bachelor turkeys.

Pheasant tracks on the porch.

Old Man Winter isn't keeping some of the local critters holed-up.

Equal Time for the Ladies

Some snapshots of the ladies.

Oddly-enough (or maybe not so) these are taken during daylight hours...

Click on images to enlarge

Predator Hunting

Trying something new this year.  Predator hunting.  I've got an app on my smart phone that does a whole selection of calls along with a pocket-size external speaker and Power Bank as a battery back-up.

Technology for the firearm is still pretty basic - bolt-action Ruger .270.

Gentleman's Club

From last week a series of pictures of bucks taken by the camera at the new location.

Very active game trail...

Click on images to enlarge

Leap of Faith

Moved a trail camera to a new location a week ago.  All you have to do is locate a heavily trampled trail in the snow and set-up.  So far this has been an exceedingly productive move.  Plenty of deer - including five different bucks.  All in one week.

Anyway, something sure as heck startled this whitetail.  It's a nice series of photos taken with the camera's burst mode...

 

Perfect landing!

The Big Walter

My pals Sid and Lawyer spent the weekend ice drinking on the bay.  They've got themselves real transportation too.  A $700 snowmobile.  Yabba dabba doo.

Here's Sid with a nice-size walleye taken through the ice on Sunday morning...

Frozen!

The past week has brought some intemperate weather.  Brutal cold temperatures.  I never cease to be amazed at how wildlife cope with the extremes of heat and cold.  I think these might be some of the coldest deer around these parts...

Girlfriend

Girlfriend is getting along splendidly following here knee replacement last summer.

There is nothing more fun than winter if you are a Labrador retriever.  Snow to run through.  Snow to jump through.  Snow to eat.  And no risk of overheating.

One of the trail cameras caught some nice action imagery of the black Lab cavorting to her heart's delight...

Deer Herd

For any of you that read my ramblings here at the platz you know that I believe the deer herd has grown unreasonably large around here.  Don't get me wrong - I like seeing deer as much as anybody else does but there comes a point were the health of the herd can suffer when deer numbers grow beyond the carrying capacity of the land that they call home.

As evidence of this we killed six deer on our property this year.  Check out this picture.

If you look carefully there are seven deer in that photo.

Yikes!

Food Plots

The food plots are still doing their thing.

Even though they're covered in eight or more inches of snow pack the critters (deer mostly) have been scratching and pawing the snow away to reach the succulent green stuff that hides beneath the snow.

Even the dogs will dig around in the plots.  Mostly because there's some other critter's scat in there to find...

Frozen Treat

The girls and I were out the other day making our trail camera circuit.  Me on snowshoes and them running about.

Girlfriend found an extra special prize.  And I had a heckuva time getting her to give it up.  A frozen head from a rabbit!

Some other critter had killed and eaten the rabbit leaving only the head.  I stuck the head in the crotch of branches in a tree along the trail.  Sort of like a voodoo talisman to send a message to whoever is wandering the woods.

Night Vision

The snow is still deep and the deer are still moving about. 

The last batch of trail camera pictures were split roughly 70/30 between night and daylight observations.

Here are some night shots...

 

Alarm!

Another nice sequence of pictures taken in burst mode showing the graceful moves of a deer fleeing from something...