Happy Halloween - Wildlife Cam Style!

In previous years, I've noticed some marks on our Jack-O-Lanterns, and they've been moved around. I had my suspicions who the culprits might be. This year I put a couple of wildlife cams on the carved pumpkins. I also left the seeds inside the pumpkins, added a few other enticing household items, and didn't carve out the top to make it harder to get into. I got this video the second night out.


I don't think the culprits are surprising, but seeing the whole family was a treat.  

As a side note, you can see the white flash occasionally in the video, it is from a separate cam taking still shots.  The raccoons seem completely unperturbed by the light.  Here are some of the still shots (please ignore the time stamp month and time).  

'Tis the season - young wildlife out and about

As summer starts to melt into fall, the young of the year are out and about.

This young family of raccoons is likely demonstrating how the knowledge of weekly raids of garbage cans is passed on from one generation to the next.  I do think it is adorable how the little one is always scampering to catch up with its older/bigger relatives.

Going to the Grocery Store


And Returning Home



There is also this brief video of a coyote, who looks quite a bit smaller than others filmed in the same spot.  I'm guessing this may be an older pup.  Any thoughts on that?

Trail Cam Pic of Puma Stalking Moose with Calf

Ok, so this isn't Marin.  But it is just such a great series I had to share it!  

Steve Bromley got this amazing series of images, showing a Puma stalking a Moose and calf at his set in Montana.  If you check the date/time stamp on the bottom of these photos, you will see that the Puma crosses the cameras path less than a minute after you see the Moose glancing tensely over her shoulder.

Credit: Steve Bromley 

Credit: Steve Bromley

Thank you Steve for letting me share these, and thanks Vic for telling me about them!

The fledglings Part Deux

Yesterday I heard some very frantic peeping coming from behind the house, followed by some very urgent gobbling, followed by peeping, then gobbling, repeat (you get the idea).  I ventured out to see what the ruckus was, and it appears that the newest addition to the flock of wild turkeys has hatched, and at least half of the batch had managed to fall over our 5' retaining wall and get stuck between the wall and the house.  Granted there is a wide opening where almost anything except a day old turkey poult could easily figure out an escape.  They couldn't have been more than a day or two old.  Their Mamma was pacing back and forth just upslope of the wall calling to them, which was very effective at keeping them from wandering along the wall to the exit.  As they continued their serenade for the better part of an hour, all of the neighborhood cats were being called in from all directions.

I know that the turkeys are non-native (although there is some debate about that) and not good for the local ecosystem (although there is debate about that also) - but babies are babies.  I walked out back and tried herding them towards one exit, but that just caused them to scatter.  So I reached down to pick them up one at a time to deposit them back over the wall, not fully thinking through that Momma Turkey would not understand I wasn't picking them up for bit-sized snacks.  Because I was standing behind the 5' retaining wall, that means Momma Turkey was just about at head level.  I picked up the first baby, and snapped this shot,

seconds before the 20 lbs of crazy mad Momma Turkey made a claws out wings spread rush for my head.  Let me tell you, if I had been about to chow down on her baby, that sure would have been effective.  As it was, it got me to not-so-gently-as-I-would-have-liked-to toss the baby in her direction.  She was obviously not expecting this, as she didn't notice, and continued her very impressive display despite the happy baby peeping by her tail feathers.  At which point I realized that I was now trapped between the house and the retaining wall, barefoot, and that push come to shove, a mad Momma Turkey is much tougher than me!  Luckily for me, it was mostly show, and she had no desire to actually touch me if she didn't have to.  I was able to deposit the remaining babes back over the wall, and she got a tiny bit less aggressive each time - although I think she may have just been catching her breath.

Teenage Drivers - a.k.a The fledglings

The first crop of songbird fledglings has taken to the air.  My first clue was the bird at the feeder with the residual fluff of downy feathers around it's crown, making it look a bit Einstein-ish.  This is inevitably followed by the occasional thump on our windows.  We live on the edge of the wildland interface, and I think that our small windows are the first glass many of the young birds experience.  We have feeders mounted on the windows, and markings on the windows, in attempts to make them more visible.  And even the cat plastered eagerly on the inside of the window is apparently no deterrent.  Although most fly off afterwards with little more than their bell rung, sometimes their fate is more tragic.

For one "lucky" young flier this week, we happened to have left the front door open.  Much to everyone's surprise, a young House Finch flew into the living room, just hours after it's compatriot met it's end at the front window.  The young bird was determined to escape by flying up, despite the presence of a ceiling, and ceiling fan.  We turned off the lights and attempted to usher the bird out towards the sunlight, with no success.   I was getting concerned that the young bird would hurt itself permanently, as it kept flying into the ceiling and it was loosing many of it's newly acquired feathers.  Therefore, I thought it would be less traumatic to catch it and release it outside.  Then there was reality.

The next scene is of me chasing the poor bird around the living room with a butterfly net, with the baby bouncing gleefully in the carrier (because I didn't want to set him somewhere the bird would fly into), and a toddler screeching with delight at the absurdity of the sight.

Despite the obvious imperfection of the capture plan, I did actually manage to net the bird, and much to it's relief, let it out the door after prolonging the experience for just a few photos.

Camera Trapping in Marin

I'm finally getting to some camera trapping results!

After some serious inspiration by the Camera Trap Codger's class last year, I got permission to set some cameras up on a few local public and private local properties.  I've got a little over a year's worth of results, and there are some fun shots that I want to share.  

The first set is "Location B".  Location B is on a property in the middle of densely wooded suburban development.  There is a small adjacent open space parcel with a seasonal water source.  Most properties in the region are not fenced, and there is extensive open space within range of many species.  The habitat is dominantly oak woodland, grassland, and riparian.   

This is one of my first nice Bobcat images from that site from last year.

  I just pulled this video from the camera yesterday.  It was taken roughly 3 weeks ago.  Watch until the very end of the clip for a surprise.    

Screech Returns

The little owl made it!  After keeping the screech owl in veterinary care for roughly a week, Wildcare called my neighbors to come pick it up for release.  This photo was taken through a hole in the transportation box.

I've got my eye on you

That brave little owl looks very tough for what a weird experience it must be having.  It was obviously missing a few tufts from the top, but otherwise appeared healthy.  My neighbor said she could see the owl's piercing gaze watching her on the whole drive home.

I was really struck by was a diminutive creature it was.  Intellectually I knew that screech owls are small, but up close, it really looked like a miniature version of a "real" owl.  They are perfectly suited for this area, and because they are dependent on cavities for nesting, they can be enticed by nest boxes.  There is a local organization called The Hungry Owl Project, a program of Wildcare, which encourages erecting owl nest boxes (where appropriate) as a means of natural and sustainable pest control.     They offer owl boxes for sale, and although there are other well-designed boxes available, if you are considering putting a pre-made one up, getting one from the Hungry Owl Project a great way to help support a beneficial local non-profit.

Back to Screech.  That evening after dark, they hiked up the hill with the owl in the box, and released it into the night.  As soon as the box opened, the little owl just shot out and up into the trees, not missing a beat.  Hopefully our local owl has learned his predator, and is able to avoid any future encounters.