Nature's Suet Feeder

Yesterday we went out to see what is going on with The Deer (see previous posts). We discovered that the deer is now completely skeletal and quite disarticulated. First we came upon a drag mark filled with hair, scat and urine markings, where predators had dragged it further down the hill from where it previously lay. Further down the hill we came across a section of the pelvis and backbone with a chickadee feeding on it:

Beyond that we found the skull with the jawbone separated from it. All over the place were bits of fur and fragments of rib bones (characteristic of coyotes feeding). We could see areas where the scavengers had probably taken a section of the deer, trotted a short distance away and lay down to eat it. We also discovered the frozen rumen (stomach contents) which are usually the least delectable and left for last. Amazing how much has happened in only three weeks, though if it wasn't so cold and frozen out there things probably would have happened even faster.