wild turkey – David Kotz

Lyme wildlife – September forest

Frolicking fawns and vandalous bears!

Last week, I posted a video of September clips from the wildlife cameras in my backyard. Today, I’m sharing September clips from my other collection of wildlife cameras, in a forested area here in Lyme New Hampshire. This batch includes an exciting first – a bobcat carrying its prey, presumably back to its den for sharing with the kits. We also see mama bear and her two cubs, as well as a solo adult bear who likes to tear my cameras off trees. Finally, we get to watch a particularly fun segment at the vernal pool: a little fawn frolicking in the shallow water. It proves that every kid loves to play in puddles!

Blowdowns and pools

Vernal pools appear.

My weekend wanderings through the woods near home allowed me more glimpses of the white-tailed deer living therein – emphasis on the white tail, because I only tend to spot them after they’ve chosen to bound away from me, white tail flashing and leaping through the trees until they fade into the distant brownness of the tree bark and leaf litter. Yesterday I saw them three times, though never with enough time to capture with a camera. Saturday I also saw a big ol’ turkey waddling off into the bushes.

Several of my favorite paths pass by vernal pools – intermittent shallow pools formed by spring rains and snowmelt, on deep-frozen ground not yet ready to absorb the moisture. Not much spring life there yet, but I’ll check again next week. (Last year these pools became active in May.)

So, photographically, all I have to share this week is another “new” thing along my path. It was very windy last week and this hemlock snapped off at the base. When a tree like this falls in the woods; do you think the deer hear it? 😉

The deer, turkey, and coyote

Lots of traffic in my patch of woods.

Yesterday afternoon I took another walk up the hill behind our home, to revisit the curious spot where a deer had met its end (discovered last week). As I climbed the hill, a family of wild turkeys slowly tried to sneak away – not easy now the snow has melted and the crisp, dry leaves of fall cover the forest floor. I noted they were heading uphill away from me, but toward the summit that I would soon reach by a looping path. As I neared the crest, two deer bounded away, flashing their white tails. One paused and turned, curious about me. I was able to approach much closer, allowing me time to capture photographs and video.