White-Tailed Deer - Buck

Bucks shed their antlers in late Winter, after the breeding season. They grow new ones in the Spring, covered with "velvet," a soft covering. Antlers lose the velvet in late August.

Photo by: D. Carlson

White-Tailed Deer - Doe

"Apple" our resident doe

A doe has from one to three fawns in a litter. It usually depends on the age of the doe and how much food is around. Fawns stay with their mother for almost a year. She drives them off before she has a new litter.

Photo by: D. Carlson

Pileated Woodpecker

Photo by B. Kelly


January 2009

Pileated woodpeckers are the largest of the common woodpeckers found in most of North America. Pileated woodpeckers forage for their favorite meal, carpenter ants, by digging large, rectangular holes in trees.
Size: Body, 16 to 19 in;
Wingspan, 26 to 30 in
Weight: 8.8 to 12.3 oz

White-Tailed Deer - Buck

Early Winter 2008

When a deer is nervous it will snort and stamp its feet. When it is alarmed it automatically raises its tail.

Bobcat

Photo by B. Kelly
Taken February 2009

• One and a half to two times larger than a typical house cat
• Average body length including tale is 36"
• Average height of adult bobcat is 14-15" from ground to shoulder
• Males range from 16 to 30 lbs, females average 20 lbs
• Tufted ears and a tufted face both marked with bold bands
• A "bobbed" tail that is has a light underside and bold bands on top
• Color of fur ranges from grayish brown to tawny to dark reddish brown and lighter on the undersides
• Dark spots in coat and dark bars on the forelegs
• A lithe, flexible body with legs designed for climbing, pouncing and rapid acceleration.
• Forward-facing yellow eyes with black elongated pupils
  

Red Fox

Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms.

Like a cat's, the fox's thick tail aids its balance, but it has other uses as well. A fox uses its tail (or "brush") as a warm cover in cold weather and as a signal flag to communicate with other foxes.
Average lifespan in the wild: 2 to 4 years
Size: Head and body, 18 to 33.75 in Tail, 12 to 21.75 in
Weight: 6.5 to 24 lbs

Photo by: D. Carlson

Red Fox

Taken January 2009

Red-Tailed Hawk

In the courtship display a pair of Red-tailed Hawks soars in wide circles at a great height. The male dives down in a steep drop, then shoots up again at nearly as steep an angle. He repeats this maneuver several times, then approaches the female from above. He extends his legs and touches or grasps her briefly. The pair may grab onto one other and may interlock their talons and spiral toward the ground.

Description
Size: 18-26 in
Wingspan: 45-52 in
Weight: 24.36-51.54 ounces

Photo by: D. Carlson