Trail Camera Bonus

While we were vacationing in Eastern Europe and interesting development was occurring here.  Something that was unexpected.  One of the trail cameras was patiently documenting the kill/discovery of a whitetail deer by a pair of coyotes.  It was nothing short pf a remarkable coincidence.  An unchoreographed sequence of photographs captured over five days.  I couldn't have staged it better if I tried. 

 

After we returned home I went out to fetch the SD cards on the trail camera trap line and I came across the remains of the deer laying within the field of view of a trail camera. The camera is circled in the image.

 

Examining the skeletal remains and judging from the size of the bones and the skull this appeared to be a yearling doe (born in spring 2022). Likely cause of death was predation by coyote.

 

Do I know that for sure?   Nope. Nevertheless, the photographic evidence is beyond circumstantial. 

 

What I do not know is if the deceased was crippled by a collision with a vehicle, weakened by winter and lack of browse (unlikely in farmland country) or otherwise compromised only to succumb to the whim of Ma Nature.

 

Nature can be a cruel mother. Yet that's how things work. Everything on the landscape is someone else's dinner.

 

These images document what unfolded.

 

Everyone eats whitetails....

 

Of hundreds of digital images here are a select number that capture what unfolded.

 

The event unfolded like this with a pair of coyotes lounging-about in the snow.  Then, over the course of about 20 minutes, they alternately feed-upon and drag a deer carcass into view.  What are the odds of this happening spontaneously?

 

For following morning the first to arrive on the scene are the crows, followed by additional avian predators.

 

 

Bald eagles - both adult and juvenile 

 

And, of course the coyotes returned

There were nocturnal visitations

 

More daylight visitors

 

Crows in a standoff with a juvenile bald eagle

And nocturnal

This alternated on and off...

 

 

 

Including a visitor from the arctic circle who winters here - The rough-legged hawk 

 

 

Curious deer and turkeys paid a call

And on the fifth day the batteries died

 

Almost 20 years of trail camera monitoring and I've never had something like this unfold.  I'm not one to anthropomorphize things but it's almost like these coyotes were doing me a solid favor.

 

How To Tell A Crow From A Raven

The large all-black bird that you observe is likely a crow or a raven and they both happen to belong to the same family known as Corvidae and the genus Corvus. The latter actually being Latin for crow.

This species makes its home throughout the world with the exception of Antarctica and South America.  While the common raven is more abundant on a global basis it is found in the western US, Appalachian Mountains, northern reaches of Wisconsin into Canada and Mexico.  The American crow is found throughout the US and Canada.

Both birds are year-round residents here and the best way to tell them apart is by the difference in size.  Ravens are larger.

There is also a subtle difference in their beaks - ravens sport a larger, curvier beak with larger bristles at the base.  This aids the raven in the pursuit of its preferred meal of roadkill and carrion.  In contrast crows are largely herbivores and will eat roadkill only rarely.

Vocalizations are different too.  Crows caw and ravens croak.  Ravens will also scream - a vocalization used to attract others to a particularly good source of food.

Listed as a species of least concern neither of these birds are endangered.  As a matter of fact they respond positively to the presence of people and the easy food resources that accompany urbanization and fragmentation. 

Even though these birds belong to the same genus they are indeed biologically different as described in the preceding paragraphs. While both are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, ravens excel at problem-solving, mimic the calls of other birds and possess the ability to plan in advance.  Crows have the ability to recognize individual people.

They don't necessarily coexist and have been known to raid each others' nests and compete for territory and food resources.  Strangely, the smaller crows make the most trouble.

If you want to learn more about the lives of these birds here at The Platz you can search under crow or raven using the labels on the homepage of the blog or plug either name or the word: corvus in the search feature in the tool bar above.

Raven

Crow

Roadkill

This is the final slug of trail camera photos taken over the road killed whitetail that I dragged to this location.

Here's a juvenile and adult bald eagle...

And a couple of adult bald eagles.  It is thought that these birds mate for life; although they may switch it up with an alternate if unsuccessful at breeding.  A couple of weeks ago Jill took a photo of a couple of adults (these?) along with a juvenile perched in a cottonwood tree on the bank of Silver Creek...

Another photo of a juvenile and adult.  We've been witness to regular bald eagle sightings in the last few years.  A big improvement over no sightings around here twenty years ago.  My conclusion is there may be a nest located in the Brussels-Kolberg area or perhaps along the coast near-by...

Here's a juvenile coming-in for a landing.  In the trail camera world an action photo such as this is can be called a Money Shot...

Adult...

Two juveniles sparring over the scraps...

Another Money Shot - a classic image of an adult eagle...

Wile E. Coyote and the resident raccoons most always come sneaking-around after dark...

Last photo to be shared.  You can see that the resident scavengers picked the whitetail clean.  Nothing but skin and bones remain.  This is a great lesson demonstrating the circle of life.  

I'm going to editorialize a wee bit.  If you have a road killed deer in a ditch close to where you live please slow down give the critters a break.  Just last week there was a local news item about an adult eagle that was struck and killed by a motorist as it was scavenging a road killed deer.  The person who killed the bird never reported it.  That sucks.

 

 

Roadkill

 There nothing left of the road-killed whitetail now but skin and bones.  Nevertheless, there are plenty of trail camera photos yet to share so be sure to stop-by from time to time and check them out.

This is a juvenile bald eagle.  The large, distinctive hook beak is one of the characteristics to aid in identification of this bird in the field.  Juveniles gain the characteristic bald eagle white head and tail at 4-5 years of age.

This is a rough-legged hawk.  The raptor takes its name from the feathers that extend down the legs to the base of the toes - an adaptation to the cold environment this bird prefers.  This hawk is only seen here on the peninsula during the winter months with the southern-most extent of its winter range being the Texas panhandle.  Summer breeding range is the northernmost extent of Canada's coniferous forest zone and escarpment bordering the arctic tundra. 

Wile E. Coyote.  This canine has been tugging and dragging the deer carcass from here to there.

Adult bald eagle stretching her wings.  At up to a 7-foot wingspan this is a Big Bird.

And there is this.  A raven selfie.  And I am really digging the hair do..... 

Roadkill

The road killed whitetail has been reduced to skin and bones.  And not getting much attention by the local critters.

Here's another handful of photos captured by the trail camera on the 15th and 16th of March.

 

This is a juvenile bald eagle.  Not to be confused  with a rough-legged hawk this bird is not only larger than its arctic cousin - a field mark to aid in ID is the large, curved, yellow bill

 

 

Crow taking flight

 

 

 

Adult bald eagle.  Juvenile eagles do not develop the distinctive white head until 4 to 5 years of age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                Adult and juvenile facing-it-off and getting into a fracas

Classic bald eagle pose

Stay tuned for more photos to follow...