Trail camera pictures

I recently got a trail camera and hung it from a tree in the woods. My first pictures were of a 9 point buck. Even though the quality isn't that of my Canon camera it wasn't that bad either.

Mount St. Helens is most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet to 8,365 feetand replacing it with a mile-wide horseshoe-shaped crater.
The picture shows the side of the volcano and its reflection with a fishman getting ready to cast.

My Favorite

I have taken a few hundred deer pictures this fall and so far this one is my favorite. I like how he is sandwiched between white oaks and the remains of understory flora are in front of him.

Leaping Buck

I was lucky to capture this young buck starting to leap and in mid air.

More Big Bucks

Whitetail deer have over populated in East Central Illinois as they have in many areas of the United States. I remember as boy hardly ever seeing deer and if one photographed in the county it would surely make the front page of the paper. Now during the rut season I drive my four wheeler through the country side and take pictures regularly and since they are very common they never make the front page. Well I take that back I did have one on the front page last year but he was white. Pictured are three bucks I have taken in the last couple of weeks.

Big Antlers

In the late winter and early spring of the midwest buck white-tail deer lose or shed their antlers and then proceed to grow them back. Shed hunting is very popular and good exercise. Fall shed hunting is a bit more unusual. I found the antlers pictured recently but in this case the old guy shed head and all. I also found the shed to this buck in the spring which I am guessing would be a rarity to find the same shed in one year. If I find his shed next spring I am writing Ripley's.

Big Buck

The Rut is the period of time when white-tailed deer mate. During the rut (also known as the rutting period), males rub their antlers on trees or shrubs, fight with each other, and pursue estrus females by their scent.The Rut is the time when white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), especially bucks, are more active and less cautious than usual. This makes them easier to hunt, as well as more susceptible to being hit by motor vehicles or in my case easier to photograph. I caught this guy this morning more interested in his mate than me.

One Antler Buck

This the season when Big Bucks fight to see who is the toughest and gets to breed the Does. This guy apparently lost since he only has one antler.

Common Buckeye

Pictured is the Common Buckeye. It is thought that the eyespots of the Common Buckeye Butterfly may be used to scare away predators. The Common Buckeye was featured on the 2006 United States Postal Service 24-cent postage stamp.

Viceroy

The viceroy butterfly is dark orange with black veins. A row of white spots edge its wings. Its color and pattern mimics the monarch butterfly's pattern except for a black horizontal stripe that crosses the bottom of its back wings. The viceroy caterpillar is white and olive-brown. The viceroy and monarch were once thought to exhibit Batesian mimicry where a harmless species mimics a toxic species. Studies conducted in the early 1990's suggest that the viceroy and the monarch are actually examples of Mullerian mimicry where two equally toxic species mimic each other to the benefit of each. Just goes to show you there's always something new to discover in the natural world!
The picture shown is two Viceroys in copula and was taken today in Coles County.

Coyote

The coyote is a member of the dog family. In size and shape the coyote is like a medium-sized Collie dog, but its tail is round and bushy and is carried straight out below the level of its back.
One of the most adaptable animals in the world, the coyote can change its breeding habits, diet and social dynamics to survive in a wide variety of habitats.
Alone, in pairs or in packs, coyotes maintain their territories by marking them with urine. They also use calls to defend this territory, as well as for strengthening social bonds and general communication. Coyotes can easily leap an 8 foot fence or wall. They have been spotted climbing over a 14 foot cyclone fence.
Environmentalists firmly believe that the coyotes are necessary to preserve the balance of nature. Some sportsmen feel the coyote is responsible for the declines in game species. Biologists agree that individual animals preying on livestock and poultry should be destroyed but that the species as a whole is not necessarily harmful, because much of its diet is made up of destructive rodents. Biologists also agree that coyote populations have no lasting effects on other wildlife populations. So the controversy rages on.

Red-tailed Hawk

The most common and widespread hawk in North America, the Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of open country. It is frequently seen sitting on utility poles where it watches for rodents in the grass along the roadsides. The hawk pictured is an immature bird and testimony to this was that he let me get quite close before he/she flew. Also notice the tail has not turned red yet.

Albino Deer

Last year I posted this same deer. He definitely has grown and has added 4 points to his rack. The rack is still covered with velvet and has a pinkish tint. He has moved about a mile from where I saw him last year. He is shown here eating soybeans about a mile south of Charleston.

Indigo Bunting

The Midwest has been extremely wet this year and even as July comes to an end several farm ponds are still full. I was driving by one today and noticed several Solitary Sandpipers feeding. They apparently were stopping here on their way south. I had taken a couple of pictures when this male Indigo Bunting stopped right in front of me. I quickly fired several shots and off he went. Sometimes you just get lucky...

Scarlet Tanager

A striking black-winged red bird, the Scarlet Tanager is a common species of the eastern forest interior. Despite its brilliant coloring it is often overlooked because of its rather secretive behavior and its preference for the forest canopy.

In late spring I was using a common call of "psssst" trying to attract warblers. I had seen a birder at Crane Creek a few days prior to this using this call with great success. I had attracted a couple of warblers when this beautiful Scarlet Tanager landed a short distance from me. He stayed long enough for me to snap a couple of shots.

Eastern Kingbirds

Featured in this picture is a mother Kingbird feeding her recently fledged babies. It also shows babies begging for food. These pictures were taken just west of my house.

Nesting Flycatchers

In my last blog, I featured Great Crested Flycatchers. The next day, from my back deck, I observed two Great Crested Flycatchers gathering in their beaks large amounts of old leaves which had been mowed and laid under a Shagbark Hickory tree. I watched as they flew over my house and disappeared. They kept coming back and forth and I finally went to other side of the house and located their nesting tree. If you read the last blog you know that they are cavity nesters and, true to form, they were using a large hole in a walnut tree.

Great Crested Flycatcher

The Great Crested Flycatcher is a bird of the treetops. It spends very little time on the ground, and does not hop or walk. It prefers to fly from place to place on the ground rather than walk. A treetop hunter of deciduous forests and suburban areas, the Great Crested Flycatcher is easier to hear than to see. The only eastern flycatcher that nests in cavities, it often includes snakeskin in the nest lining.

Spring Migration

Spring migration of birds across North America is a sure sign of spring. Each year birds which have been wintering as far south as South America return to nest and raise their young. Not all the birds seen in the spring stay here in central Illinois, but they do stop,rest,feed and continue as far north as Canada. Several travel at night using the stars to guide them which means that one day they are here and the next they are not. The three birds shown are warblers. The Palm Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler will continue north while the Common Yellowthroat will stay here. This is a great time of year to get out and check the trees. There are amazingly beautiful birds to see. The top photo is the Common Yellowthroat(not at all common!), the middle photo is the Palm Warbler and the bottom photo is the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Spring Bird Count

Today was the Illinois Spring bird count. The rules are pretty simple, record each bird you see or hear. We are part of a group which covers Coles County. As of noon today the group had seen 118 species. There were 21 species of warblers with notable sightings Cerulan Warbler, Mourning Warbler, and Hooded Warbler. My wife and I covered our property and saw 63 different species. One of the species pictured is the American Redstart male and female.