Maybe a little too close. We'd have had a perfect bobcat photo if we hadn't moved the camera. Oh, well.
The little masked bandit showed up well, though.
As did the &$*#^@% stray dogs. We never see them in the daytime, but apparently they love to roam and bark all night.
No idea.
Sad looking coyote, huh? I'm tempted to say he's thin because we're no longer supplying the free chicken dinners*, but it's probably not that.
I'm not sure why the color is so odd. I tried photoshopping, but realized that I don't know how to reverse grass that looks brown, dirt that looks green, and a coyote that looks like he stepped out of a B&W movie.
That's more like it! The turkeys seem to wander much more on dreary, gray days.
I just knew we'd have a shot of a mink by now. But no. I have another idea about aiming the camera more towards the rocky edge of the creek bed.
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*We only have two chickens left. Coyotes and bobcats ate the others, and we haven't replaced them yet. Hubby says that the survivors should have names, and has dubbed them Chicken (the Easter-Egger) and Dumpling (the Marans). They flock together during the day, but sleep on opposite sides of the coop at night.
We'd like more chickens, but the minimum order from a hatchery is 25 -- more than we need. Local co-ops aren't bringing in chicks anymore. (Death of true rurality or rise of avian flu hysteria, take your pick.) We may try checking other counties' co-ops or the flea market this weekend.
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If this is your first visit:
These shots are from our game camera, a Cuddeback Expert 3.0. Click on the game camera label to read more about it and see more photos.
I crop the bottom info from the photos because
1) The Cuddeback logo is distracting, and
2) Hubby never remembers to reset the date/time stamp after changing batteries, so it's never right.
If Cuddeback wants to send me a free camera, I'll happily stop cropping their little logo out of the shots... but I figure I give them enough free publicity as it is.
By the way, I did finally remember the name of the top-of-the-line game camera that I'd been talking about before: Reconyx. Their photo quality does not appear to be any better than the Cuddeback, but the trigger times are lower: 1/10 to 1/5 second, depending on the model. And it can take up to 99 photos per trigger. But at around $1000, it's a little beyond my reach for now.
Great now I can tell my Husband about your camera, he is not pleased with the one he uses and was commenting that we needed a better one...
ReplyDeleteTHANKS
I'm using a Wildview camera which seems very good at capturing trees and other sessile organisms.
ReplyDeleteYour shots are great, even the mysterious ones.
I love seeing these photos - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I ever saw a mink in the wild was on a float trip. I was on the water and looked at a massive root wad of a sycamore the river was trying to bring down. The mink was among the roots, bending and twisting as though it was made of smoke.
ReplyDeleteI've no suggestions for helping your sadcoyo photo besides painstakingly "hand-coloring" the photo (after making it grayscale).
ReplyDeleteIt looks fine balck-and-white, though.
Trying to adjust the color balance doesn't help. I moved the "green" slidebar all the way over, and the grass STILL looked magenta, while the rest of the photo was even worse.
I think they are interesting one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you may try your local feed & seed store for hens. Sometimes they have them for sale. A little pricey, but you don't have to buy 25, just what you want.
I SO want to get me one of those cameras! I bet there are lots of people who have no idea of the wildlife around them - whether they live in the country or in town.
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody. I'm glad you are still enjoying the game cam shots. I get a thrill out of them every time, but I'm always afraid that they moght get monotonous here.
ReplyDeleteDeemom, they are a little pricier than the common ones - around $375 - $400 now I think - but to me they are worth it.
FC, one location we had the camera in last year brought lots and lots and lots of shots of grass blowing in the wind. But normally that doesn't happen with the Cuddeback. Though we do often get pictures of where the animal *was*... it having passed by too quickly for the 1-second trigger speed of our model. (I think it's .75 sec on the newer Cuddebacks.)
Thanks Kris!
Pablo, I'm envious! I've never seen one except in photos.
TF, yeah it's strange, huh? I tried changing it all kinds of ways with no success.
KF, in this area the only feed & seeds are the 2 co-ops. Maybe we'll get lucky this weekend and find something.
Paige, they are great fun! I had no idea that some of these animals came so close to the house.
You make me want to get a Game Camera every time you post your photos. There's a little wild critter trail along our fence that is so ready for a camera. I haven't seen any bobcats since we've been back, so it's a treat for my eyes to see this one.
ReplyDeleteWe ordered chickens from, My Pet Chicken, their min. is 3 chicks if your close to a airport and 5 I think if your a little farther out. We received ours on last week and they put in an extra.They are all doing good except for one. We have been crop feeding her but she just isn't coming around.I told hubby this morning we should stop and just let her go. Lordy,she's just the sweetest and makes it all the harder.
ReplyDeleteCould the "no idea" critter be a porcupine?
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend laughs at me because my favorite thing to do is come visit your blog on wild animal cam day. I just love it!
RA, you would get some great shots with a game cam! Of course you have had some great ones anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteDani, thanks for the recommendation! I looked over there but they are out of almost everything I want until May or June. But we might use them next year.
Thanks Mimi, I'm so glad you like the critter cam! No, porcupines aren't this far south. They really fascinate me though. When we made a trip to Canada several years ago, I kept wanting to stop at every roadkill porcupine to examine them!
We have seen coyotes in our part of Kansas that look like your picture (not so many recently). They have mange. The key is the tail. It appears to have no hair where as the healthy animals are fluffy. They usually don't make it through our winters.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots as always! I bet you could get a shot of a mink if you'd point it toward your chicken coop! They LOVE chickens as much as the others killers...the only time I ever saw a mink was in Indiana as a child and up here once-both times because of chickens!
ReplyDelete