The weather this week has been a bit brutal with the temperatures. I did get out a few times snowshoeing checking trail cameras. It’s been years since there has been enough snow to really hike with snowshoes. With nearly two feet of snow, they certainly were effective. Only issue was cold feet, 800 Gram Thinsulate boots aren’t enough anymore. I now have a 2000 Gram pair. I’ll take them for a test run next.

Trail camera activity has been slow, and batteries are going dead fast with these below zero temps.. In past winters I only used lithium batteries The cost of them skyrocketed so I went back to alkaline. I think I’ll give  lithium rechargeable batteries a try.

Well , tomorrow is Feb 1^st and I call that the dead of winter. Things are slow. A couple of weeks from now it will be notably lighter later and then all downhill from there till Spring. I am really looking forward to more scouting and setting up trail cameras in the new areas this Spring.

Jim

 

I swapped batteries out in many of my trail cameras this week, The extreme cold and estimated snow totals forecasted for today’s snowstorm will keep me from weekly checks for a while. I will be breaking out the snowshoes for sure next week. Lots of miles hiked this month looking for sheds with no luck other than the deadhead I found a few weeks back. The heavy snow coming will blanket sheds for a while.

A pleasant surprise this week with a TC video of a bull in a winter setting. Picture above

I checked  few trail cameras this morning before the snow started. Glad I did , batteries were dead.

Jim

Good Tracking Conditions

 

I ‘ve located another new bear area for the Spring. This location has excellent bear sign Now I have plenty of new locations for 2026 and will need to whittle it down to just three . Late winter and early Spring I will spend more time scouting these spots.

I put a TC on a old Fisher  scent post snag from last year and was pleased to see a fisher had recently visited it this month  ( pic above). I will try to locate a few more scent posts with the next snow fall.

I've been invited to speak at the Ware River Nature Club  ( WRNC) Annual Dinner Banquet, where I'll present my top wildlife photos, videos, and share my adventures.  It should  make  for an enjoyable afternoon. If your interested in attending you can find more information at 

https://www.warerivernatureclub.org/

Jim

Located Several New Locations For Bears

 

Picture above is an eight-point buck somewhat inquisitive about the beaver chew tree and hearing the tc video.

 

It’s been a productive week scouting and bushwhacking Massachusetts woodlands. I found three new areas for camera trapping ( trail cameras). Two of the locations had bear bite trees. I enjoy learning new areas, this should keep me busy for 2026. While bushwhacking through a thick patch of mountain laurel I found an eight-pointer buck skull or what’s called a deadhead. The buck’s demise was likely in the last few months with a tint of red still on it.

I had to remove two trail cameras that were watching a small beaver pond with a bank lodge. The beaver dam  sprung a leak, considerably dropping the water level, which in turn collapsed the ice that was on the pond. I had a trail camera about ten feet out into the pond. I needed to pull the camera while I can still get to it. The bank lodge camera also needs to be pulled. Mice were running on top of the lodge continuously at nigh killing the batteries.

Jim

Moose - Late Season Sparring

 

Wonderful way to start the new year ! I have been trying for YEARS to video ( TC )  a bull moose in the snow. In past years, I couldn't find a bull, or Massachusetts didn't have snow before the bulls lost their antlers. Over the last weeks three minor snow events in central MA set the stage. The snow with each storm was enough to track  moose finding there general location. Over the last  weeks I’ve been adding and moving trail cameras daily. It came down  to a bit of luck, having a trail camera facing the right way on the right tree,  Also, it was persistence, having the snow to track and no job (retired) set this opportunity in play. TURN THE VOLUME UP!! The video is short but interesting. The larger bull gives a slight head swing showing aggression, then …. You’ll see,

 https://youtu.be/jAS7NlLBN_k

Happy New Year !

Jim