Cabin Branch Wildlife

Sights and sounds from the month of February at Cabin Branch:

On a Wetlands Trail, February 2024 Trail camera footage from a trail near the banks of a pond in Richland County, South Carolina. Shows raccoon, otter, beaver, opossum, grey squirrel, fox squi...

Wood ducks of Cabin Branch, February 2024

Foraging Wood Ducks in Nesting Season Plumage, February 2024 Trail cam video of wood ducks (Aix sponsa), feeding in the surface area of a pond, 8 February 2024, Richland County South Carolina.

Late Fall highlights from a pond trail at Cabin Branch:

Highlights from the Pond Trail, Early December (2023). Trail camera footage from a trail near the banks of a pond in Richland County, South Carolina. Footage of a growing beaver family, a racoon family, a pair of...

Fall report from Cabin Branch with some first time animal sightings:

Life of the Pond, Fall of 2023 Trail cam footage from a log on the edge of a pond. Shows diverse wildlife during the months of October and November, from a wetlands area in rural Richland ...

Not the most action-packed wildlife movie, but for folks who are interested in wood ducks:

Family Life of Wood Ducks, Summer of 2023 Trail cam footage of young wood ducks (Aix sponsa) growing up on a pond in Richland County South Carolina.

Spring happenings in white-tailed deer land:

Deer in Spring, May-June 2023 Trail cam footage of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the annual period when fawns are born. Also shows a herd of bucks with new growth velv...

The perilous lives of young wood ducks:

Nesting Wood Ducks (2), Spring of 2023 Trail cam footage from the area below a wood duck (Aix sponsa) nest box during the Spring of 2023, on a pond in Richland County, South Carolina.

First time this year documenting wood duck fledglings leaving the nest.

Nesting Wood Ducks, Spring of 2023 In early April, a wood duck hen (Aix sponsa) was observed flying out of a nest box multiple times. So a trail cam was attached to a cinder block and set to w...

Great horned owlet rescue at Cabin Branch in the Spring of 2023.

Spring happenings at Cabin Branch

Nesting Ducks, Spring of 2023 A trail camera is mounted to capture the wetlands area below a duck nest box, in early March of 2023. The nest box is on a pond in a rural wetlands of Richla...

I guess its been a while since the birds of Cabin Branch had any good seafood:

Piscivorous Scavengers, February 2023 A fish head and tail are attached to a feeding station in rural Richland County, South Carolina (18 February 2023).

We've been having pretty good rains this winter, which means the beavers have been busy:

Beavers and the Overflow Pipe, Feb. 2023 Trail camera footage from one night, of beavers (Castor canadensis), as they work on shutting down the flow of water into a pond overflow pipe, Richland Coun...

Cabin Branch had a busy family of otters during the month of December:

River Otters, December 2022 Trail camera footage of river otters (Lontra canadensis), on the move, around a pond in Richland County, South Carolina.

It’s getting late to prepare wood duck nest boxes for the Spring season. Today I found a box full of rotten eggs from last season, and several wasp nests. (The wasp nests are reused, if not removed.)

Wild turkeys used to be a rare sight in this area, but now they seemed to be doing well:

Flock of Wild Turkeys, 24 November 2022 Trail cam footage of a large flock of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), from a rural area in Richland County, South Carolina.

From earlier this Fall:

On a Wetlands Trail, Sept. 2022 Trail camera footage from a trail near the banks of a pond in Richland County, South Carolina. Shows raccoon, otter, beaver, opossum, squirrel, feral cat, sm...

Coyote young at Cabin Branch:

Young Coyotes, July 2022 Trail cam footage of young coyotes (Canis latrans) playing, in a rural area of Richland County, South Carolina.

July happenings at Cabin Branch:

Feeder Station Visitors, July 2022 Trail camera footage from July 2022. A leftover mackerel head and tail are placed on a feeding platform in rural Richland County, South Carolina. Usually fis...

Nesting ducks of Cabin Branch, Spring of 2022:

Story of a Nest Box, Spring 2022 Trail cam footage from a wetlands area under an active wood duck nest box. Taken in the Spring of 2022 in Richland County, South Carolina, where wood ducks (...

In this video, probably the youngest white-tailed deer fawn we've ever captured on the trail cams:

Does and Fawns, May 2022 Trail cam footage of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus), some with very young fawns, in Richland County, South Carolina, May 2022.

The cameras have been capturing barred owls hunting along the banks of the pond for a while now, but this is the first time, we could clearly see an example of what kind of prey they were catching:

Barred Owl Catches Catfish, April 2022 Trail cam footage of a barred owl (Strix varia), after it caught a small catfish, on a pond in Richland County, South Carolina, April 2022.

Last week on Cabin Branch, first ducklings of the season, caught on camera:

Wood Duck Hen with Ducklings, April 2022 Trail cam footage of a wood duck hen (Aix sponsa) with 12 young ducklings on a pond in Richland County, South Carolina, 27 April 2022.

After the rains of early April (2022), great blue herons took advantage of the flowing water to capture small fish in a waterfall stream:

Foraging Great Blue Heron, April 2022 Trail cam footage of great blue herons (Ardea herodias) foraging in a stream in Richland County, South Carolina. Shows how these large herons, known for catc...

Cabin Branch frogs and birds in the early Spring of 2022:

Early Spring on the Pond, March 2022 Trail cam footage from a pond on the early spring nights and days of 2022. Richland County, South Carolina.

Wood ducks have started laying. For the Cabin Branch area, this is later than normal for the first eggs.

Early signs of Spring at Cabin Branch:

Life on the Pond, Late February 2022 Trail camera footage of a great blue heron, snapping turtle, and other sights and sounds, around the edge of a pond, in Richland County, South Carolina, duri...

For a while last December, the cameras picked up a family of 4 otters along the banks of Cabin Branch:

Four Otter Family, Dec. 2021 Trail cam footage of an otter family of 4, along the banks of a wetlands, in Richland County, South Carolina, December 2021.