A bald eagle was spotted flying from the forest floor along Waggoner Riffle Rd. near the Edge of Appalachia Preserve headquarters. Rich McCarty was the spotter, and after further investigation he found a white-tailed deer carcass, which he assumed the eagle had been feeding upon. Rich showed me the deer and we wondered if the eagle really was feeding on it and what other animals would visit for a feast. So I decided to put a game camera near the deer which, triggered by motion, will take photos and video of anything moving in front of it. After leaving the camera out for 2 nights, it was fun to go through the hundreds of videos to see what appeared. Enjoy this short video of the culprits (you might want to finish eating first).
Five animals were large enough to trigger the camera in that 2 day period. They were: American crow, Red-tailed hawk, Coyote, red-shouldered hawk and a juvenile bald eagle. Doing what many animals do, they start feeding on the rear end of a carcass first. This must be where the best meat is... the rump. Here are some photos from the feeding event in the case your device won't play the above video.
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| Juvenile bald eagle showing its size and power tearing into the deer. |
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| Red-shouldered hawk flying in for a taste. |
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| Notice the size difference in the red-shouldered hawk on the deer and the bald eagle above. |
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| A red-tailed hawk joined in for a few videos one morning. |
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| Both days and nights a coyote (probably different individuals) made multiple appearances. |
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| Coyotes did the majority of tearing on the deer's rump. |
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| American crows also made numerous stops to have a meal. |
Although unfortunate for the deer, a dead animal is an important part any ecosystem. Especially in winter when some predators may have more difficulties hunting food. An incredible amount of organisms will benefit from this one dead animal. A game camera will not display the myriad of insects, worms, fungus and even plants that will benefit from the decaying of this deer. But there are many. If you have a game camera, hold your nose and use it in this way to explore what is utilizing carcasses in your territory.
Posted by: Mark Zloba
