Curmudgeon

I rely totally on Netflix DVDs. Someday soon they plan to get cable here. Until then, it's satellite with data limits.

Manfrotto tripods and heads are used by many serious hawk watchers. They are of excellent quality. Bogen, I believe, is a Manfrotto product. I think I bought mine from Eagle Optics.

Eagle and raven numbers have climbed significantly since the weather warmed. Some mamals in Delaware County - the fox is a grey if it isn't obvious Delaware County Golden Eagle - note the gold nape Otsego County Bald Eagles

The sticks are actually rebar keeping the yotes from dragging the bait. Those are chunks of wood on top to keep birds from hitting their wings.

Here are a couple of fun shots from today's download.

I too question the idea that a deer could eat a black walnut. Even a shagbark hickory shell seems daunting. I shell thousands of nuts in good years. I'm doing it now on bad weather days. The shelling is time consuming. The cracking is easy with the right tools. I've got one of these things - http://www.masternutcracker.com/. There are cheaper knockoffs but I liked the idea of buying it from the guy who designed it, even if it cost a little more. I can't imagine doing it with a vise.

Good idea but the ravens destroy anything they can get their beaks on, like wires.

Yes, I have an Empire State brand stove made in Friendship, NY. They were last manufactured in 1920 so it's a century old. I put a water jacket in it so it heats domestic hot water. It heats the whole house if it isn't severely cold but won't hold a fire for more than a few hours. We cook on it regularly and there is always a pot of hot water there. I got it for about $100 in the early 80s and have been using it ever since. I did some restoration work a couple of years ago - new lids, some sheet metal work inside, and new nickle plating on the decorative parts. It cost me close to $1000 for the restoration. The only safety concern I have is when it burns slow a lot - which it tends to do in damp weather like this - creosote can build up in the stove pipe elbow between the stove and the chimney.

I would like to use just rechargables but the demands are too high for I what I'm doing with AAs. Nimh rechargeables worked great in those old Moultries that took D cells. I still have some that work. You can buy 10,000 mAh Ds and 5,000 Cs. I've done fairly well in winter - except in the most extreme weather - with the Cs. I'm still using some of the older Moultries that take C cells. Most new cameras seem to take AAs. I use AA rechargables in warmer months, and in winter for non-critical stuff. I don't recall what mAh they are. They are the highest capacity I could find. They can't handle many 500 photo days in very cold weather, especially if there are a lot of night photos. I've got them in the bone yard camera which is non-cricital. The camera traps are set for one photo on a one minute delay. Even alkalines die quickly. That's why I switched to lithium.

I use a lot of batteries in winter. I usually pull batteries at 40% in winter. I can then get months of use in summer or early fall from the same set. I'm getting almost 500 photos a day at my home camera trap so I check it almost every day. The lithium AAs in that Browning were at 70% last Thursday. Friday at 60F, they were reading 100%.

Dogs don't need to be hungry to kill deer or sheep.

This is a sad story about teens illegally shooting deer to use as bait to illegally kill eagles - http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article195484319.html On the bright side, here are some photos from this week. Some coyotes and a fisher, and a few bald eagles and ravens. We are getting a few golden eagles but I haven't gotten any good shots that I can share. Maybe soon.

Paula - We've had deer at the bait but I have never been able to determine if they fed. Woody's blog post is fascinating.

Things have been somewhat slow at our research sites. I blame the cold. The previous post is just a red herring from the deer farmer, now calling himself "Real World Hunter". For him here are a bunch of coyote shots. Immediately after those are some true vermin.

I'm shocked! Shocked to learn Trump is a vulgar racist. BTW -those of you calling it "fake news", why does Lindsey Graham acknowledge he jumped on those comments in the meeting? None of the others there deny he said it. They just "dont recall".

Curious. A paper I read years ago said the leading cause of death of Cooper's Hawks was eye injuries which ultimately led to starvation. Acciptiers are bushwackers. They come blasting through heavy cover to take prey. Eye injuries are a consequence. Having only one working eye is fatal. There is high raptor mortality among juveniles because they take time to perfect their hunting skills. They also starve. Sub-zero cold could accelerate the process in either case.

A Cooper's Hawk spent most of a winter inside the warehouse of Central Tractor some years back in Oneonta. It was eating the house sparrows. I think it got enough fluid from its diet.

Dead Cooper's Hawks next to a house usually have hit a window. If you have bird feeders, they might be chasing birds around the house. The whole thing is strange. I've seen hundreds of aggressive raptor interactions both inter and intra species. Some were very serious. Most were smaller raptors being aggressive to larger birds, harassing them, chasing them because they are a threat. Other aggression is just competition for resources or territories. These birds should not be completing very directly. Yes, the owl eats some of the same food - rabbits, ducks - but Bald Eagles are primarily scavengers in winter. Why it would put the energy into chasing and killing the owl is odd. That said, I saw a Bald Eagle pair literally trying to kill a Golden Eagle in late winter. These were not a pair protecting a territory, because there is no nest nearby. The golden was small (probably a male). The female bald (much bigger than the other) was the primary aggressor. It was coming within inches of grabbing the golden with its talons. The golden was twisting and turning doing its best to avoid being grabbed. The male bald mostly followed along several feet behind the female. I watched this for several minutes until they went behind a hill.

Yeah, that's tough, even for a big doe with a lot of fat. The tired bucks and little ones are worse off.

Very nice. I don't know if it's the angle but it looks like you have more snow than me. There are drifts here but it seems like no more than 6". The deer around here are moving freely recently, since I've been out and about. They can easily find food.

These aren't songbirds at a feeder. They are woodpeckers at a feeder. The feeder is deer carcasses. Funny, you suggest I support PETA in a conversation where I am supporting opening a season on doves. It's clear you don't make any sense. That is the only thing people need to point out so the new folks don't take you seriously.

Larry - In all the time I've been here, I've never seen FSW promote anything for the general good. He is totally self serving. I only respond to his provocations when I suspect new members are unaware of his proclivities.

Aren't bears a Russion icon?

Doves are rare where the habitat is wrong, and in the coldest parts of the state. They used to be rare in the central NY counties where I've spent most of my life - Otsego and Cortland. Now, like so many more southern birds, they've expanded their range north in a warming world. They are now quite common. One winter a few years back, I had over 50 at the feeders. I love birds. You might even call me a bird watcher. While I'm involved in a lot of avian conservation issues, I see no conservation concerns with dove hunting. My only problem with it is the large amounts of lead shot that is spread on the ground. Mike Rossi will be using non-lead shot but most will not.

Ubiquitous pretty much sums it up. I've found them at 14,000 feet in Colorado.