Coyote on the Hunt!

Here's an absolutely fascinating sequence of photos taken with a trail camera set for burst photo mode (a fast three-shot sequence).  If you follow the time stamp on the photos the entire sequence of pictures spans an elapsed time of three minutes.  I can only speculate on what the camera missed during the one minute reset period between bursts.  If only it was set on video mode.

In the first photo is a close-up of a hen turkey.  In the background further southwest on the trail are a couple of additional wild turkeys.  They're the dark shapes in the center of the frame.

In the second and subsequent shots a coyote materializes on the scene stalking the remaining birds - which amazingly hang around as the coyote circles back for another run at them.

In the final sequence the coyote has completed the circle and advances in the direction of where the birds had been hanging out.

If you look carefully following the first photo you will see a primary wing feather on the turf to the left of center.  Wonder if the canine made a grab for the bird in the first photo and all she got was a mouthful of feathers?

Tough bird the wild turkey - earning a living in a dog eat bird world...

 click on images to enlarge

Botched Shot?

This doe has shown-up several times on more than one of the trail cameras.  

 

 click on the image to take a closer look

What is curious is the blemish just behind the right forequarter.  Haven't been able to obtain a close-up but it is an obvious deformation of the skin on the animal.

I cannot help but wonder if it might be the consequence of a botched bow-shot.  A wound caused by a deflected arrow or poor shot placement?  Is it healed or is it festering?  From all outward appearances the animal appears healthy.  She has been mothering a fawn.

Wounded animals have been know to survive with broad heads remaining embedded in the flesh after the arrow shaft has been busted-off.

I wonder...

Ghost Deer

Been moving cameras around The Platz and scored another one of those photos demonstrating the ethereal effect of the infrared setting in low light.  

A couple of ghost deer...

click on image to enlarge

It's All About the Youngsters

Fawn post.

Need I say more?

click on the little ones to enlarge

 

Poults!

Finally!

At long last a picture of a mama hen turkey and some of her brood.  At least I hope that's not all of them.  The first-year class of newly-hatched birds are called poults.  And they're really rather self-sufficient from the day they are hatched.  This is my first trail camera sighting of the Turkey Class of 2015.

Looky there.  They are the size of chickens already...

 click on the birds to enlarge

Bee Swarm

I've had bugs crawl across the lens of a trail camera from time-to-time.  It's annoying but bugs gotta do what bugs gotta do.

If you get an ant infestation in your trail camera all you have to do is disassemble and No Pest Trip and cut a chunk of the yellow strip and stuff in the case of the camera.

Viola!.  Bugs be gone. 

But this was different.  Anytime you fetch an SD card from a trail camera and there are 1287 photos on it you know something has gone terribly wrong.  These flying insects showed-up in the early afternoon in large numbers and stayed until dusk.  The next day they were gone.  Here's a sampling of the pics with the time stamps.  

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I call bee swarm.

Trail Whacking

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Done.

Immediately before leaving for Canada I finished brushing-out the trails.  All 3.5 miles of them.  Yes, they've been measured.

They get one more trimming before the hunting season ramps-up big time and already the trail cameras are showing steady traffic on the unimpeded 'forest freeway'.

Stay tuned for some cool pictures...