Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Early spring game cam

My husband's last idea for a game cam location didn't work out like he anticipated. The high altitude game trail was apparently not a path in current use. No critter pics at all for 3 weeks.

On the way up to check the camera, we did get a live-action wildlife treat though: a huge flock of turkeys. At least two dozen of them strolled calmly across the hill, shuffling through the dry leaves and making quite a racket.

We finally moved the camera to the spot I'd been whining about for some time: a low-level easy creek access. I have been hankering for a mink shot and I know they like water, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



The Great Blue Heron was a surprise. They are frequently in the ponds, but I had no idea that they visited the creek too.



Isn't he pretty? Some turkeys were in the same spot just earlier, but they were moving too fast and were blurry.



There were four night shots, but at a distance. I am wondering, if we put the camera on a stake closer to the action, would the animals shy away from it? Or would they walk behind it, just to taunt us? I guess we'll try this spot a few more weeks and then see.



Coyote checking his smell-mail.

Coming up next: two mystery critters in the dark of the night.

14 comments:

anne said...

That heron is *gorgeous*! Such lovely plumage! Nice clear shots, too.

I always love seeing the coyotes. I love knowing they're out there.

robin andrea said...

I always love seeing what's strolling around your place. Nice heron surprise. Looking forward to your mystery critters.

Kerri Farley said...

WOW! What a fantastic shot of the HERON! That Game CAM is AWESOME!
Can't wait to see what's up next :)

Randy said...

It amazes me how you get these pictures! How do you have the camera set up?

Anonymous said...

Wonderful stuff! It's good to see someone is having success with game cameras. It gives the rest of us schmoes hope.

Anonymous said...

I always love when you post your great cam shots! I need to get myself one of these! Maybe next time you will have a mink to include!

SantaBarbarian said...

I LOVE Herons! (blue or otherwise!)

Ontario Wanderer said...

Lovely photos. So nice to see a part of the world that is not white! (I like snow, however . . .)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

The GBHE is gorgeous in his breeding finery.

I would love to see a picture of a mink too. They are such beautiful creatures.

I would like a critter cam in our garden for night shots. I know we have the usual suburban critters but I would like to know how often they come through.

Rurality said...

Thanks y'all!

Anne, yeah I think he's coming into his breeding plumage maybe. Nice.

RA, be sure to let me know what you think they are.

Kerri, a 3-foot bird is always impessive, huh?!

R & J, it's a game camera, a Cuddeback Expert 3.0 to be specific. You just attach it to a tree and point -- it does all the work. It's triggered by the body heat of the animal.

Pablo, it just takes practice knowing where to set it up. I think yours is another model though, so I'm not sure how they differ.

Tom, you would get some awesome shots with a game cam!

Jill, me too! I am still waiting for a tri-color heron to pay us a visit. :)

OW, would you believe they are predicting snow for the weekend? Probably not much, though.

Lisa, you might be surprised at what you got! Yeah I'm hoping a mink will wander by this spot eventually.

Anonymous said...

I'd say muskrat on that one too... beautiful heron shots! Maybe you'll be able to get a whole egret/heron collection down there by the creek.

lisa said...

I just LOVE those heron shots!

Unknown said...

Wow... great picture of the heron. I'm surprised you got so close to him--even on the towpath trail up here, where they're used to LOTS of people walking nearby, they fly away when you're further away than that. Nice!

Rurality said...

BSG, it's the game camera taking these pictures, not me. :) It's set up to take pics automatically when triggered (IR trigger).