Two Cameras at One Set

Two cameras placed at a set are better than one!  Today's results proved this.

A few weeks ago, my father and I headed west to put up two of my cameras out into the woods.

We had two cameras to use and decided to place them both up at the same set.  We wondered if this would be a good or a bad idea, because if somebody was to find one of the cameras, they would most likely find both of the cameras.

It turned out to be a good idea when we checked them today.

Both of us had the day off, so we headed back out to the same place to review the SD cards that store the pictures in the cameras, change a few things, and replace any dead batteries.

It's a difficult camera-trap set to get to.

Driving west, it takes about 45 minutes to arrive at a trail head that leads to the site.  Hiking out, wading through skunk cabbage, and watching your footing on scree and boulders are all part of the process of getting to the cameras here.  It's a good little hike.

The one camera hasn't been working too well, so we took it down to take home with us.  The other camera (one made by Wildgame Innovations) takes better quality pictures and has a trigger system that works well, so we kept it there, protected in a bear-resistant case, to continue taking pictures.

Results of this camera weren't fantastic, but a few animals did come by.

An opossum appeared in 9 pictures and a fox appeared in 1 picture.

There were 24 total pictures, most of which were of squirrels or nothing (false triggers).



I've got the camera that we took down, sitting right next to me.  I'll decide where to put it next in a day or two.

Leesburg Bear Gets Into Garage

The power and strength of a black bear is incredible.

One local homeowner had a black bear rip through a garage door just to get some food that it smelled inside.  I wonder if it could have been one of the same bears that I have gotten on camera in the past few weeks.

Check out the story at http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Bear-Crashes-Through-Leesburg-Garage-Door-205756511.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand .

This story comes courtesy of nbcwashington.com and NBC Universal.

Textbook Coyote Territory

When walking, cam-trapping, or while doing basically any outdoor activity, I frequently use the word "textbook", followed by another phrase.

To me, this accurately describes an outdoor situation that someone would read about in a textbook.  For example, I always say,  "textbook bass fishing", when I catch a bass behind large rocks on a warm day, when the river is beginning to rise.

"Textbook snake grounds", is when I find a water snake basking on rocks right next to the river on a sunny day.

The picture above accurately depicts the scenery of something that I have deemed to be a perfect example of "Textbook Coyote Territory".

The meadow shown is perfect hunting grounds for a coyote that will consume rabbits, rats, squirrels, mice, voles, and even birds.  It's a very large meadow that I have the privilege of working on and researching what animals are present in the area.

Ponds, forests, and more meadows are in the immediate area, providing coyotes and other carnivores (such as foxes), with opportunities to den, mate, hunt, and live throughout the year.

As far as coyote territories get around here, it can't get too much better than this.

It is the same meadow that surrounds a coyote den that I took a picture of in Tracking Your Loudoun Coyotes and is very close to the area of another previous post, Busy Days.

Hawk Up Close

Two cameras are set up by this fox den which I have posted about before.  These cameras STILL have not provided any pictures of kits, so I'll have to be even more patient with this set.

Foxes, groundhogs, and squirrels are very common visitors here, but two pictures of another animal stuck out to me while checking the cams.

A hawk!

It paused here for just enough time to have two pictures taken of it.  I think it enjoys the company of a camera in the woods, because I can't think of many reason of why else it came down here.

Maybe it's a coincidence, to eat, to check out the camera, or just to rest on the ground.  Who knows!

Just another mystery in the woods.

Loudoun County Bears!

There are few things that excite me more than these pictures.  In fact, I'm so excited that I can barely even get words out so I'll make the writing in this post quick and easy.

Bears.  They are on the move in Leesburg, Virginia.  This camera was set up in Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve where I have been doing coyote and fox research.

Three bears!

Black bear noticing the camera trap.

Yearling black bear with another in the background.

I figured I would prove that these are my pictures by showing a picture of me at the same cam.

Solo Turkey

This is the turkey that I mentioned in my last post (Another Fox Meal).

It walked right in front the camera without seeming to care at all. 

That's the great thing about using camera traps (trail cameras, game cameras) for research surveys of animals. Animals seem to care less if there is an unmanned camera around, than they would have if a person was standing there

Camera traps offer a way to view wildlife in ways that we wouldn't see if a person was present.

If a human was around, animals would be even more wary and scared.

All in all, it was just another day in the great outdoors for this gobbler.

Another Fox Meal

Today was another one of those busy camera trapping days.  I've got so many cameras under my control that it is beginning to get difficult to remember where exactly they are.  No fear though, I've got the locations of all of them drawn on maps, on a piece of paper, in my phone's GPS, and on my computer.

I put this camera on a popular game trail in Leesburg, Va.  It is a trail that leads to one of the fox dens I have another camera at.

A fox appeared of course, and was carrying a large meal.  A muskrat was in its mouth, being dragged towards the den.

Muskrats are supposedly plentiful in this area, as Goose Creek is very close.  Goose Creek is a small river flowing in Loudoun County.  It is a tributary of the Potomac River, which flows past D.C. and empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

This camera had other visitors, including a skunk, deer, another fox, squirrels, and a single wild turkey.

Other good news is that I now have permission to camera-trap in Alexandria, Virginia on a very large piece of property.

I still have to decide if I will be able to make the drive down there once a month or so now since I have cameras in so many towns around here already.

Into the Appalachians

The Appalachian Trail (AT) was calling my name today.  After finishing class for the day, I donned my boots and hiking gaiters, packed up a camera and gear, and set out to drive west.   The mountains and hills of Loudoun and Clarke County, Virginia were welcomed sights on a warm, spring day.

I set out for a short hike on the AT near Bear's Den.  Bear's Den is a sort of pit-stop for AT hikers and contains a few miles of rollercoaster-like trail conditions.

I trekked towards another piece of property that I am very familiar with out there (which I will keep a secret for now) to set up one of my cameras.

The camera here is set a few feet off the ground, well off the actual footpath of the Appalachian Trail, but still in the same area that I know as, Bluemont, Virginia.

A garter snake came out of its rocky housing to see what my noise was all about and stayed around for a minute or two.

Camera-trap and a garter snake. 

I continued hiking for a few more minutes into a small stream where skunk cabbage was popping out of the ground.

Here is where I conversed with a group of young, "9-to-5-Charlies", that decided to leave the office for a 4 day weekend on the trail.

We did the obligatory, "Hey, how are you?", and the typical, "Where ya headed?", as if nobody had ever asked us these same questions while on the Appalachian Trail.

What was different about this time though, is that I asked them if they've heard any coyotes lately on the trail while sleeping at night.

Their response,  "Of course! Almost every night".  I smiled, nodded, and wished them well on the rest of their hike.

It may take me some time to come back to this location, as it is an hours drive away.  I'll go back there in a couple weeks with some fresh camera batteries and a heart full of camera-trapping hope.

Skunk cabbage.  I can smell this stuff from half a mile away if there is a lot of it.

Scavenger Hawks

When there is fresh meat around, you never know exactly what animal will take the opportunity to eat some of it.

Red-tailed hawks have came by my cameras a lot to eat some of this fresh meat.  I've captured them eating  dead deer, as seen in Deer for Dinner: Food Fights.  

I captured this type of hawk recently again, but this time it was in Leesburg, Virginia.

The fields, meadows, and woods of Leesburg offer some prime hawk hunting grounds.  

Red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, cooper's hawks, broad-winged hawks, and sharp-shinned hawks populate the skies here. 

What really surprised me at this camera set though, was how quickly the hawk came in to eat after I set out the bait.  I placed the meat here at 3:08 PM as I had the camera rolling (as I realized when I got my picture taken doing so).  The first hawk picture (as seen above) was taken at 3:11 PM on the same day.

That's only 3 minutes!

What is even more surprising is knowing the fact that it took me at least 2 minutes to walk back to my car (located maybe 30 yards away), set my gear down, and pull out of the parking space.  If I was there for another 60 seconds, I may have been able to view this hungry hawk first-hand, but I didn't know it was there in the first place.

White-tailed Winters

White-tailed deer in northern Virginia are now just braving out the last few weeks of winter.  Loudoun County experienced snow storm just a few days ago.  Some parts of the county had a measly 3 inches, while the western stretches of the county saw around 10 inches of snow.

White-tailed deer don't seem to mind the snow and cold too much though.  Their winter coat is made up of hairs that are thicker than in summer.

These hairs are actually hollow.  Hollow hairs allow air to become trapped more easily within the deer's coat.  Once air becomes trapped, it quickly warms up due the great amount of body heat that the deer produces.

I've caught a lot of deer lately on my cameras at this location.  This camera is actually pointed at a fox den, but there is a deer trail adjacent to it.

Deer travel along this trail at least every 2 days and do basically the same thing every time in front of the camera.  They walk up with their noses pointed down, smelling the scents of other animals and for food.  When the camera makes a very quiet clicking noise, they bolt their necks up and move their heads and ears around to recognize any danger.

They then get curious to the camera, as cameras are not in their natural habitat.  They look at it with their bulging eyes for a few seconds and turn their heads one way or another.  Once they realize it is not dangerous to them, they put their heads down, sniff the ground, and walk away.

Deer Skull Questions

Once in a while, while camera-trapping, working, or walking, I'll stumble across the remains of an animal that has been long dead.

Usually it is deer that I find.  This one is an interesting of example that harbors so many questions to me.

First and foremost, how did this young buck die? Of course it could have been natural causes, but could it have been mortally wounded in a fight with another buck?  Was it the prey of another species of animal?  Did it get shot by a poacher who couldn't track the deer after shooting it?  Or, did it spend its last moments of life in a street as cars were speeding by, waiting for a chance to get to the other side?

Another question I am asking myself is, "how did the antlers form this way?"

 

Without DNA testing and other genetic tests, it is hard to tell what exactly caused the differentiation of the shape and size of the antlers.

Genetics is only one explanation of this anomaly though.  The young buck could have had other testosterone deficiencies that are not genetically related.  It could have also broken part of the shorter antler during the earliest periods of its growth, such as in a fight with another buck.  Maybe it tripped and fell as a fawn, making its antler indent a certain way.  It could have some kind of disease contracted from other deer, the environment, or even a genetic disease.

There are so many explanations to as why deer antlers may grow this way.  Just looking at the skull and antlers from all directions is an extremely difficult way to tell what caused this in the antlers.

One thing is sure though.  If this buck did have a genetic disease or problem, it is dead now.  Since it is dead, it can no longer pass these genes to potential offspring.  

Nature continues to take its course in northern Virginia.

Fox Den Update #1

One of the fox dens that I have cameras at has seen some great action lately.  This camera is in Sterling, Va and is pointed at one of the openings of the den.

This den is a big one.  It contains a whole network of underground tunnels and 5 holes for entering and leaving.

There are fox kits in the area already, but I am unsure if this den houses any kits yet.  I have not seem them coming in or out of this den yet.

There have been many visitors to the den however, and excitement for more foxes continues.

One brave groundhog notices the fox hole and seems curious.

Curious groundhog checks things out further.  It quickly retreated after a few more seconds though.

A raccoon sniffs the area.  Raccoons also sniff and look around the den site during a few nights.

Squirrel!  A fox could easily jump out at any minute and try to take the squirrel.

A pair of foxes.  It may be hard to tell that there are two right next to each other, but they are both there.

Red fox notices the camera.

Red fox squats to mark the area.

Red fox entering the den.

A Short Story On A Heron

It was a few months ago while I was walking along the banks of the Potomac River when I heard a group of people making noises of awe, disgust, and even excitement.  I made my way over and saw the subjects of their gasping.

A great blue heron and a northern water snake were battling it out.  The heron had the snake skewered in its beak.  The snake was striking at the heron's neck and head, plucking feathers from it's blue-gray plummage.

I've seen snakes getting eaten by these birds many times in this park, but this was slightly different.  This snake was fairly large for a heron to be tackling.  It was a noisy, feathery, and somewhat bloody showdown.

The park patrons were asking me if I could do anything to stop the madness, but this was just nature playing out in front of our eyes and was happening about 30 yards away on a rock in the middle of the river.

I knew the snake would be eaten soon, but it struggled well.  It was speared, skewered, and waiting to die.  The heron was just waiting for it to tire out.

The madness ended just as I had expected it would:  the last inch of the snake's tail slid down the bird's beak like a strand of spaghetti.  The heron remains a great predator of the northern water snake.



Great Blue Herons are very large birds.  Their wingspans can measure over 6 feet in length and have beaks as long as a steak knife  Here are a few pictures of a heron that visited one of the camera traps that I had set out for a few days.  This was Waterfowl Cam #1, a camera set on a pond bank specifically for birds in water.

This is the resident heron that lives in two ponds.  It will sit in one pond for a few hours, picking the perfect spot to catch the perfect fish.  When it does, it gobbles it up quickly, then moves to the far side of another pond close by and works that pond the same way.

All day long, it goes back and forth to get its daily fill of seafood.

Tracking Your Loudoun Coyotes

Why can't I get a good picture of a coyote coming out of or going inside this den?

Is this an abnormally large fox den or is it a coyote den that is inactive?

I'm going to keep the location of this den a secret but I can assure you that it is located in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The hole, as you can see is bigger in diameter than my backpack is in width.  The smell of carrion meat and carnivore urine bleeds out of this den.

I hope to have some answers as to what really lives in here, in a few weeks.  I already wasn't thinking when I put my backpack around it as I left some of my scent there.  As I have learned with coyotes, any human scent left at the scene is too much scent.  Way too much scent.  But here's to wishful thinking that this site will bring some good results.

I'll leave you with a picture of week old, rained on, smushed coyote scat that I found near this location.

My muddy boot for size reference as I forgot to bring a tape measure.

Spot the Deer

Let's play a game called "Spot the Deer"

I promise you, there is a white-tailed deer in this photo.  Can you see it?

Told you there was one in the photo.

This was a camera trap set that I had recently put up to see what was in one a few small meadows that I visit.  It only stretches for a few acres but splitting right down the middle of it is a small creek. 

This small creek was once damned up by beavers, creating a pond.  The pond built up and covered a small section of woods.  Trees in these woods got their roots rooted out, died, and that is how this small meadow in the middle of a forest was made.

Hint: If you're still stuck on trying to find it, it is staring right at you in the middle of the picture, slightly to the left.

I checked this spot almost daily for results so I did not expect anything too exciting due to the lingering human scent that I kept leaving.  A red fox (vulpes vulpes) made its way through though along with all the deer.

Animal House

When there is no human supervision in an old, abandoned building, who would you expect to come in and party?

If you guessed rats, mice, and raccoons, then you are correct.  However, you are only beginning to touch the tip of the iceberg that is the full answer.

See what critters came into an old building that I put a camera into a few weeks ago by scrolling below.

Gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) came by on many occasions and was the most common visitor.

Some kind of mouse.  I cannot tell what species this is for the life of me.  It's hard to see.  Can you see it? Here's a hint:  small mammal in the middle of the picture a little to the right.

Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) stopped in to take a look a few times during the week.

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) of course.  But not just any raccoons. . . 

Mating Raccoons!  Right in the middle of the frame of the camera.

A feral cat (Felis catus) stopped in to take a look but didn't stay for long at all.

Last but not least, a Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

I was surprised at the amount of animals that came in, and I was really only expecting rats, mice, and raccoons. 

There’s still an incredible amount of hope that I have, that I will get a picture of a resident owl swooping down to catch a squirrel or mouse in the same frame as these other animals.  That kind of picture inside a building is going to take a lot more patience on my part. 

But hey, these results were way better than I expected for a small, old building.  

"How about any wild turkeys in your area?"

A few days ago I received an email from one of my readers** (we'll call her by her initials: J. H. in this blog),  regarding wild turkeys.  In it, she detailed that in her area wild turkey reintroducing had been an ongoing project and wondered if I had any around where I live.

The answer to her and any other readers is yes.  I've seen a few wild turkeys in Sterling and Great Falls alike.  I have also seen them off the Appalachian Trail as it borders Loudoun County, Virginia near Clarke County and also at the land adjacent to the Potomac River near Lowes Island in Virginia.

A camera that I had set up at the end of last year in Sterling, Va, captured one of these turkeys.

The odd thing about this turkey is that it is walking in a spot about 10 feet from the den of a red fox, a predator that could easily take advantage of this opportunity.

Another odd thing is that it is not in a flock.  Usually turkeys will travel in a small groups, especially during the colder months of the year.





Maybe this turkey got lost.  Maybe it is the only one that survived a series of attacks by predators.  Who knows, maybe the camera was triggered by more turkeys, but only snapped a picture of this one.

Wild turkeys feed mostly on small nuts and seeds (acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, and grass-grains) and small animals such as insects and slugs.

I believe that this turkey was feeding on a slugs because under just about every single leaf it walked on, lies a buffet of slugs.

Here is another picture from this site to show you where exactly the fox den is.

**A special thanks to blog reader, J. H. for providing me with a wealth of information and for inquiring about turkeys around where I camera trap.

First Otter Pictures!

I was back at one of my favorite camera trapping sites after a few snowy days.  I checked the two cameras in a meadow and results were as I expected.  Deer, raccoons, and foxes came by a few nights in a row but then all pictures stopped suddenly a few days ago.

I'm assuming that the cold played a big part in this cease-firing of the cameras.  The temperatures in the past week have been very cold for northern Virginia. 17 degrees a few nights ago, to be exact, was the coldest I've seen it here so far this year.  That's clearly cold enough to freeze batteries for a few nights.

The good news however, was at another camera where river otters finally appeared.

These pictures are stills that I captured from a video.  They were only in front of the camera for a few quick seconds, so I thought a few pictures might be better than posting the video.

It took some hard work and patience to do this set correctly and it really paid off.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep my camera there in the spring when this resident otter couple might have some young.

As for now, I moved the camera a bit higher so that rising water levels don't have the chance to interfere with it.  Hopefully in a few weeks, I'll have even more pictures of otters to share with a slightly different view at the same site.

January Buck Battles

I haven't captured any images of fighting foxes since the last time I posted them, but the newest battle scene in the woods was that of the white-tailed deer.

Tempers start boiling just after 7 p.m. and won't stop until there is a clear winner.

Clearly in the first few pictures, you can see that there are only three bucks.  After some noise is made by clashing antlers and assumed grunting, another buck shows up at the scene and quickly joins in.

Then things take a turn and it becomes one buck against the other three.

He manages to defend himself against one of them,







and then there were three. . .

He beats that one too!




and then it was just the two of them. .

. . . and if you can believe it, he even beats that buck. 

That's a whole trio of rival bucks that he just fought against.  Here he is, fading into the background and almost onto the horizon as he exits the scene, just as you would see in an old Western film.  This is one tough buck that fought his hardest  for 10 minutes straight.