Wrapping Up The Year - Data Review

 

Bobcat pic from earlier this year.

 

It’s been an uneventful week spending little time in the woods. Shotgun season ended Dec 14^th , I can start setting trail cameras back out next week.

I’ve been reviewing my 2024 bear videos . Lots learned this year about bear behavior. I’m working on a few videos to highlight this behavior.

Annual Bear, Moose and Bobcat Trail Camera Triggers

           Moose     Bear     Bobcat    

2023     85           239       n/a

2024     83           619      193

 

The reason for the increase in bear triggers in 2024 was due to finding two new bear corridors earlier this year. Moose triggers stayed  about the same. The only notable difference was not videoing any moose calves in 2024. In 2023 three moose calves were captured on TC video. One single and one set of twins.

 This year I also kept track of bobcats. It will be interesting to compare numbers next year.

Gathering up my trail cameras does have a plus side. I clean up and relabel the cameras and locks Trail cameras are inspected to be sure they function properly. This year two went on the fritz, They were older Bushnell Aggressors. Santa came early and replaced them. I’m finding that my TC’s go about five years before having issues. I think that’s pretty good performance given most of my cameras are out in the elements for most of the year.

Looking forward to getting back in the woods next week

Jim

Tracking - Time For TC's Again

 

I thought the cover picture was interesting with the three does all looking at the trail camera.

The primary deer hunting season ends next Saturday. That means the following week I can start setting out trail cameras again. I’m looking forward to that !

In the last week or so we have had two nights with snow in central MA. The first storm was only supposed to drop a few inches. We received seven inches of heavy wet snow . After the storm ended it turned windy, which put the squash on tracking. I tried to tracking seeing a porcupine track and a few deer tracks. Last night we got a dusting to an inch which made for decent tracking conditions. This morning, I was searching for tracks at first light and  hoping to find a fisher or bobcat track. The snow started around 3:00 AM which didn’t leave much time before daylight for critters to leave any sign. I had no problem finding a coyote track, so I followed that for a while. Nothing out of the ordinary  came with that track, it wandered through a hemlock grove checking around downed trees. I also saw a porcupine run along with deer tracks .It was a  beautiful morning to be out bushwhacking ,but uneventful tracking.

Jim

Recap of MA Bear Hot Spot

 

A recent check of the fieldstone den ( pic above ) showed that a porcupine continues to use this cavity as a winter den. I was hoping the porcupine moved on and a bear would use it.

What a chore this week rounding up my trail cameras. The days of packing  five or six cameras out of the woods at a time is a thing of the past. When I set them back out, I’ll only pack in three at the most. My back is telling me to “ Lighten Up” !

I’m looking forward to  snow for tracking. Fisher and bobcat top my list. I hope to learn more about these elusive mammals in Massachusetts.

This new camera trapping location was an impressive find earlier this year. The first small bear videoed in late March sparked my interest. Setting a second camera started to tell a story. Using four Browning TC’s gave away a “ Bear Hot Spot” There is a ritual bear trail and several marking trees at this location. Over the course of seven months, camera traps triggered seventy times capturing at least ten different bears. https://youtu.be/fzH0KgU4LDs

Jim

Bear Activity Winding Down Fast

 

The cover pic might be the last bear pic / video for 2024. What a year it has been learning and camera trapping Massachusetts bears

 

Finally, Massachusetts has received badly needed rain the last couple of days.

It’s that time of year I take in most of my trail cameras. Massachusetts woods get busy with deer hunting season. I have never had an issue with theft or tampering of TC’s in the fall, I just don’t want people to know where the trail cameras are located.

 My focus this winter camera trapping will be Fishers. I hope to find five or six fisher scent posts. Last year I found two active scent posts and left two cameras traps monitoring them.  I thought it would be interesting to see what activity took place  each month over the course of one year. I’ll share those stats in an upcoming post. I would also like to find new camera trapping areas for 2025. Mid-December I’ll start bushwhacking looking for new spots.

I’ve been fortunate over the years to have found several bear dens and locate what appear to be prior den sites. Last week I set camera traps watching these sites. Hopefully a late fall check gives up a snoring bear….

2024 Camera Trap Summary :

-         Camera traps triggered 618 times capturing bears. I was able to distinguish 26 different bears.

-         Camera traps triggered 80 times capturing moose.

-         Camera traps triggered 200 times capturing bobcats.

Jim

Bear Activity Has Slowed Significantly

 

It’s been a good year camera trapping and learning about Massachusetts bears. Trail cameras captured more than six hundred videos over an eight-month period. Highlights:

-         Located a forth well-travelled bear corridor early last Spring,

-         Finding a bear nest https://youtu.be/OmizDVF7SI4 , two Baby Sitting trees along with a Whammy Tree

-         Cameras captured Sow’s with one, two and three COY, and  Sows with one two and three yearlings, for a minimum of six sows videoed this year with cubs.. No combination of four cubs were videoed like in 2022.

-         Twenty-six different bears were identified using  physical characteristics like scars , white chest patches , mange ( large bald spots) bent ears and physical size.

-         No loss of trail cameras – more people seen on TC’s than in any previous year. All cameras are located off the beaten path.

Its now mid-November and most bears have denned. Bear activity on TC’s has just about stopped with the exception of several bears. A sow with two yearlings has been on the move foraging on Winterberries. The nights are getting cold, won’t be long before that family of three den for the winter.

The mast crop in central Massachusetts was good this year. The attached video shows several bulked up bears. Any guesses on the weight of the single BIG Bear ? My gosh the bear waddles instead of walks. https://youtu.be/TuG0chOtJ8g

Jim

Visited North American Bear Center in Ely , MN

 

 My apologies for missing  a month of blog articles. My wife and I have been on a Midwest camping trip travelling four thousand miles through thirteen states. My plan was to update the blog weekly. A change in plans  with adding new destinations to our route came daily  logistics issues and finding open campgrounds.

 Our furthest destination was Ely Minnesota. There we visited The North American Bear Center. I was like a kid walking into a candy store! The facility had so much to offer. The layout was inviting with many bear exhibits and a small theater showing a winter bear den check. The displays and exhibits were  informative. The Bear Center, in short, was incredible, many pictures were taken, the bear center’s website does a better job showing what’s available.

https://bear.org/visit-us/hours-admission-location/

Unfortunately, the Wolf Center on the other side of town was not open the day we were there.

I’ve been out the last few days collecting SD cards and have lots of videos to review. A mild October and  mast crop of acorns have kept the bears busy foraging. I hope at least one trail camera videoed a respectable bull moose during the recent rut. https://youtu.be/myOALWgvotk

 

Jim

 

Pic above - Buck seen in VA State Forest

A recent visit to Shenandoah NP in Virginia was a bust ! We had made campground reservations long before Hurricane Helena. When we arrived at the campground, there was concern with the Shenandoah River flooding and the campground may need to evacuate. Would have been nice if we had been made aware of this several days prior. It all worked out with another local campground found at higher elevation. We took a ride along Skyline Drive in hopes of catching a break in the foggy wet weather. It  was not meant to be on this trip. 

 Lessons Learned

I would recommend using a road atlas in conjunction with Google Maps, There were occasions when Google Maps routed  us through tight back roads which had me concerned pulling the camper.

-         I assumed the campground where we made reservations would have contacted us prior with evacuation concerns . I should have been more diligent with inquiring about any issues / concerns prior to the trip.

Jim