Same morning as yesterday's fox kits. En route to the national park, on a whim I detoured down a side road to see if there was any action around a water-filled farmer's dugout that I visit occasionally. Tree Swallows had moved into some nesting boxes along the fence line; a huge turtle saw me from a surprising distance and dropped off its log into the water. A Swainson's Hawk flapped away, over a hill, a ground squirrel in its talons. For various reasons, none of these fleeting moments worked photographically.
And then, along came a Loggerhead Shrike with its prey: based on the hind legs, perhaps a Boreal Chorus Frog. Shrikes have hooked bills and a taste for flesh; they prey on small birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects - including a lot of grasshoppers, which makes them a farmer's friend. They have developed the gruesome habit of impaling prey on a thorn or twist of barbed wire, which this bird attempted - unsuccessfully - before flying off.
Too bad its back was turned to me during the attempt, because that's a shot I could use! Creating a "larder" of impaled prey may help the male attract a mate. It also anchors the food, allowing it to dry - frog jerky, anyone? - and making it easier to pull apart.
Last year Parks Canada placed signs in key locations along the Ecotour Road in Grasslands National Park, asking motorists to slow down, as a number of young shrikes had been killed in collisions. I hope they do it again this year. Shrike populations throughout North America have been in steep decline in recent decades, especially in the northeast, but they are still a common sight in my area, and certainly among the more fascinating songbirds that breed on the northern prairie.
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus wildlife bird songbird passerine flesh eating with prey frog amphibian barbed wire barbwire fence wild prairie Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Coyotes in my corner of the world are primarily rodent hunters, but they do have a varied diet. And they work hard for it. And once in a while, they hit the jackpot.
I presume this is roadkill. The Mule Deer carcass was in a ditch, and a single Coyote was having the feast of its life. I think more than one scavenger had been feeding, as the deer was gutted and missing all its organs. I don't think a coyote pack brought down the deer; that rarely occurs in these parts because of human pressure - indiscriminate killing of coyotes means they are unable to stick together long enough to learn co-operative hunting strategies. Instead of packs, there are small family groups.
Here's the fun part. I stopped my vehicle on the backroad, shot from inside. Eventually I slithered out and duckwalked into the ditch. Coyote ran across the road, but as soon as I settled down, it came back. So I was able to sit in the open, 60 or 70 feet away, and photograph to my heart's content (which amounted to about 600 frames, give or take). The little canid wasn't going to abandon all those calories just because a scary human was hovering nearby. There was still meat on the bone. And it was still eating when I finally drove away.
Photographed in Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Coyote Canis latrans wildlife animal mammal predator canid feeding Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus ungulate carcass ditch scavenger scavenging wild prairie Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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Arachnid eats insect! Unlike yesterday's grasshopper, this one wasn't so lucky. This is the underside or ventral view of a female Banded Garden Spider, spinning silk to enshroud the hapless hopper she has already killed. Her spinneret - the silk producing organ - is that circular brown shape on her upper abdomen ("upper" because her preferred position is upside down).
Backgrounds are very important in macro photography, and here my result is sub-optimal: too much detail. Yet I felt I needed f/16 to have enough depth of field to get both the live and dead subject in focus. And I was unable to maneuver into a better position. In retrospect, I wish I had tried some wider f-stops as well, but I was nearing the end of a long, hot day, and probably addled.
Tomorrow, a portrait of this species, without cocooned prey, but with a better background.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Banded Garden Spider Argiope trifasciata wildlife arachnid grasshopper insect prey dead cocooned wrapped web spiderweb silk macro close up wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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It was late afternoon and I'd been shooting this and that, nothing exciting. Almost ready to head home, I decided to check out the nearest prairie dog town first - and that's where I saw this little Coyote, evidently resting at the edge of a burrow entrance. Or so I thought. Its attention was on me. I cut the engine and rolled my window down to allow the slightly warm interior air to escape. Heat waves due to equalization can compromise autofocus accuracy; it usually takes at least a couple minutes for inner and outer temperatures to equalize on a cool day in February. Coyote watched me.
Then, its head swivelled back to the mound, ears up. It could hear something. A prairie dog? A vole? I've seen the latter in dogtowns. In summer, Burrowing Owls and Prairie Rattlesnakes will use abandoned burrows, while Long-tailed Weasels, Badgers, and other predators are able to slip down the entrance - or dig it out, in the case of the Badger - to hunt the little rodents.
Some interesting possibilities there, even in winter. There was nothing to do but wait and see if anything developed. Stay tuned for the second instalment, coming tomorrow.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Coyote Canis latrans wildlife animal mammal predator canid alert patient watchful hungry winter the lean season cold snow dogtown prairie dog town nature the hunt wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Part 2 of a 5-part set showing how this Coyote is getting through the lean season...
It happened in a heartbeat. If you saw yesterday's post, you may have noticed the little predator's hind legs curled up underneath him (or her - it's so hard to tell unless they urinate), like a spring-loaded, lethal killing machine. It has just launched; the hind legs haven't touched down yet and its jaws have already found the target.
A hapless, sleepy Black-tailed Prairie Dog had woken from its slumber due to the warming weather, and ventured up to check out the world. It happened to be looking the wrong way, and had no chance to react before the jaws closed around the back of its neck and head. The outcome was determined in an instant.
Prairie Dogs are really cute, so it's hard not to feel a twinge of remorse for this one, but so it goes: this is the fate of a high percentage of the members of each prairie dog colony. They are a keystone species. Many, many other species depend on them.
The next three images will show Coyote enjoying its meal - a substantial caloric reward for its efforts. Coyotes are efficient killers but messy eaters, so I won't post the one truly gory shot. Let us say that not a morsel went to waste.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Coyote Canis latrans wildlife animal mammal predator canid hunting success Black-tailed Prairie Dog Cynomys ludovicianus rodent prey winter snow wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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