Often when I camera trap I target some kind of animal sign to get a certain species or even a specific behavior. Some examples from past posts are an otter latrine, a bear marking tree, a woodchuck marking a sapling, … Continue reading →
This woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) was captured by my camera targeting a ruffed grouse dust bath in pine-hemlock-hardwood upland forest. It’s my first jumping mouse, so it was a small consolation for failure to get the bird actually dust … Continue reading →
Many bird species bathe in “dust” (sand or soil) as part of their plumage preening process. The bird prepares a new spot for dust bathing by scraping a patch of dry, fine, loose soil or sand with its feet to … Continue reading →
As you may have guessed, if you follow this blog, I have been traveling out West quite frequently for the past year since the publication of my first book. The reason is that I’m planning to write a western edition … Continue reading →
Grasshopper mice (Onychomys species) inhabit deserts, shrublands, and grasslands of the western US and Mexico. They look quite like the familiar deermice and house mice, but they have very short tails and their habits are unusual in several ways. The … Continue reading →
This video is a composite of captures from a trail camera that was stationed for eight months in a canyon in southeastern Arizona. In it you will see coati, ringtail, hog-nosed skunk, hooded skunk, black bear (including 2 different sets … Continue reading →
Moose, Alces alces, consume a wide variety of plants but moose feeding sign on woody plants is most easily identified. During the warmer months they take catkins, buds, and leaves and in winter they consume bark, twigs, and buds from … Continue reading →
Hummingbirds are sometimes said to be perfect pollinators of cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis, because the size and shape of the bird’s bill and head match the flower so well that pollination often results when the bird visits flower after flower … Continue reading →
Hummingbirds provide the critical service of pollination while sipping nectar from the flowers of certain annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, and vines. The ruby-throated hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, is the only species that commonly occurs in Massachusetts, where one of its favorite … Continue reading →
Battling bucks and bulls get a lot of coverage but we don’t hear much about fighting female ungulates. Yet, it doesn’t seem to be uncommon as I’ve seen photos and video clips of elk cows and white-tailed does fighting. In … Continue reading →
