For a while now, we've known that we live near a bobcat territory boundary.  We've set up our trail camera so that we get to view the scat, scent, and scratch process. What we didn't know is that coyotes would also be interested in that spot.  Or rather, perhaps they were interested in the scent left by our dog, Tiva, after she added it to the bobcat spot.  This week, we had a third visitor, who didn't scent but who left some mighty big tracks under our deck! Note the temperature on the trail camera.  We know one of the camera's sensors is a bit off, but it was certainly well below zero!

There is a beautiful stone walkway that goes between our house and our neighbor's house.  Years ago, the two houses belonged to the same owner and this is a relic.  We have trail cameras at the base and top of the stairs, and it is fun to see who comes by.  Most of the time it is deer, but lately, the kitties are back in town.  No wonder Tiva is afraid of the dark!  (Note that the clock on one of the trail cameras is off -- it was only ONE mountain lion that walked by).  Enjoy!

Thank heavens we don't have many skunks that live in our area.  We've only seen a couple of individuals on our trail cameras over the years.  On this morning, though, we had a western spotted skunk visit.  How cute!

With the Park  still  closed, we're walking in the neighborhood a lot.  On Monday, Andy found a mule deer carcass that looked like it had been buried by a mountain lion.  It was near a house, but after discussing with the neighbor, we learned it was vacant so in the evening we put up 2 trail cameras.  Each morning Andy would fetch the cameras, but the first night, the lion just covered it up a bit better, and we only got two pictures.  Then the second night, she ate a lot but moved the carcass,  and the cameras again only caught a couple pictures. They say 3rd time's a charm and that was so true for us.  Here you can see a partially buried buck, a brave mouse and the momma lion with her two kittens.  You can see that she helps move the carcass (and take off its fur) so the kittens have better access.  You can also see that she takes a pee break in the middle of the night and that the kittens are curious about the camera.  When it is time to go, you can see momma carefully cover the carcass to save it for another day.  Ah, the things that go on when we're asleep... 

Note that all times are one hour later than on the camera (we forgot to change times for daylight savings).  (Click on an image to enlarge). 

November is when most animals have left the Estes valley.  Too cold and too windy.  There are a few animals who stay through the winter, though, and they have various strategies for surviving the season.  The Red-breasted Nuthatch stashes pine seeds so that it can eat through the winter.  The black bear takes a long nap (not quite true hibernation) and this one was out early on a snow-covered morning to see if it was really nap time.  The bobcat eats lots of rabbits and scavenges carion.  Here is a kitten  who is waiting for his/her mom. Finally the Black-billed Magpie scavenges for anything and everything and looks beautiful doing it.

Several weeks ago Andy and I spotted a lone female/cow Elk in the neighborhood.  Andy noticed that she was limping, and when we saw her together, she acted like she did not want us to see her by lying down and dropping her head behind the bushes.  We wished her well, but knew that she would probably not last long.  A week later, Tiva led us to her body.  It didn't look like she had been killed, but that she had recently died and birds were starting to poke at her hide.  We put up a trail camera and what a show unfolded over the next several days!  We got over 11,000 pictures  of Black-billed Magpies, Common Ravens, 2 Golden Eagles, at least 4 Coyotes, a Bobcat, and a Mountain Lion with two kittens.  In the wild, nothing goes to waste. We've put the story in the captions so you can follow along.   Click on the first image to enlarge the photo and view the captions. Also a bonus video at the end. Enjoy! (Note that some dates/times (and temperatures) aren't correct on some of the trail camera pictures, but we've indicated the correct date and time in the caption.  Also, the pink glow on the morning trail camera pictures are an artifact of the sun hitting the camera, not quite the actual sunrise. )

Sometime on Friday evening/Saturday morning, a mountain lion took down a young buck. Andy spotted it in our neighborhood by the flock of ravens that were making a meal out of it.  We knew that it was a mountain lion kill because we could see a long drag mark as it moved its meal to the privacy of a nearby tree.   We also saw a VERY big cat print in the sand of the road.  So, with the cover dusk, Andy put up a trail camera near the carcass and we didn't sleep all night.  Mountain lion it was!  Here are some pictures that we got.  Note that the times are all an hour and 15 minutes later than actual.  There was also a branch that reflected back the (infrared) flash of the camera so I've edited it out.  You can see that there was barely enough left for a black-billed magpie the next day.  

November is peak mule deer rut season and there is only one thing on their minds.  Unfortunately, it is also hunting time and one buck was not so lucky.  He was shot in the neighborhood but ended up dying in our neighbor's yard.  A bobcat made a good meal of him one day and we put up the trail camera the next.  Only one skittish coyote visited that night. Then we couldn't put up the camera the following night because the bobcat was on it again.  The third night we were able to photograph a coyote and a bobcat on the carcass.  We've made a short video.  It is best played at double speed.  You can see why the coyote was so nervous.  Can you see the bobcat's eyes come into view?  

We haven't seen many bears in Estes, yet this year, but while Andy and I were out shopping for a bear proof canister one day, our trail camera was watching one.  A mother sow and her two cubs took a nap right in front of our trail camera.  For an hour and a half the trail camera took pictures of her.  Most of the time she was napping, but every 10 minutes or so she would move, or one of her cubs would move, and the trail camera would click a few pictures.  Here are our favorites from the day.