Coyote Attacked deer *UPDATED*

***Look below as I update this post.***

New image updated Feb 8th

This fox has been a nightly visitor to the carcass, where are the coyotes?

Feb 5th ( scroll down to see updates)

Its hard to say if this is the same deer I photographed last week with the injured leg,  but I'm willing to bet it is. It was found dead at the teeth of coyotes Monday morning.

The deer is a one and a half year old buck that has shed its antlers. Its amazing to think how fast the coyotes ate basically half this deer in one night, the same night they brought it down.  Since the deer was found its carcass was reported to the DNR and moved to the back of the property. Here, I fastened my motion activated camera pointed right on it and plan to leave it for a week to see just how many coyotes are traveling in the local pack that is responsible for this. It is said that 1/3rd of a coyotes diet in the Northeast consist of deer meat. This is the third deer in as many years that has been found dead from coyote attacks in the same orchard. The previous two had fought so hard for life that in the battle they actually shed their antlers, and they were found next to the carcass. Wow. Check back int he next few days to see more as this story unfolds .

***UPDATE Feb  8th**
The deer has been dragged about 100 yards by the coyotes. You can see in the background of the second image , a trail of hair from the drag. Its amazing to think how the coyotes were able to drag the deer this far, it must weight about 100 lbs. It must have been a team effort? I cant imagine one coyote can drag an entire deer, or can it? I have had the motion sensor camera on the carcass about a week now, so far the only visitor has been this beautiful healthy fox. To keep the deer in one place we have driven some steel rebar into the frozen ground and fastened its legs with wire. Since then, the coyotes have vanished. I can only think that the human sent at the site has kept them back. I will be checking the cameras tomorrow.

stay tuned!!

New Hampshire Fox!

Red Fox in Hollis, NH Click image to enlarge


I had a great weekend exploring a tract of land owned by the Beaver Brook Association in Hollis, New Hampshire. I am excited for several reasons about this. The land is located a mere 8.5 miles from where I live, second, for a wildlife photographer like myself it seems to be teeming with life. I saw more deer and turkey in the first hour than I normally do in weeks around here. Another reason I have really been drawn to this land is how similar it is to my beloved Tarrywile Park where I started shooting. While the trees are not quite the same, the general layout of the land is. Its steep and thick, and has a lot of small open field areas as well, very similar to Tarrywile. On Saturday I hiked 6.95 miles from 10:30 am-almost 4pm. My legs were toast. I rarely found my self on trails, instead i explored the entire perimeter of the southern parcel. Today after trying unsuccessfully to paint for a few hours, I felt the need to be outside. I packed up and headed back over to Beaver Brook.



Catching a mouse, or vole? Click image to enlarge

Ill take this to go please. Click image to enlarge

About a mile from the parking area I spotted this Red Fox hunting for mice, and actually saw it get one, might have been a vole. He seemed healthy in actions but his fur seemed to have areas of missing hair, possible the onset of mange or a really bad fight. Got some fun shots most were blurry because i was so excited i could feel my hand shaking as I was trying to hold still.

Spring is upon us, one more big storm, tonight and I look forward to some sunny days, although I know i should probably not hold my breath. I have seen a bunch of ducks already starting to migrate through and will try to get some photos of them, Several pairs of Hooded Mergansers, and a new one for me, the Golden Eye. Photos coming soon.