April 2024 Wildlife photos and videos


In February and March, we watched vultures feed on a deer carcass next to Adobe Creek. This month a vulture still occasionally visits, even though the remaining bones are picked nearly clean.

Turkey vulture near Adobe Creek



Here is another large bird flying away from the same area. I believe this is a red-tailed hawk.

Redtail hawk near Adobe Creek



We saw this same type of bird in this same location (middle Lafferty Ranch) a couple of months ago. I believe it is a Northern Flicker.

Northern flicker on Lafferty Ranch



One more bird image, a rather unusual one. An Acorn Woodpecker is attacking or harassing a gray squirrel. Possibly a dispute over an acorn? 

The squirrel appeared uninjured in subsequent photos.

Acord woodpecker and gray squiirel



Skunk at night.

Skunk at night



Several photos of blacktail deer on the upper meadows of Petaluma's Lafferty Ranch on Sonoma Mountain. 

The second image is a doe that appears to be very pregnant.

Deer close up Pregnant doe

Young blacktail deer


And two videos of deer in the same locations. This young deer is curious about the camera, and something about it startles him/her.




In this one, a doe appears to be grooming the face of her yearling fawn.



No large predators or hogs were photographed this month.