Judy Camuso

Wildlife Biologist

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

358 Shaker Road

Gray, ME 04039

207-657-2345 X 109 (office)

207-592-7855 (cell)

Wednesday, January 2  Lisbon Falls (Map 6) 
Happy New Year to all. Back on Christmas Eve I strapped on the snowshoes so set up the wildlife camera in the small wooded area in back of my home. Rumor has it there is a 8 point buck in the area. As I was setting the camera up about 50 yards away 3 deer took of running. Part of this area was logged a few years back and you could see where the deer had been eating the buds on the new growth. I followed their tracks over hill and hollow for over a half an hour and their they were again about 50 yards away.After an hour or so of this game of hide and seek I headed home. I picked the camera up on New Years Day. Boy the snow sure is deep now. The trees are all covered with fresh snow from the 8" storm on the 31st.It's real nice. With the lightest of breeze the snow falls to the ground and sounds much like sugar going through a sifter. Alot of deer tracks in the area and you can see where they had been bedding down. Spent close to 2 hours shoeing around. In one spot on the edge of a field is a hand full of crabapple trees. All the snow under the trees is packed down from the deer eating the apples. The only apples left on the trees are the ones out of reach from the deer.Back at home the wildlife camera has turkeys on it, red and gray squirrels, groups of 3 and 4 does and.........the big buck. SY
Friday, January 4,  Windsor  (Map  )
Snow and cold weather begin our January: the January 1 snowstorm left us with a foot or more of snow and temperatures have been ranging around minus 4 (F) in the period around sunrise.  We're having an abundance of starlings here, coming after the grain for the geese and ducks we keep. They are certainly pests.  We've sighted a bald eagle here on Windsor Neck, apparently finding the woods and fields hereabouts fertile territory for hunting.  The coyotes have made their presence and large numbers well known at night: coming close to residences and making quite a racket.  A ride on the country roads rewards travellers with large flocks of turkeys finding forage in the fields, lawns, bird feeders and old apple trees.  Some persons speak of feeding these birds corn to bring them closer and I wonder that they don't find these rather tame creatures on their doorsteps knocking in the morning.
PSH
posting from Emma's Family Farm

Saturday, January 5  Belfast (Map 14)
I live in the Belfast area, and have been fortunate to observe a female Bobcat and her almost full grown cub hunting ducks at my mother's backyard riverside duck feeding station. This past weekend, with the heavy snow cover, some very unusual behavior was observed. Apparently, the bobcat dug herself a hole in the snow, and waited for the ducks to land on their "duckpad" to feed on cracked corn. She waited patiently until there were a number of ducks on the ground before she pounced. She was rewarded with a fat, cornfed duck feast.

One other thing about her that we just "confirmed" (via photo evidence) is that she seems to be blind in one eye. Which may explain her hunting so close to a densely populated area.