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Deer hearts ready for the camera traps
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
My very first post to this blog (
here) described the cardiac lesson my wife teaches each year. Part of the lesson involves dissecting deer hearts. Each year she brings the sliced hearts home for camera trap bait and each year "Cardiac Day" happens to fall near Valentine's Day. This year it matched up perfectly. With 14 deer hearts to set out, I knew my two cameras would be busy...
Setting out the hearts
I only set a few hearts at the first set. The first to find them was a gray fox. Note the two photos are a minute apart:
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Gray fox taking bait
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
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Gray fox taking bait
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
This set was more open than the second one and the only other visitor of note was this red-tailed hawk. Almost missed him!
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Red-tailed Hawk in flight
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
The second set is a bit brushier and I put far more hearts in front of that camera. Gray made an appearance here too:
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Gray fox
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
The hawk never made an appearance here because it was too brushy, but the crows found the bait straight away. The hearts are too big for the crows to carry, so they chisel out smaller pieces and I end up with massive amounts of photos:
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American Crow at bait
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
I also captured a skunk at the second set, but not the first:
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Striped skunk taking bait
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
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Striped skunk taking bait
(Seneca Falls, NY 2/13) |
The deer hearts are now a part of our February tradition. Best. Valentine's. Gift. Ever.
Now, I just gotta figure out what to get her.....
Very nice captures on that red tail....
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about spearing one on a branch? It would be interesting to see what would take the time to climb or land on one. I bet flying squirrels, if in the right habitat.
ReplyDelete