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Curmudgeon

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Everything posted by Curmudgeon

  1. Curmudgeon
    Here are a few more recent photos. Can you find all 9 eagles in the photo?
  2. Curmudgeon
    I like the fisher. Here's a few more. One of just ravens here at home. The other is a new site near Oneonta. This is 48 hours after the bait was put out. That was an intact, but cut open deer at a new site. I don't think the coyote fed.
  3. Curmudgeon
    WNY - My Browning is a BTC 7FHD. I bought it last year. Here are some of today's photos, including one of 7 bald eagles. I just pointed it down. The aiming was a bit off.
  4. Curmudgeon
    Open country out there. They are scarce here this year and I don't know why.
  5. Curmudgeon
    The reason I have photos from others cameras is that I run the Appalachian Eagles Project research for the whole state. There are currently research sites from Cattaraugus to Columbia and Essex to Orange Counties. I get photos from a number of people and places, even though over 8 years more than half the sites have been in 4 contiguous counties: Madison; Chenango; Otsego; and, Delaware. http://www.appalachianeagles.org/
  6. Curmudgeon
    Mine is one Phade recommended. It isn't the one that took the above photos. That is someone else's. I'll check the model when I move it at the end of the day.
  7. Curmudgeon
    Thanks Wooly. You inspired me to spend some photos. Here are some recent shots. Most are of eagles, some with ravens mixed in. The regal looking Golden Eagle is from Orange County. The really wet eagles were here yesterday. I love the coyote shot. My camera is having trouble focusing - see the eagle and raven in flight photo. I'm going to swap it with my Browning later today. The Browning has been monitoring a fence line since some free ranging dogs chased the sheep. I'm going to put the poorly focusing Moultrie there. As long as I can ID the dogs for law enforcement purposes, it will serve. Golden Eagle, Delaware County Golden Eagle, Orange County Very light, older juvenile Bald Eagle and Common Ravens Bald Eagle and ravens Wet eagles A charismatic "singing dog" in Orange County
  8. Curmudgeon
    Where can I get one of those?
  9. Curmudgeon
    Love the roughies. Here's 3 yotes.
  10. Curmudgeon
    For those who are new to this topic, FSW is a deer farmer who objects to some of the rules about CWD the state has imposed on that industry. New regs are being considered. DOT crews are directed to bring me road-killed deer ONLY IF I am closer than the site where they normally dump them. In other words, the deer are moved less if brought to me than they would be otherwise. If DOT was not removing the deer from roadsides, they would be consumed by scavengers anyway, and those scavengers would be at risk of injury. One of our GPS tracked golden eagles likes to feed on carcasses alongside major highways. I worry about her. It is better the carcasses are removed.
  11. Curmudgeon
    I was going to start a new thread for my eagle research but it is really just a continuation of this one. So, unless there is some compelling reason to start a new thread, I am going to use this one. We started putting out bait on 12/22. Golden eagles - target species - have been scarce. I actually had 2 follow the ridge near my site last weekend, freaking out the ravens, but they did not feed. The baited site is on top of the hill so I don't actually know what the eagles did. They may have perched for a while and then moved on. Who knows? We have been getting lots of bald eagles, hawks and ravens. Some sites are getting foxes and coyotes. For anyone new to the forum, I have a license to collect and possess road-killed deer for the sites operated in Delaware and Otsego County. Each deer is checked for bullet holes to prevent lead poisoning. Here are some shots. First bird on bait in Delaware County - golden eagle on a Holstein. Bald eagles with common ravens Red-tailed hawk with leg band Rough-legged hawk Canids
  12. Curmudgeon
    In some areas, coyotes are really sensitive. It probably matters how much they are hunted and trapped. A modern cam would probably help.
  13. Curmudgeon
    One of the in-laws hit a fairly large one while driving. They have a lower center of gravity than a deer. It went under the car and did extensive damage.
  14. Curmudgeon
    Note: That fox looks like a female.
  15. Curmudgeon
    Good observation. In my trail cam photo, I was guessing another eagle was a threat. All 4 seem focused on a single point in the sky.
  16. Curmudgeon
    4 more eagles looking up. What could be up there?
  17. Curmudgeon
    Love it!
  18. Curmudgeon
    Another download of mostly redtails, a fisher and dogs, dogs, dogs. Dogs sans collars, looking feral, 4 of them.
  19. Curmudgeon
    I'll trust the biologist over your myths every time.
  20. Curmudgeon
    Coyotes have little impact on deer density in most of this state. The point has been made repeatedly - in this thread and others - that human hunters take many more deer. If you want more deer, don't put your energy into trying to eliminate coyotes, lobby DEC. Even in SC, where much has been made of the number of fawns killed, research shows coyotes kill few adult does - http://wildlife.org/wsb-study-coyote-predation-not-the-main-source-of-declining-deer-in-s-c/ . I know 2 groups that want high deer numbers. There is a cohort of deer hunters who care about little else than that one species. There are also the urban animal lovers who lean towards animal rights. As far as I'm concerned, they are flip sides of the same coin: people who see one large charismatic species and no others. When I look at habitat to see whether there are too many or too few deer, it is not based upon the number of deer seen, or harvested. It is based upon the plants in the habitat. If there are large expanses of hay scented fern in the understory, there are have been too many deer for some time. If invasives like buckthorn, bush honeysuckle and garlic mustard are prominent, the same is true. Too many deer change the composition of in forests over time, both plant and animal species. If you care about native plants and wildlife - the hundreds of species that we don't hunt - you cannot support the high deer populations we have in much of New York. If the value of your timber matters, you don't want too many deer. If you want regenerating oaks, you need to keep deer numbers down. Rattler calls coyotes invasive, and he is partially right. While the species contains genetic material from a native species, it is a hybrid, not a native. However, it is beneficial. The loss of wolves created a void. Coyotes fill that void to some degree. "Nature abhors a vacuum." Humans created one.
  21. Curmudgeon
    Wooly - You are one of my favorite people on huntingny.com. Keep up the good work! Curmudgeon
  22. Curmudgeon
    Sorry if I have been scarce most of this year. I didn't have time to argue or deal with misinformation. I'll try to be more attentive as we get into the new year. If you are new to this forum, if you want to learn about coyotes from anecdotal, visceral, reactionaries, if you don't care about facts, if you are afraid of wild dogs, you came to the right place. If you want to learn actual facts, if you care to be ecologically literate, go to Google Scholar and type in searches for coyotes. You will find that, yes, coyotes can be controlled. However, it must be done intensively, continually, and there is NO ecological benefit. The cost/benefit analysis is terrible. The cost are high and benefits aren't worth the bother. If this photo from earlier this year at one of our research sites, causes any emotional reaction besides a smile, you may need professional help.
  23. Curmudgeon
    It is a good thing professionals - for the most part - write the rules. Deer control is a must. Coyote control is a dream.
  24. Curmudgeon
    In my youth, it was an education. In my dotage, it is a time to reflect.
  25. Curmudgeon
    Wow. I want to see those. I have had crows and such do that, but another deer, how unexpected. If you get them, please post them in the active gut pile thread. Thanks. Merry Christmas
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