A small hawk with other small birds in the frame. I think those are black-throated sparrows, and I think – but not really sure – that’s an immature red-tailed hawk.
Several frames of him and one doe. The only deer photographed in daylight so far.
Once the sun went down the water trough was a jumpin’ place all night. Two or three bucks I don’t think I’ve seen before, including this spike…
…and all manner of does. They disappear when the cattle are around – I stop seeing deer sign entirely during most of the year – but last night they left no question that a water hole is an actively social place. Many frames with multiple deer chasing one another around.
And still, so far no elk. Starting to wonder if they come here at all, but then I’ve also only seen one squirrel and I know they’re here.
I find it interesting that your deer don’t seem to be compatible with cattle. The bulls might be grumpy and territorial, but cattle are certainly not predators. I suppose that deer stay alive by running from everything that moves or makes noise, but I find it hard to believe that they don’t know predators from non-predators.
I thought the same thing, but it’s gone on for three full years now. Cattle move in, all deer sign and sightings stop. Cattle leave, deer return.
The birds in the pic with the hawk are Flickers. The hawk, I couldn’t be sure of either since most have so many color phases corresponding to age, time of year and region. Really enjoying this peek at your local wildlife neighbors.
The camera probably has Infra Red LED’s that flash in that spectrum to take the picture and may pulse before the shutter actuates (or the electronic facsimile of same). The animals can see that where you would barely notice it. I am curious how long the batteries last.
So far the battery life is impressive, compared to the complaints I read in reviews of other model cameras. In the past two days it has begun to flutter “99%” before returning to “100%”.