Swamp and the Pooches

My girls triggered the camera when they bounded into view.

And as a consequence the camera filmed me dropping-off another camera to replace this one on the return loop of running our trail camera trap line.

More Deer

The deer are clumping-up now that the conditions have been so harsh for them.  A group of five deer in this picture.

And some short video footage as well.

A Mystery Visitor

This is from yesterday.

I have no firm identification for what this is that was captured by one of my trail cameras.

It materialized at 10:37 AM and hung in front of the camera in various positions for five minutes.  It disappeared at 10:41 AM not to return.

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It's too fuzzy and bristly to be a deer leg.  Besides, there were no tracks in the snow around the base of the tree when I fetched the SD card a couple of hours later the same day.

My guess is it was some critter's fuzzy tail.

Any ideas?

Two Deer in Motion

Continuing with the video feature on the trail camera here is a still shot of a couple of whitetails...

Followed by a few seconds of footage...

Deer In Motion

Experimenting with the video mode on one of the trail cameras.  Started with a 15 second snapshot just to see how it works.

Well - it works.  It's not the highest quality in the world but it works.  I'll continue to experiment.

This deer...

In video...

Mushing

There has got to be a way to harness (literally) all of that energy that is bottled-up inside a Labrador retriever.  Instead of hoofing it on snowshoes I could ride a sled pulled by my dogs.

Oh well.

Some footage from one of our hikes last weekend...

Checking the Cameras

Taken from last week.

We've made the turn and are about a quarter mile from the house on roughly a 1.25 mile route.

Me and the girls out for a walk and swapping-out the SD cards on the trail cameras. 

Caution

These deer are both curious and cautious.

Intrigued by the camera they're inquisitive enough to check it out.  But in the end they don't trust it and they bolt...

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Same Deer?

Been patterning this buck for months with the cameras.

Think I ever saw him while hunting?  Not on your life.  He's a real survivor.  And me and the dogs are going to look for his antlers after they drop as we've been keeping track of his movement patterns.

Two pictures of the same deer...

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Boy's Night Out

All of the deer are still sporting all of their headgear.  And the Labs haven't found any sheds just yet.  Deer holding on to their antlers this far into the winter isn't unusual but it is a sign that they're not stressed.  Which is a relief considering the extended cold temperatures and snow accumulation.  Most of the photos lately have been daylight shots.  Here's a couple after dark.

Check out this bad boy...

And this little buck.  He's either grown only one horn at his young age or he's the first to have shed one...

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Talking Turkey

Turkey season isn't very far-off.  And there has been a dearth of birds on the cameras.

Nothing.  Nada.  Ziltch!

Where did they all go?

One solo hen...

click on this lonely hen to enlarge

Survivors

The hunting season for gun and bow is long past.

And there are some dandy bucks still wandering about The Platz.

Getting some nice daylight photos lately.  The survivors.

Like this monster...

And this buck...

This spike has promise.  Look at the size on him...

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Mama and the Twins

Showing a modicum of caution as she approaches the camera - then they're off!

Mama and the twins...

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Plenty Deer

Judging from the pictures taken on the trail cameras there are still plenty of deer on the landscape.  One of the cameras had 600 photos stored on its little electronic brain.

And the batteries were dead.

From this morning these are fresh off the laptop...

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Alarm!

Very cool sequence of shots taken on bust mode with the camera in the hot location.  Some deer skedaddling out of harm's way.

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Want to know what caused them to scatter?

Two minutes later the black Lab showed-up on the camera.  Those deer vamoosed long before the dogs and I showed-up.

Smart deer.  Definitely not habituated to humans. 

The Girls

More pics of the girls romping in the snow.  Labs and snow.  Labs and Winter.  Can't get enough of it.

 

 

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The first photo was taken on the outward bound leg of our hike.  The second was taken after we had made the turn and were headed back home.  I can't help but point out the obvious.

They're not moving quite as fast on the return leg of the hike...

Headgear

This big buck has appeared any number of times on my cameras.  Here's an encore appearance.

click on image to enlarge

A couple of weeks have passed since this photo was taken.  I wonder if he's cast-off his antlers by now?

Headgear

Funny looking fella here.  This is what is called a spike buck.  Two antlers that look like railway spikes.

click on image to enlarge

When he sheds one of them then he will be magically transformed into the ever-popular unicorn...

Headgear

It won't be long before the girls and I can start looking for shed antlers.

However, so far the boys are still sporting a full set of antlers.  No half-racks appearing on the cameras.  Which is a sign of a healthy deer.

Like this fork horned fella...

click on image to enlarge

Hot Location

Not hot temperature-wise.  But hot in terms of the amount of wildlife traffic.

Remember that trail camera location that I mentioned was so productive?  Deer, turkey, coyote, rabbit, mink and raccoon captured by its electronic eye?

It's still producing.

Nice sequence of photos of does sneaking through followed by their fawns...

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Staying Alive

Staying alive this winter is certainly a challenge.

The persistent colder than normal temperatures and deep snow make it harder on the wildlife to get by.

Especially when you have to move about to browse your next meal.  Moving expends energy, which require even more fuel in the form of browse to eat.  It can be a vicious cycle.

This doe and her two fawns have a serious challenge ahead of them. 

click on image to enlarge

More for the ones born last spring...

The Girls

As I have noted countless times before the girls cannot get enough of winter.  The one thing that Labrador retrievers enjoy more than water is snow.

They cannot get enough of romping in the snow.

Here's a nice sequence of shots taken burst mode on a trail camera.

click on images to enlarge

One of these days I have to remember to switch-on the video mode...