Posted in Coyotes, turkey vultures on July 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A couple vultures on the hillside. What are they eating?
Upon closer inspection, it looks like a dead coyote. This guy didn’t run fast enough.
What happens when deer and turkeys collide? In this case, neither seemed too upset. The turkeys did make room for the deer to pass.
On the way home I passed the buzzards and [...]
Posted in bobcats, photography, tagged wildlife observation on July 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
On my way home from putting up my tree stand, I spotted several predators out along the road. The first was a bobcat that ran full tilt away from my truck. A mile or so further down the road, a coyote looked back over his shoulder at me and then barreled full speed up the [...]
Posted in Archery hunting, Big game hunting, ethics, hunting heritage, outdoor education, tagged Hunting, hunting ethics on July 25, 2009 | 2 Comments »
After playing baseball for 25 years I can remember my days in the sun ‑ both of them.
Some high points come to mind… stealing a base and knocking in the game winning run a couple times, but unfortunately there were many more times when I missed fat pitches that came “right down the pipe.”
As a [...]
Posted in Big game hunting, tule elk, wildlife management, tagged tule elk, hunting tule elk on July 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Yes, these tule elk are (or in this case, were) living in a the potential new tule elk unit.
These bulls were photographed last winter in Southern Alameda County. Here they are again, a little closer.
These are very respectible animals.
Here’s a lone bull photographed in the same area as those above on another trip. Hard to say [...]
Posted in Archery hunting, Deer hunting, Hunting, birds, birds of prey, blacktail deer, deer, photography, wildlife, tagged California deer hunting, hunting blacktail deer, photographing wildlife from a blind on July 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The day began with a typical flurry of bird activity. Many were drinking from the pond and others were bathing.
The acorn woodpecker posed for several photos from about 15 feet away.
A stellar jay joined him and it seemed like they were buddies, but I think not.
Scrub jays were everywhere, both adult and imature.
These young California [...]
Posted in birds of prey, photography, wildlife, tagged photography, the golden eagle on July 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »
As I sat in my deer blind, a shadow passed overhead. Through my peephole, I spotted the eagle hunting, but in its hunting mode, it wouldn’t stay for long.
A while later the eagle apeared again and this time it landed across the pond from me – still animated and hunting. I raised my camera and [...]
Posted in California Delta, Farm Management, Wildlife habitat, seasonal marsh, wildfire habitat recovery, wildlife management, tagged duck and pheasant habitat, habitat management on July 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
On Tuesday, June 16 2009 a helicopter spraying company hit our thick stands of cattails, tules, Bermuda and blackberries with a 3 quart to the acre mix of roundup.
Took a trip to Mayberry yesterday to view the results of the aerial spraying efforts. I found the cattails to be hard hit. Bermuda grass showed signs that [...]
Posted in Coyotes, animal tracks, tracking, tagged animal tracks, coyote tracks, Coyotes on July 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The coyote is the most visible predator in our region and probably in North America. Its tracks can be found in most wild places in California and elsewhere in the West. The coyote is a canine and its track patterns are very similar to all canines including foxes and wolves. The tracks below were sketched [...]
