Here’s another bobcat shot. This time there are two of them and they were visiting late morning last Wednesday. My surveillance cam was off so I didn’t get to see a video of their reaction, but it seems as if they were really checking out the flash mounted to a tree along with the trigger sensor. It’s hard to tell from this image, but the bobcat in the back is actually bigger than the one in the front. Most likely a mother with an older kitten. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

It was a slow summer up at the camera trap, but summer’s not quite over yet. This bobcat, and a friend, made several appearances over the weekend. In one of the photos, the bobcat had a rabbit in its mouth but was a bit too far from camera for a usable image. Here, the bobcat appears to be looking toward one of my flash units that is mounted on a nearby tree. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

A flock (or rafter if you prefer) of wild turkeys passed through the yard on several occasions last week. I was at my desk working when I caught these two hens on the other side of my window. There were about twenty individuals total with quite a few chicks. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2800, f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second.

Acorn woodpeckers love their acorns — so much so that they drill special holes in tree bark to store them for later use. In this photo, you can see the perfectly sized hole for each acorn. They are primarily a western and tropical species, ranging from California, down through northern South America. I photographed this one in the Santa Monica Mountains of California. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.

A coastal brown bear races through the water at low tide, hoping to catch a salmon-y breakfast. If was nice to get the camera on the sandbar for a ground level perspective of the action. Photographed at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the usually-active wildlife corridor in my backyard has been very slow this summer. The bears must have heard me. They finally showed up today. A mother with two cubs. They navigated around my camera traps, but I was able to grab a few snapshots as they clung to the perimeter of the yard on their way through. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/1000th of a second (top photos), ISO 2000, f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second (bottom photo).

In lieu of much recent activity up at the camera trap, here’s a shot of a young Virginia opossum from back in the fall. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/14 at 1/80th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

A couple of marmots engaged in marmot-y behavior. These are the yellow-bellied species and they were photographed at Mount Evans in Colorado. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/125th of a second.

Great grays are certainly majestic owls. But they do look kind of funny when they’re on the ground — often half sunken in snow — just after diving for a vole or other prey. I’m not entirely sure if this was a successful attempt or not. The owl hung out for quite some time in the snow and then turned and flew in the opposite direction. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/3200th of a second.