wildlife – Page 2 – David Kotz

Wildlife camera – October

Fox, deer, bobcat, and more!

My two wildlife cameras spent another month in the yard, capturing some fun photos and video of critters who visit our property. Most of them were captured at night, using the cameras’ infrared illumination. Check out the gallery!

Perhaps the most fun video was the parade of animals that came by our patio to check out the spot where we’d accidentally dropped a pizza as it came out of the pizza oven! I also experimented with other locations.

You may want to take another look at September’s gallery, to which I’ve added some new content. Lots of critters came to browse for fallen apples under the apple tree: groundhog, possum, raccoon, porcupine, turkey, deer, fox. I was particularly excited to see a bobcat come by one night!

For November, I’ve placed the cameras in the forested hillside across the street – with landowner permission – and am hoping for some more action “in the wild!”

Backyard wildlife

One location, nine days, six types of critter!

I found a new location for my wildlife camera that is creating a feast of images: the backyard apple tree. The apples are ripe, falling from the tree, and feeding the entire neighborhood! Check out this two-minute video review of the local deer, fox, woodchuck, turkey, possum, and porcupine.

The woodchuck stands to watch and listen – keeping one eye on my camera.

Wildlife camera

First efforts!

We are fortunate to live along the Connecticut River in a rural part of New Hampshire – in the town of Lyme, just a few miles north of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover. Surrounded by farmland and forest, and situated in that interstitial space between the forest and the river, we are regularly treated to wildlife sightings. Over the years I have seen and heard moose, deer, bear, fox, coyote, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, groundhog (woodchuck), beaver, mink, fisher (maybe), … not to mention birdlife like turkey, bald eagle, hawk, osprey, egret, heron, goose, duck, loon, and countless other songbirds and waterfowl. And yet, I am certain there is far more happening in our yard and around our house than I happen to see, especially at night. Sebastian, our cat, has surely seen it all… but he’s not talking. So I was pleased to get a pair of wildlife cameras for my birthday. I set up one by the river and one at the edge of a woodpile; here’s what I’ve seen so far.

The neighbor’s dog, “Timber”, caught on the wildlife camera.

A groundhog visits our yard, caught on the wildlife camera.

The gallery includes four captures, in still and video:

the neighbor’s dog, “Timber”, as shown above;
two deer (see below, and video);
a groundhog (at right, but see the video!).

I am still experimenting with locations for these cameras, and hope to capture something more interesting soon!

A deer visits our yard, caught on the wildlife camera.

Relocating mice

Sorry guys.

When we noticed in one car a cloth that had been chewed into fuzz – and in another car some snacks that had been nibbled – we realized the smallest residents of our garage were brazenly exploring the interior of our cars and decided something needed to be done. So we borrowed a small plastic trap, loaded it with cheese, placed it near the woodpile, and… bang! within a couple of hours we’d caught our first mouse.

I put the trap in the car, drove it down the road a few miles, and gently dropped the mouse off in a remote area. I returned and set the trap again.

The next morning, another mouse was shivering inside the trap. I dropped it off on the way to work.

The next morning, a third mouse, pictured above, was waiting in the trap. I dropped it off, close to the second – perhaps it will reunite with its family.

It’s not an easy time of year to relocate – being winter and all – but maybe this is better than sending our cat to spend a night in the garage!

Tracking fox

Our wild neighbors.

Another snowstorm, on Sunday through Monday, left about 6-8″ of fresh, powdery snow across the fields and forests around us. On Monday morning I headed across the street and into the forest behind the house, as I have done so often over the years, bushwhacking up the steep hill through the woods. The forest is relatively young and open, having been logged periodically and well managed for a variety of species – pine, fir, hemlock, oak, maple, and more. I enjoy rambling through these woods, following the fading trails left by loggers, especially in winter – because the snow exposes stories of the wildlife that live here. It’s hard to see in the photo below, but the deer walked this path earlier than me, this morning.

Kiawah

Photographic opportunities.

We spent the holiday week on Kiawah Island, outside Charleston South Carolina. As in much of the U.S. it was an unusually cold week; here, where winter temperatures rarely dip below freezing, we had several days where the thermometer never rose above freezing. Nonetheless, it was clear and sunny and beautiful, and I managed to explore and capture some fun photographs – of a beautiful sunset and some of the island wildlife. Check out the gallery!

Sunset from Captain Sam’s Spit at the western end of Kiawah Island.

Red fox

A backyard visitor.

This beautiful fellow has been hanging around our neighborhood for the past week. When it paused in some high grass, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine, I had the opportunity to capture a portrait.

A red fox in the tall grass near our home.

Curious beaver

I first spotted the beaver by his wake – gliding smoothly out from shore, just downstream of the dock. I placed my rowing shell gently into the water, keeping one eye on my busy downstream neighbor. He arched his back, slapped his tail loudly, and dove… only to emerge a few seconds later, a few meters away. I sat still, and watched. He looked at me. I looked at him. He paddled along, zig-zagging upstream ever closer to me, clearly curious to see who (or what) I was, and what I might be up to. My fingers itched for my smartphone – only 10 meters away, on shore where I’d left it – but to stand up and fetch it, I knew, would spoil the moment. The beaver swam ever closer, his eyes on me every moment.

Eventually – for the moment seemed to last, though it was surely only one or two minutes – he pulled alongside the dock, keeping a safe distance of five meters, watching me from the side as he paddled strongly upstream.

Then a sudden SLAP and he dove again. The moment was gone; I readied my shell to row, and he resumed his course across the river.

Beaver near his den, near our home (2017).

It’s moments like these when I wish I had a camera, or even a smartphone. No such luck today! The photo above is from a sequence I shot in 2017.

Today’s beaver may have been the same fellow whose photo I shared in April:

A beaver swims at the mouth of Grant Brook, Lyme NH

Katmai, days 6-7

A week off the grid on the coast of Alaska – photographing bears.

This post is part of a series about our photography trip to Alaska.

Thursday (September 1) Geographic Harbor: We visited the beach (and bears) in the morning. It was a beautiful day, with the clouds passing over and through the hills surrounding the bay. Read on, though, for photos of the bears and other wildlife spotted this day!

Landscape (with bear), Geographic Harbor, Katmai.

Katmai, days 4-5

A week off the grid on the coast of Alaska – photographing bears.

This post is part of a series about our photography trip to Alaska.

Tuesday (August 30) Kuliak Bay, Hidden Harbor, Geographic Harbor: An early breakfast allowed us to reach the beach by 8am, where an immature bald eagle was perched on driftwood as if waiting for a dozen photographers to capture its portrait. My favorite photo from the sequence came moments after it launched from its beachfront perch. What else did we see in the next two days? read on.