A Small Fright in the Backyard

I got home after dark tonight, but I was dedicated to putting in the new goldfish pond pump I bought late yesterday afternoon, and so the dark was not going to slow me down.

After wiring the pump base to a 5-gallon plastic bucket top, and cutting off the bottom of the bucket so the pump would sit at the right height on the submerged bucket top, I noticed that the dogs were barking up a frenetic storm in the back yard. 

What the hell?  It must be a fox, possum or raccoon.

I gathered up the pump and bucket and went down the dark path towards the pond, when a massive eight-point buck stormed me charging, antlers down, and the dogs hard behind him.  There was a fence to the left and a steep rise of land on the right.  The dogs and the little pond were behind, and only I was ahead of the deer, but there was nowhere else for me to go!. 

Thank God, the deer decided I was scarier than the dogs, and he whirled in mid-air, leaped over the two dogs, and then cleared the back fence sight unseen in the dark.  Jesus! 

I will move the camera trap back to the pond area and see if I can get a few shots of my backyard bucks and does this time of year.  They come around a lot, mostly to drink from the pond after the dogs have gone to bed.  I might get some good shots later this week.
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Yard Fox in the Rain

Maybe once a month I set out a camera trap in the front yard, toss some bit of leftover refrigerator content (sliced up hot dog, old bread) and a little Purina into the grass and this is what I get -- lots of fox and the occasional raccoon.

This night it rained like someone had zippered open the sky, but it stopped at some point and the neighborhood wildlife made its appointed rounds.

There are at least three fox here -- the two heavy-set adults in the first two photos are quite distinct from the lighter juvenile in the third frame. I think there is a fourth fox later on. Everyone seems to be in pretty grand health.
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Suburban Camera Trapping

From The New York Times (hat tip to Kim Bates for the link!) comes this nice article/blog post, with video and venn diagram, on suburban camera trapping, showing the difference between "wild" and "urban" (i.e. suburban) locations.  Notes the author of the post:

I love camera traps because they are easy to use, and it is fun to look at the results. Lock a camera to a tree, write down the GPS coordinates, and walk away for a few weeks.

Come back and you get to look at new clips of animals running around. It is rare to take a walk in the woods and actually see a mammal like a fox, but put a camera trap out and you’ll get them....

We found higher diversity and overall higher activity of animals in our camera traps set in urban forests than in those out in the wild areas.

Of course, you may "walk away" only to find your camera stolen!    Set up in haste, and regret in leisure! 

That said, if you are interested in camera trapping on your own property, Moultrie has a "two-for-one" sale going on right now for their Game Spy D-50.  $120 for a pair.  Check it out!

Fox and Raccoon in the Yard Last Night

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Yard Fox Looking Healthy

I imagine this is the dog fox, as the female will be lying low with kits this time of year. We may see her in a few weeks.
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New Game Camera and Fox in the Yard

Some folk might recall that the flash on my Moultrie game camera went on the fritz a while back.



I am happy to report that Moultrie sent me a new camera (no questions asked with receipt) and it works fine, though it has taken me a little longer to get out in the yard and get it up as I have been sick for the last two weeks (all better now).



My yard fox appear to have remained in fine health in my absence.



Now here's a question: How many different animals are pictured in the six photo's above and below? One? Two? Three? More than that?

For the record, I am quite certain there are two different animals here, but the point is that I see a lot of fox and with rare exception, even I have a hard time telling one from the other despite the tremendous genetic heterogeneity within wild fox populations.

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No Neck and Skin Tail

Raccoon and Fox in the Front yard

You might have noticed I cut down the big miscanthus grass in the front yard -- it's that time of year.

Not having the white background of a big stand of dead grass has actually helped the camera get a better exposture on the critters at night. I wondered if cutting away the cover would phase the fox and raccoon, but apparently the answer is "no."
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Skin Tail Last Night

A pretty good shot of the fox I am calling "Skin Tail." It looks to me like he's losing more fur on his tail, which would be pretty classic for mange. He's running with a young female I am calling "No Neck."

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Front Yard Raccoon Feeding Without the Fox

I spray painted a bit of old wicker in the front yard last night, which seems to have resulted in the fox staying away and the raccoon staying around a bit longer than usual.

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Coffee and Provocation

The Dog-li-ness blog reports that "The American Kennel Club, desperate to boost their revenues, is considering starting a new club for mutts (possibly named the All American Dog Club), so they can collect registration fees from even more dog owners." Check it out! More on the same topic at the Pet Connection blog, here and here.

The Scottish Terrier and Dog News blog gives us the money shot of haggis for Robert Burns Day. Bobbie was a great man, yes he was. Read his poem about The Twa Dogs. Luath, by the way, was the name of Robert Burns' own dog.

The Camera Trap Codger continues to post jaw-dropping pictures. Check out the recent picture of a cougar. Amazing. What a country we live in. Take a minute also to check out The Game Camera Logbook for more great camera trap tips and shots. God bless America, land that I love.

The Lassie Get Help blog has a nice post on what happened to the Michael Vick's dogs. Good news here; check it out.

A ten-year-old doing surgery on your dog? Right. But check it out -- video from CNN.

Finally, what kind of bird is this? I have flipped through Sibley's and cannot find it, but it is familiar. I feel stupid (again). This is a public cry for help! That's the first step to recovery, right?
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Laughing Fox in the Front Yard

These and quite a few other good shots came from the camera trap.

On a lark, I took a tough "Bonz" dog chew that came free with a bag of food, drilled a hole through the midde of it, and tied it with some parachute cord to a piece of rebar I jammed into the ground. The fox spent a couple of nights working over the chew, as did a pretty big raccoon.

Next, I may put a chew up in the air a bit and tie it off to a spring pole of some kind, just to see how good the fox is at problem-solving.




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Wildlfe In the Yard

It snowed! Fox, raccoon, two colors of squirrel, and a cardinal that was feeding so early in the morning, that it was really night time. The color on the cardinal is off as I had to really lighten the picture and turn up the contrast to see what it was.

One more night with the camera in this location, and then I will move it to the goldfish pond and see what I can find there. Maybe nothing.

I'm a bit surprised I have not gotten a possum on the camera yet -- the fox might be driving them off.

I may put the camera on a bird feeder too, just to see what turns up. I know I have one feeder that is raided by raccoon pretty often. I would like to see how he gets past the squirrel baffles! Easily, apparently.

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