23 June 2024

We were away from Hilton Pond North when we got an alert one of our motion-detecting security cameras had picked up activity in the garden area where our bird feeders and traps are deployed. What a startlement when the video revealed a young American Black Bear, Ursus americanus, was raiding our feeders! We're grateful the intruder bent one feeder pole (above) and smashed a suet feeder but did no other damage. Although we've seen bear scat along our trails several times, we've never observed a bear directly nor recorded another visit with our trail or security cams.

28 January 2025

On several occasions a trail cam at the trail head leading to our pond has captured nighttime images of a Bobcat, Lynx rufus. We also found tracks after a snow event.

17 December 2024

There is an established population of Wild Turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo, at Hilton Pond North; we've seen a flock as large as eight scaling our hillsides. It's not uncommon to wake up come morning to the sight of several scratching up seed left behind by songbirds. That's a hen in the photo above, with two mostly grown poults from 2024.

29 December 2024

This young White-tailed Deer buck, Odocoileus virginianus, was alert as he approached the driveway near our wellhead trail cam. This seems to be a wildlife corridor, with several species pausing as their pictures were taken. (At top left corner you can see Hilton Pond North's van and shop building, from which we can watch this part of the driveway when leaves are off the trees.)

29 December 2024

Most individuals in our thriving population of Raccoons, Procyon lotor, at Hilton Pond North are habituated to our numerous trail and security cams, but occasionally one shows special curiosity and gets a new mug shot (above).