This great horned owl fledgling was getting a drink at a remote desert waterhole when bats decided they were also thirsty. Not sure which bat species they are, but it’s fun to watch them swoop in and try to drink while the owlet watches.
Tag: trail camera
Screech owl copulation and feeding
This year, the fourth season of a Western screech owl pair using the nestbox in my yard, was a difficult time for the owl pair. Five eggs laid and hatched, but only one nestling survived to fledge. This video shows a copulation event after the eggs hatched and when only one nestling remained. It also shows how the adult male brings food to the adult female to feed her nestling.
Mountain lion Flehmen response
About three months ago I was checking a camera I had set on an often-used bear wallow. Not far from the wallow, on the trail, was a fairly fresh mountain lion scrape. I decided to move the trail cam from the wallow and mount it on a tree looking at the scrape. This is one of the scenes captured by the trail cam:
Do bears sh*t in the woods? This video answers that question
A few weeks ago I found some bear tracks and a marking tree and decided to set up a trail cam and see what action it might capture. At the very least I was hoping to catch a bear simply walking by. After a week, I checked the camera and here’s what it captured:
A few days after the sow and her cubs passed by the camera site, this big male bear came through. He almost missed the scat pile, but then noticed it:
Sky Island Wildlife
I’m just back from a few days exploring one of Arizona’s sky islands. After receiving a bit of monsoon rainfall, the wildflowers and wildlife were quite abundant and the formerly dry landscape had turned green with new plant growth.
While exploring I also checked three trail cameras I’ve had in the region for several months. It was exciting to see all the critters captured by the cameras, including a sow black bear with two cubs.
I also had the chance to get this beautiful rattlesnake to move off the road:
A Big Little Owl & Black Bear Cub
Here are two interesting camera trap videos, one from my yard and one from Arizona’s Sky Islands. The first video shows an alarmed Western screech owl in a birdbath during the day. She was trying to escape the 107 degree temps and her nestbox was too hot. I think a Cooper’s hawk landed on the fence near the birdbath.
In this second video, a black bear cub has a swim with her mom then takes an interest in my camera trap:
Bobcat Kittens!
I’ve had a camera trap set on my backyard pond going on 7 years continuously. I generally check the cameras every morning to see what critters have stopped by. In that time I’ve found adult bobcats to be quite common. However, this morning I was surprised to see the resident bobcat had brought her young kittens in for a drink last night.
Sky Island Camp Spot
A short video describing a recent camera trap check in one of Arizona’s sky islands.
Mountain lion and sub-adult kitten
On a recent camera check I found that something had dragged a skunk carcass near the camera (not me). The carcass attracted some attention from a coati, turkey vultures, and a mountain lion and her sub-adult offspring:
Western Screech Owlet Action
The Western Screech owl fledglings have continued to use the backyard waterholes and patio after fledging nearly two weeks ago. It appears the adult female is feeding them and teaching them to hunt while the adult male has not been captured on video since the little owls fledged.
My Earth 