Sunday, June 4, 2023

Scent Post

 

Coyote at Scent Post, May 22, 2023

The grass has gotten so tall around the GardePro trail cam that a bobcat could almost walk by without triggering an exposure. I say "almost," but I haven't actually seen a bobcat on either of the cams in a few weeks. Are they sneaking by in the tall grass, or have they simply found better hunting grounds? 

There's still a tiny bit of water running in the little creek, but it no longer seems to be a source of drinking water, even for birds. The GardePro had hundreds of empty-frame wind-activations, several buck deer still growing their antlers, a couple of coyotes, one fox, and one turkey. Not much of a haul for a two-week stint.

The other cam is the Foxelli which has been strapped to a bay laurel and points at a mossy boulder that the local foxes and coyotes use for a scent post. 

I've given up hope on catching a mama bobcat leading her young kittens through either of these traps, or of seeing anything new and interesting, so I'm planning to move the cams to another site the next time I'm up there.


Coyote Checking for Messages, May 24, 2023


Coyote Leaving a Message


Buck on a Foggy Morning


A Fox Checks for Messages, May 30, 2023


Fox Leaves a Message


Sixteenth Avenue Steps

I forgot to post this while it was still May. No big deal, but I recently came across the 2013 photo of these tiled steps that climb from Kirkham to Lawton streets at 16th Avenue, and I felt like like doing a ten-year comparison. The decorative tiles themselves seem little changed. You can't see it here, but there is a chip in one of the tiles that was caused by a tree falling on the steps over the winter. The main changes have occurred along the edges outside the steps. I'm guessing the quality of light, as well as the different cameras (a Nikon P7100 vs. Panasonic FZ80), account for the step-on tiles being blue-gray on the left and a more true-to-life white on the right.


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