The Watershed Wildlife Website.
Wildlife & Nature in The West Michigan
White River Watershed & Vicinity
Trail Camera Highlights
Click on "YouTube" in video & watch in HD
Return To Quiet Creek - A Herd of
Turkeys & Flock of Cranes
Peaceful creek. No music. Relax
to the sounds of wildlife, wind and water.
More visitors to the creek this
time & not as quiet.
00:42 Red fox.
06:04 Wild Turkey talk. More throughout.
10:50 Red fox after dark with barking.
11:06 Wild Turkey invasion at the creek.
16:13 Sound of a flock of Sandhill Cranes overhead disturbing
deer.
16:50 Deer napping.
This video is a departure from my
normally tightly edited wildlife videos. It is slow paced with
peaceful interludes and animals acting naturally in and around
a Michigan creek.
I was surprised to see red fox so
active in two areas where coyotes were also present. By its
playful signals, one coyote seemed to think the glow from the
trail camera IR source might be a friend. Always something
interesting out there.
A surprising mix of Michigan
Whitetail buck antlers. These were recorded by five trail
cameras during October and November, 2021 at four different
locations. Some appearances are probably repeats of the same
bucks but the variety was interesting.
This is an example of one young
buck and one doe during the Michigan rut and what they did
during the day. Dating activity is normally most active after
dark. Sort of like humans I guess.
Wildlife video in a Michigan
wetland and creek habitat in the autumn. Fall colors
beginning.
The first time I've recorded a
Pileated Woodpecker in the water. A Red-shouldered hawk
returned to do a few head-dips.
It was a crazy summer with so
many foxes taking food home to the family! Also coyote,
whitetail deer, fawns & bucks, wild turkey, and then MORE fox.
It had been very dry in June and
each thunderstorm would pass us by on the north or on the
south. Finally on the 24th we got rain. This is a driveway
security camera this time.
The woods has been a busy place
and I'm trying to catch up after a month-long distraction.
I've never seen so many fox. If you look closely, you'll
frequently see evidence of successful hunts in their mouths on
the way back to the den. A couple are identified in the video.
Before the rains came, the swamp
was dry but the birds were there. A wetland on the dry side in
Western Michigan. Two cameras on a creek and two recording
activity at fallen trees.
The wood ducks are back, wild
turkeys are at the creek and N. America's largest woodpeckers
were caught on camera.
A lot of activity at the long log
in the swamp. Whitetail deer, wild turkeys, a "calico coyote",
weasel and more with the sounds of nature.
Strange things happen on this day
in the forest.
Three cameras in 7 minutes. One
on Pumpkin Hill, one on the swamp log and another on the west
trail. (The vocalizations are at 0:35)
This was recorded during December
of 2020. There was more activity than I anticipated for this
time of year. It included the end of the Whitetail rut and the
beginning of winter.
Credit goes to my Youtube
subscriber, Betsy for this one. She conducted a study of
flying squirrels in the past and was an excellent source of
information.
I almost never put bait out for
my videos. I'm primarily interested in natural animal
behavior. But what do you do with an old pumpkin, other than
letting it turn into mush on the porch?
A Wildlife Highway. The Long Log
in The Swamp
Welcome to the
“Robin-Hood” at the creek in Sherwood forest. The water is low
this time of year. Perfect for bathing.
It appeared as if the mom were
taking the fawns on a tour of the cameras. She stopped in
front of each one and let the fawns sniff.
A monster raccoon showed up, looking more like a bear than
a raccoon.
Just trying a new approach. I get
comments on my YouTube channel
(youtube.com/watershedwildlilfe) that the the videos are used
for relaxing.
So far this is an all-time favorite episode of
mine.
A crazy mix of wildlife in June.
A hawk bathing, a barred owl drinking, wood duck chicks
jumping a log. raccoons being taught to feed themselves and a
cuckoo. What more would you want?
Critters following the hiking
trail. A lot of bird calls and a chipmunk stranded by the
flood doing a desperate high dive.
White tail deer watching
wildlife.
A new species on camera and I
wade in to rescue a camera.
Part II of the "bridge" location.
A lot of variety. Pileated woodpecker, a muskrat, coyote, wood
ducks and others. Camera angle was changed to show more of the
creek.
This is the creek with the very
active tree trunk "bridge". The wood ducks are back and still
dispute the territory.
More of the same creek but with a
second view looking upstream. The Barred Owl showed up this
time but didn't make a sound. A lot of White tailed deer,
raccoons and some bird call identifications.
A way to avoid the news for a little while.
Part I of March 2020, Everything
that happened at the bend of the creek. The snow leaves,
turkeys arrive and the deer look unkempt.
A 65 degree camera reading when
the outdoor temperature was 27 F was a surprise. I had never
seen this effect to such degree before. What happened is shown
plus other critter activities.
The usual cast of characters show
up in August plus the recently absent mink and a parade of
possums. I added background music and am looking for a
comments regarding whether I should keep doing it or just
leave it natural.
A fox was recorded chasing deer,
a fawn making odd happy sounds while it was nursing and a
frantic fox chased mice around the creek.
In June we watch the "bridge"
over a creek, a fawn nursing at night and a couple of
unfortunate antler designs. There are a couple of great Bard
owl calls at 1:55...
We stayed at the creek during May
because of all the activity there this time of year.
Two questions were answered: How does a Porcupine cross
water? &... How loud IS a raccoon squabble?
The activity varies by the month.
This month it was back to the creek where things were
happening. Fox sightings (the crippled vixen seems to be
getting around) and the usual deer and raccoons. A lot
of squirrels were left on the cutting room floor. A 16 GB SD
card was filled by them within a week on two occasions. (Where
are the fox when you need them?) The Wood ducks were very
active in the creek with a few squabbles. They are gorgeous.
February was a slow month on
camera. I guess the wildlife was as reluctant to go outside as
I was. Fortunately March was much better. Another first timer
species on camera. You'll see it in the creek. The crippled
Vixen is still getting by. She may even be picking up speed.
Also some interesting sounds occasionally in the background.
Some close-ups of Wood Ducks in the creek.
One new species on
camera this month and some interesting animal behavior. The
second half of January brought some very low temperatures. One
clip that wasn’t included registered a -15F. With the wind it
must have been hard on the critters.
December 2018
Trail Camera Highlights. Most activity after dark. A new
species on my list with a fabulous tail and an embarrassed
raccoon.
November 2018 Trail Camera
Highlights. It was a busy month in the woods!
Bucks chasing doe all night.
A sad
ending to this one.
It was the usual
cast of characters in October. The only surprise was the
creature that appeared around midnight on the last day of the
month. Didn't get an ID.
September 2018 Trail Camera
Highlights. Left the creek behind and went to high ground in
the woods. A sleeping whitetail doe and fun with opossums.
August 2018 Trail Camera
Highlights. A Michigan creek.Water attracts wildlife. A short
documentary of a busy little Michigan stream showing the
diversity it supports.
July 2018 Trail Camera
Highlights. A Twerking Hawk & bathing birds. A busy creek for
critters.
June 2018 Trail Camera
Highlights. Browning Extreme & Adventuridge Trail Cameras.
