Animals visiting the Big Hole Project
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| Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) *Low Res. image caught by night cameras |
One of
the fringe benefits of my land building project is having the curiosity of
learning what wildlife is using the new land. I set up a remote camera to find out and was rewarded with
quite a diversity of wild creatures and some not so wild. With my 1,379th bag of yard waste deposited on July 9th, I
have created 720 square feet of new level land that was once a steep
crevasse. My favorite mammal to
walk through the infrared beam of the camera was a sleek and well furred red
fox, a mostly nocturnal animal probably looking for mice utilizing the
composting leaves and grass clippings as a home. The coyote came by for the same
reason.
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| Raccoon (Procyon lotor) *Low Res. image caught by night cameras |
The
opossums, armadillos and raccoons that passed the camera were looking for food
too, like insects for the armadillo.
I have found many species of invertebrates using the giant compost pile. Corn, I put out for the deer also brought in
the opossum and coon. I got one
shot of a raccoon inspecting a bag of leaves I hadn't emptied yet. White-tailed deer have been the most
numerous visitors. I have over 500
pictures of deer, mainly does, but a few nice bucks. They quickly get used to
the camera clicking and utilize the area nightly.
At
night I have also seen a cottontail rabbit, my neighbors cat, numerous dogs. In
the day, grey squirrels, crows, blue jays, doves, chickadee and many other birds
drop by. I also catch an
occasional human coming down to inspect the progress of my project.
Again
I tie my project into the vanishing wetlands of coastal Louisiana, the habitat
there is a prolific conglomeration of wildlife. My hole project is the same as layers of yard refuse saved
from the landfill are making habitats for a diverse array of creatures. See more pictures of night creatures
here.
