I haven’t posted any camera trap pics in awhile! The end of the
semester kept me busy, and then the past couple of weeks seem to have
been just as busy! I also started a new job this week, which I will
share later in the post. Going back a month ago, my friend Tyler went
out the first week of May to go Turkey hunting. The spring Turkey season
opened on May 1st, and he was successful in getting a Jake (young
male!). He was excited to bag a bird, but I was excited because I was
going to get the carcass once he got the meat he wanted from it. I know,
it’s a morbid thing to be excited about. But, if you’ve been following
along with my blog, you know there’s no shortage of “gross” in my life :)
A few weeks before Tyler gave me his Turkey carcass, I had found a
road-killed stray cat at the end of my driveway. I had seen this cat
around, flea bitten with ticks. Sad, but it happens. So when I found the
dead cat, I removed it from my driveway, and brought it into the woods.
I didn’t have anything to bury it with, so I figured I’d just let
nature take it’s course. And I set up my Bushnell Trophy Cam HD on the
site. So when Turkey was ready, he joined Stray Cat. It’s been an active
site, here are a few of the pictures!
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A couple of scavengers: American Crows
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A usual visitor, the Virginia opossum checking out the dead cat before Turkey came on the scene.
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That’s Tyler! Setting out Mr. Turkey
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A pair of raccoons stopped by the buffet…
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Possum is back…he was definitely the most
common visitor. I like this picture because I think he’s eating some of
the Turkey carcass. Sitting up like a squirrel!
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| Stray cat #1. |
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| Stray cat #2 |
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And the first real predator! A coyote is checking the scene out.
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| Stray cat #3 |
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Another predator: Red fox
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A cottontail hops by in the background…
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And FINALLY I get my porcupine! I know they’re around, I just have not yet seen one in my yard! I love them.
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The Turkey Thief! I walked up the check the
camera recently, and the Turkey was gone. Well, I have photographic
evidence of the thief. COYOTE.
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So I guess that was more photos than a few, but I’ve been getting
some good stuff lately! I am wondering where the fisher and bobcat and
bears are though. I’m hoping they show themselves sometime this summer!
I might mention also that the cat is pretty much untouched. Nothing
seems to really be feeding on it, it’s just decomposing. I wonder why…?
I’m spending the majority of my summer in the Capitol Region of NY, in Albany. I live in
Cobleskill for school (I attend SUNY Cobleskill), but I got a great
internship this summer at the NY State Department of Environmental
Conservation main office on Broadway! It’s really a great opportunity
for a budding biologist like myself, and I’m working under Jeremy Hurst,
big game biologist. Big game in NY consists of white-tailed deer, black
bears, and moose. Moose really aren’t on the radar much yet though,
because they are so few. This position is an office position, no running
around outside this summer. But I am going to be getting the chance to
learn a lot about how black bears are managed for in NY. I’m hoping that
my future career will include work with black bears. I don’t know why,
but I’ve always been very interested in them. At first when I was a kid,
they were “cute”. Now, they just mystify me with their incredibly
adaptive habits and behaviors. They literally stop eating, drinking, and
moving for 4-5 months, give birth, and then come out on the other side
of winter a little lighter but generally ok! I wish I could do that!
Anyway, this position will be interesting and a great learning
experience. I will be posting periodically about what I’m up to on the
job. Stay tuned!
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I’m spending the majority of my summer in the Capitol Region of NY, in Albany. I live in
Cobleskill for school (I attend SUNY Cobleskill), but I got a great
internship this summer at the NY State Department of Environmental
Conservation main office on Broadway! It’s really a great opportunity
for a budding biologist like myself, and I’m working under Jeremy Hurst,
big game biologist. Big game in NY consists of white-tailed deer, black
bears, and moose. Moose really aren’t on the radar much yet though,
because they are so few. This position is an office position, no running
around outside this summer. But I am going to be getting the chance to
learn a lot about how black bears are managed for in NY. I’m hoping that
my future career will include work with black bears. I don’t know why,
but I’ve always been very interested in them. At first when I was a kid,
they were “cute”. Now, they just mystify me with their incredibly
adaptive habits and behaviors. They literally stop eating, drinking, and
moving for 4-5 months, give birth, and then come out on the other side
of winter a little lighter but generally ok! I wish I could do that!
