3 Small Cats
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Here's a fun triptych of trail camera photos for ya. A California cat trifecta: Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Domestic Cat (Felis catus) and Mountain Lion (Puma concolor). The 3 cat species that live in California, and, as you can plainly see, all small cats. "Wha? Small cats?" Yep, small cats. In the world of cats, there are actually only 2 lineages still extant - the Big Cats (Pantherinae) and the Small Cats (Felinae). Both split from a common house-cat-sized ancestor, Pseudaelurus, about 10 million years ago, after Pseudaelurus had spread across the world from Eurasia to North America. T ..read more
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Flappy Holidays
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Since it didn't occur to me to post this recent camera trap series for Thanksgiving, I'll generalize it. Seems appropriate. These overwintering burrowing owls do come to the San Mateo Coast for the full holiday season after all. Tho, this feisty owl appears to be starting the season off a bit Grinchy. I think that's the burrowing owl equivalent of the middle finger. "Flap off buck!" Little owl should be glad that wasn't a reindeer. Could end up with a burrow full of coal. ==== References: Nature of a Man (this blog) - Inter-species Interactions Nature of a Man (this blog) - R ..read more
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The Dog Days of Winter
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Back in September 2015, I wrote a post about the "dog days of summer," playing with the expression to showcase a pair of juvenile coyotes and how dog-like they act. Well, this past winter I had another hilarious reminder of coyote canid characteristics. But this time at a trail cam that was set in the White Mountains, at just over 10,200 feet in elevation. November 28th 2016, 5:20pm: a serene evening scene, with "winterized" coyote: Then, on February 2nd at 3:24pm, after the trail cam spent most of January buried in snow... That's one of the rubber-coated twist-ties I used to ancho ..read more
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The Call of the Pika
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
As I've alluded to in past posts, for a few years I've been helping with American pika research in the eastern Sierra Nevada by leveraging my high-quality cam trapping to document behaviors and activity patterns at the haypiles they build each season to survive over winter. One question not well understood in the world o' pika, is how the little characters select their winter haypile sites each season. Why do some sites that have been reused for years suddenly go quiet and not get used for multiple seasons, but then get reoccupied again? Is it mainly due to local population fluctuations from ..read more
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Inter-species Interactions
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
A fun aspect of setting cam traps around clusters of old badger burrows, is that the burrows often attract squatters and homesteaders. In this case, an overwintering burrowing owl. I heart burrowing owls. The idea of a little owl that lives in burrows always makes me smile. But as this camera caught, the same burrows attract other visitors and drive-bys, including at times when the owl is home. Creating the ole "friend or foe?" decision for Mr. Owl. Here's a series in which a coyote shows up, flushing the owl (from the far burrow), who then returns 7 minutes after the coyote leaves ..read more
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Roaming the Badger Belt
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Over the last few years of camera trapping projects in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I've had the pleasure of getting to know a local character that few in San Mateo County have seen, or even seem to know roams their parks and preserves. A tenacious, oft-snarling carnivore that digs its terrified prey right out of their subterranean homes. And that is also occasionally mistaken for a lost footstool. Yes, that's right - the American Badger. Badger or footstool? Oh - it moved, must be a badger They roam the interconnected grasslands and adjoining open woodlands of the Santa Cruz Mountains in ..read more
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Curiosity
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Here's a recent sequence that gave me a chuckle. As soon as I sorted out what I was seeing. It's from an older Reconyx commercial trail cam with a "low glow" near infrared "stealth" flash that's right at the edge of most mammal's vision, and thus is hard to see. The resulting B&W photos aren't high quality, but the cam is tough as nails and lasts a long time. Trade-offs. To the challenge:  interpret the photos - what does the series show? Here's a final photo hint - the set and scene with the Reconyx in place: ==== References: Nature of a Man (this blog ..read more
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Another Rabbitat Round-up
Nature of a Man
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3y ago
Continuing with a theme, here's another series of camera trap photos from a different pygmy rabbit study site in Mono County. But this round, a fuller cast of characters. Dates are August to September. First up - the local pygmy rabbit of the colony. Its main burrow entrance is under the dead willows, which, as you'll see below, is a wise choice/adaptation. Exhibit A: the next morning at 6:52am, during the typical crepuscular "bunny hours," one of the local bobcats came a prowlin'... As you can see, the low light caused the camera to fill-flash. Which really pulled out the details whe ..read more
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Smile! You're on Candid Canid
Nature of a Man
by
3y ago
Or should that be "Canid Camera"? "Candid Coyote"? In areas where the weight of bears and cattle aren't a worry, staking cam traps at mid-size mammal eye-height can sometimes yield interesting interactions and photogenic POVs. Such as these recently retrieved pics a couple of charming coyotes left over the last few months at one of my pygmy rabbit colony cams in Mono County. Silly Supra-Genius. My cases are proven coyote-proof. For reference, no scent is/was used at this scene, or on the cam. The bunny patch is the lure that brings the 'yotes, and the cam a curiosity th ..read more
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Owls in the Fox House
Nature of a Man
by
3y ago
After the kit fox family flew the coop, a male burrowing owl moved in. Male burrowing owl at recently vacated kit fox natal den He even brought some kills back to the camera to show off his hunting prowess. And, errr, eating prowess. Burrowing owl chowing down on a small rodent And then a female joined the fun. Male (left) and female (right) burrowing owls at kit fox den And by their behavior (already ignoring each other), they were likely starting a family of their own in the recently vacated kit fox natal den. He'd bring her rodent presents... "Hey baby - daddy has a tas ..read more
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