Guess the Raptor

I don't know crap about birds (wait, maybe what I do know is crap).  Anyway, the point is I'm no good at identifying the local avian hordes.  My quick research tells me this is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. But it could also be several other kinds of raptors. Please comment and set me straight.  I have zoomed in the 2nd time through to help with the ID.

Deer vs Coyote

Because there are so many animals around the yard, it is inevitable that they will run into each other on occasion. Sometimes with surprising outcomes. Here, a badass deer runs off a coyote who stops for a second to try to face-off with the deer, but then realizes that's not a very good idea.

Life

This is our deck (the arrow isn't really on the deck, I photoshopped it)...  Because directly below the deck, at that spot, is a Robin's nest.  We found it and have been taking pics by placing our phones on the deck and lining up the lens in the slats in between the 2x4s.  So the pics aren't great quality and are squeezed on both sides by the deck.

First we found the eggs...

This is Day 1 of life for the birdlings

Day 2

Day 3

 Day 4

 Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

 Day 8

Sometime in the next week, they will leave the nest and be gone.  We will miss them very much!

A Tasty Chair for an Early Rising Elk

Yesterday at a little after 5am, this Elk had a fresh idea for breakfast.

Thar Be Tadpoles!

This is a time-lapse at 30x speed.  So it represents about a half hour at the edge of the pond. What's amazing, is that due to the lighting, logs, bed of leaves and other tricks of the eye, it is very hard to currently see any tadpoles in the pond.  I saw a few hanging near the edge, under a big log, so I stuck the GoPro in the pond. This is the video I got.  There are gazillions (I counted).

There are many other creatures in the video that are not frog or newt tadpoles - I don't know what they are.  Especially weird is the Scorpion-esque creature creepily floating around at the 20 second mark.  Also, near the end you can see two frogs floating around checking out the kids.

Cool Slug

This adorable creature is eating the bud of a Forget-me-Not (I think).  Slugs are cute and fascinating.  It's a bummer that lots of people don't like them - they are just trying to live their best life (like me).  Also, they are great for the environment/ecosystem.  Watch one up close and see how awesome they are... I mean, come on, they have eye-stalks! I wish I had eye-stalks.

When Mom is Too Tired to Play

This fawn tried her best to get mom to play with her, but alas, mom wasn't having it.  I froze the last frame of the video because it was so adorable.

Bear Swimming Time Lapse

This is a time-lapse video of a bear having fun in the pond for about 13 minutes (you can see the time on the bottom).  The entire video represents about 20 mins of elapsed time.  Having a time-lapse camera aimed at the pond helps see some animals that the trail cameras miss.  Either because the animals are too far away to activate them or some other tech issue, sometimes the motion detection fails.  So I have a camera that takes a snapshot of the pond every 10 seconds all day just to catch the things the other cameras miss. 

More Cool Pics...


Bear glamour shot...

Owl Incoming!

Snowy Deer...

Bobcat Too Close...

No Goldilocks

This is one of only a handful of times that three bears are seen at the same time on a video. It seems like the two on the logs are about to throw down when the third comes running in to take their attention. The third one also seems to be a teenager as she is smaller and quicker than the other two.

Magical Heron

Okay, the heron isn't magical, but the scene sure is.  Watching her look for food as the rain plops into the pond is soothing - but only because we didn't see her catch and gulp anything - that would've been drastically less soothing!

Fawn of the Day

This is about as close as we can come to 25 seconds of wildlife bliss...

Life is Good

This bear doesn't appear to have a care in the world.  Stretched out on a nice day, chewing on a long piece of grass. Perfect.

Look at those back legs and feet - I love when the bears hang out this way.

Nodding Off

Please keep it down when you watch this video as to not wake this nice elk - who stayed and slept here for a couple of hours.

Elk Pond Party

Several elk hang out at the pond - one gets a little too close to the camera.  I particularly like the reflections of the elk on the far side of the pond.

Just Missed!

Back when the pond was dry (this is the usual bottom of it) - a scruffy coyote scoots off to the left just one second before a bobcat appears on the right.  Of course, there was no video framing out there in nature, so I'm sure they were hyper aware of each other.  Interestingly, on other videos I've seen deer chase coyotes and bobcats chase deer - but also, deer chase bobcats.  It's sort of a rock, scissors, paper thing.

As Close As You'll Ever Be to A Bobcat's Butt

Glad this Bobcat didn't spray the camera. Her butt was certainly locked and loaded. The surprise of this funny video is that there were actually two bobcats. That's unusual for our yard - they are almost always loners.

It Takes a (Deer) Village

Group parenting abounds as this Moms & Daughters Day gets off to a cleanly start...

Coyote Break Time

I've posted several videos of animals playing recently, so now it is time to rest.  Nice of this beautiful coyote to do so right in front of the trail camera.

Hummingbird in Slo-Mo

Took this with my phone the other day as this hummingbird flew a few feet from me to dine at our Hummingbird Cafe (5 Stars on BirdYelp). It's amazing watching her hover perfectly in one spot without wavering (her tail helping with balance). Also, the last two seconds of the video are regular speed so you can see the difference. It looks so abnormally fast after you've watched the slow motion.

Bobcat Fun Time

On a snowy day in February, this bobcat was having more fun than just about any creature on Earth.  I love watching our wildlife play with joy and abandon.

Ghost Elk

From February - on a snowy night, Ghost Elk invade the moors of our yard.

And You Think Your Kids are Hungry All the Time

Most Bear Fun Ever at 5x Speed!

This bear had the time of her life playing with the kiddie pool and the balls on the basketball court.  She stayed and played for about 20 mins.  This is one 4 min segment that I sped up to 5x speed so you can watch it in about 50 seconds. Luckily, the software kept the audio when I sped up the video, because the sound is hilarious, too.

Posey Fawn

Crazy cute fawn in some nice lighting makes for a great video.

Random Cool Pics

A group of elk doing their best to look majestic...

Weird and cool night shot of a bat that looks like an X-ray.

This bear's nose is shaped perfectly like a heart.

That's me in the background trying to get by the deer without disturbing her.  Obviously, she sees me.

Because Monday Should Now Be Baby Bear Day

I mean... Come on.

Coyote Copy

From last June... These are two videos filmed 1.5 hours apart from each other of a beautiful coyote in the same spot. They are remarkably similar (the camera didn't move, of course). I compare them via split screen at the end so you can see how consistent her route and behavior were.

Badass Bobcat

This beautiful creature is made even more menacing when I add the slo-mo instant replay.  She's just lumbering along the driveway in the cold light of day.  Awesome.

Elky McBitey

At the pond, this elk seems to be threatening her buddy with "Death by a thousand small bites" - meanwhile, two ducks look on wondering what all the ruckus is about.