Critters captured on camera

[crash325]

Two questions crash? what type quail is that? It is beautiful... Next did you ever stand a Horned toad on his head? I used to play with them in Grand prarie, texas, ages ago..Have seen one again except in the zoo...

Hi,
The quail are Gamble Quail. This was a bad year for them. Many did not sit their nests, too hot & dry. When a few showed up with babies they were almost a month late. The broods were also small. In a good year, I'll have some family's on there 3rd brood.

The quail & Inca doves are great. One Inca watches me throw seed out, just sits and waits even when I throw seed at it. Most years the Inca's go south for the winter this year they stayed. Have 3 other types of dove, turtle,white wing, & morning. All but the Inca's are real spooky.

Soon there should be a lot of tiny horn toads, got the first real rain last night 1/2"+ (Stolen from Texas. :laughing. Hop toads croaked all night, but no puddles big enough for them to breed.

Yard is full of holes, hop toads, horn toads, & king snakes. I have seen the king snakes & hop toads share the same hole

Quite a few new types of birds this year, no idea what some of them are. Lots of northern Cardinals, AZ Cardinals, (pyrrkhuloxia's), blue & bronze gross beaks, Curve bill thrashers. Thrashers, AZ, & Cactus Wrens are all fairly tame.

Not all my critters are friendly. The 2 rattlers were a breading pair, got rid of about 30 by getting rid of those 2.

 

[missingstexas]

Here's a couple from my best friend's place, last year, in McMullen County Texas. They've owned it about 20 years now and I'm lucky enough to have been childhood friends with them. I can't help but laugh at the fawn shaking something off. And the 'row of horns' just impressed me. They were fat and happy last year. This year's drought has been pretty devastating, he says, they're thinking the fawn survival rate is very low.

 

[Western]

Some da%$ nice bucks there! It is dry, I had 5 does with fawns this Spring, I am down to maybe 2. Had to supplement water and feed

 

[missingstexas]

Some da%$ nice bucks there! It is dry, I had 5 does with fawns this Spring, I am down to maybe 2. Had to supplement water and feed

They have close to 10k acres so they can't do yearly counts, but do aerial surveys every other year. In normal dry years survival rate is close to 30%, but he's thinking it's less than 10% this year. Funny thing about that "row of horns" is that none of them are "shooters", based on their managment philosophy.

 

[jonyyuma]

Crash, I hope you made a hatband from the rattlers. Do You eat snake meat?

 

[weldingisfun]

Taken yesterday evening from the kitchen window. The vixen started with 5 or 6 kits. Now all we see is the one. They are eating persimmons. Look closely, there are two foxes there.

 

[jonyyuma]

Welding, those foxes are really interesting to watch, we had them 3 years ago. Behaved a lot like house cats. Mother with three kits.

 

[Western]

I like foxes, for the most part. Comical to watch if you get the opportunity. Had one climb up in a tree I was bow hunting in one time, used to the squirrels and birds, but that surprised us both!

 

[crash325]

Crash, I hope you made a hatband from the rattlers. Do You eat snake meat?

Nope, don't eat snake. :laughing: One killed last year a Mexican that was here took it home to dry, powder and eat. Said it was good for arthritus.

Don't make hat bands either. Usually just cut the head off and put it in a can. Then toss them over the fence for the other critters to eat.

The Quail killed a small one a couple of years ago. I think a mother quail would take on a bear if threatened her babies. :thumbsup:

 

[bullbreaker]

Don't make hat bands either. Usually just cut the head off and put it in a can. Then toss them over the fence for the other critters to eat.

Here's a "shootist" with one on !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boone

:thumbsup: