This one's for the birds

So, there is an owl box, designed primarily for Eastern Screech-Owls at Cromwell Valley Park. It's been in place for several years.

The volunteers who take care of various bird boxes wondered if it is still in use, or if perhaps it should be removed. They asked me to see what might be found with my game camera.

Exciting news. 

There is a Eastern Screech-Owl still living in the box. This one appears to be a red phase--that is about the same color as a fox. About a third of the owls are red phase.

The owl in the videos below is sunning itself. The nest faces south, and it's common for the birds to soak up the sun, especially on cool or cold days.

And there's a bonus video of what I think is a Blue Jay flying onto the owl's box. That makes me wonder what the jay and the owl are thinking. Do they care how close they are to each other?

This could be a fun spring.  This owl is probably thinking of the upcoming breeding season which will be upon us soon. And I'm thinking of capturing what I can with the camera.

Enjoy the videos.

Go outside and play.

Meanwhile, back at the watering hole....

While we've been running around like nuts, and spending money we may or may not have, the animals are doing their thing. One would like to think that they're thankful every day.

Enjoy the videos and pictures.

A raccoon family reunion

Go outside and play.

Vulpes vulpes may be the most widespread mammal on earth

At least some experts believe that to be the case.They can be found at all latitudes and in a variety of climates from forest to desert. They are happy to live in close contact with man.

There certainly are a lot of them at Cromwell Valley Park, and at Hampton National Historic Site, and probably lots of places in between. Almost everywhere I put my camera, another beautiful red fox appears.

Red fox primarily eat meat, usually small mammals, but also some birds, frogs, crickets, vegetables when they have to. This week, I captured a fox with dinner in its mouth. See below.

Mating season is coming soon in December and January. The female, or vixen, will give birth to four to six kits next spring. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to catch them on camera.

Last week, I put the camera overlooking a small creek near the Sherwood Farm. I found quite a bit of activity.

And please note--the date and time on these pictures is wrong. I have to admit I forgot to reset them after changing the batteries. All the pictures below were recorded last week.

Look closely, see two foxes?

Deer are pretty common around here too.

Eyeshine.

Two foxes. Is the one on the right claiming his territory, or saying something else?

Deer breath.

Turkey vulture. Just out of view in the left rear is a dead deer. That may be why the vulture is here.

This and the next two photographs show the fox with a meal. I can't make out just what, but perhaps a groundhog?

What do you think it is?

A raccoon.

Belay that, as the sailors say. Two raccoon.

It's a beautiful world. Go outside and play in it.

One foxy post, updated

So, if you like foxes, keep reading.

The camera has been looking at this tree for some time because some animal has been digging a hole under it. Several times through the summer and fall I filled in the hole. Maybe ten or fifteen days later, I would find the hole dug up again. Yet nothing appeared to be living under the tree.

I decided to move my camera from Cromwell Valley Park to see if I could determine what animal was digging the hole.

I did find out.

As you can see by reviewing the videos below, a fox is hunting something that lives under the tree, probably a vole or mole.

Fox are beautiful animals, aren't they?

Enjoy the videos.

It's a beautiful world. Go outside and play in it.

Guess what you find under a black walnut tree in October?

Since my last post, I have moved the camera under a black walnut tree. You probably won't be very surprised to learn that there are lots of squirrels eating and storing lots of walnuts under black walnut trees in Autumn.

There also are red fox, whitetail deer, and birds.

I hope you enjoy the videos.

This one is very interesting. Keep watching to the end and you'll see a second animal appear.

Don't forget to go outside and play.

It's been a quiet week.....

I placed the camera along the edge of a field where I though I spied a game trail. I was wrong. No game showed up on the camera.

But I did capture a sparrow.

Meanwhile, I have an animal mystery at work. So the camera is helping me solve that problem. If I find anything interesting, I'll let you know. 

Go outside and play.

The deer are still there (and a bat too)

There's not a lot to report with this post. The deer are still active but their antlers appear to be grown. You might also notice that they have rubbed the velvet off their antlers.

Here are some recent videos you may enjoy.

And a bonus video with a flying animal. It flies by pretty fast but I believe it's a bat.

Go outside and play.