Framingham Nature Blog - Mammals Preparing For Winter

On December 1st, I set The Meidase SL122 pro in the Pine Grove: A small pine forest (only about 2 acres) which is about a mile from our house. I placed it within 30 feet of an animal den which im guessing belongs in the springtime to fox or coyote?

The den in combination with a conversation last year with a dog walker who said he sees coyotes in the Pine Grove often convinced me to put it there. For bait, I used random table scraps, including pasta, half a breakfast burrito, and a clump of thanksgiving stuffing.

I was worried that something was spooking the animals though, because the next day, all the food was still there. My curiosity was revived though, when I heard Great Horned Owls hooting in a nearby Eastern White Pine tree. I origionally thought there was only one, but after climbing an adjacent tree for a better photo, I realized there was a mated pair. They were actually surprisingly tolerant of me, and did not fly away until the very last second, when i climbed too high for their comfort zone.

There was a clump of fur and rodent bones underneath their branch: Owl Pellet

I returned for the third time on December 4th, when the food was finally gone, and I packed up the camera. Here are the results...

Fisher

Common Raccoon

Common Raccoon Pair

Fisher

Whitetail Deer (Female)

I haven't gotten a Fisher or Deer on the camera since April, When i recorded the dead owl. People call them "Fisher Cats" which is not correct since they are not cats, and are actually Mustelids, meaning they are more closely related to wolverines, minks and pine martens. They live year round in tree cavities, which makes sense since there is an abundance of those in the Pine Grove. Fishers have a very generalist diet, eating insects and dead owls one day, and attacking my neighbor's dogs on another. Fishers are also the top predator of porcupines, because they exhaust them, and know to only attack the vulnerable belly and face.

The raccoons are unfortunately boring to me at this point. They are probably the most common animal besides rodents that I get on my cameras. I am not at all surprised that the pair stopped by for a sniff.

The doe was not expected at all. It looks like she didnt feed and only stopped by out of curiosity. Right now, the rut is starting to slow down and she is most likely already pregnant. She was probably looking for "Mast" (Acorns, Hickory Nuts, and Beach Nuts).

On the 6th, I returned to set the camera. I placed it about 50 feet from where i put it last time. This time it was higher up and had a much wider view. I used chicken bones and the meat caked onto them from the preceding night's rotisserie chicken dinner. I tied them to a log with wire, which is to keep the animals in front of the camera for longer, trying to rip the meat from the wire. It also might give me photos of animals trying to problem solve, and in extreme positions.

I found some Great Horned Owl pellets that day which i dissected and sorted by type of bone below. Owls regurgitate animal fur and bones from their prey, so when i found mouse and shrew bones, I knew what their diet was.