Night Animals

Animals visiting the Big Hole Project

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.

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.