"Tank"

Trail cameras are still running heavy in Purcellville and other parts of Western Loudoun by two of my favorite volunteers, Paige and Peter.  We've been getting all sorts of results, though bobcat and coyote activity have seemed to slow down recently out there.

The biggest excitement with the Purcellville cameras has been images of "Tank". He's a white-tailed deer buck that has been growing an impressive set of antlers. Peter named him, of course, and the name is not only fitting, but has stuck well for the past month or so.

Here is "Tank", one of the biggest bucks around this year.   It's hard to tell from this image, but there are (what we think and have seen in other images) 12 points on his antlers.  It'll be interesting to see if Peter is able to hunt this beast this year.

Tank is the closest deer, followed by two other impressive bucks behind him.

Buck in the Sun

Usually it's bad to face a camera-trap into the sun.  Pointing it west or east will give you a lot of washed out pictures due to the sun.  I made the mistake of pointing one camera this way, and only 1 picture was worth me taking the time to blog about.

I just thought this picture was cool and different.  The early morning sun behind the white-tailed buck isn't something I get to see often in camera-trap images.

There were still over 800 pictures of deer that were washed out and invaded by a rising or setting sun.  More thought was taken when resetting the camera.

It is now at the edge of this field in a shadier spot, not facing any sun.

Deer Mingling

It's that time of year again in Virginia.  A time when the white-tailed bucks get curious.

For the past few months, big bucks have been seen hanging out with each other.  Soon, mating season will be upon them, and during that time, these bucks will be in strict competition with one another.

For now though, they still seem to be civil.

Mingling with the does has started though.  A  buck kissing (or possibly smelling) a doe was caught on my camera a few days ago.