Earlier this week, I went kayaking, caught a few fish, and took
pictures of eaglets before they fledged. Bear activity at the scent marking
trees is slowing as mating season winds down by the end of June. Deer flies
require wearing a head net for woodland walks. Blueberries will soon be ripe,
with bushes full due to the wet spring.
Jim
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An
eventful week in the woods.
This
sow with cubs hasn’t been around in a while, ( Pic Above) The cubs are getting big.
The
video was a surprise. Likely not to see this again. https://youtu.be/_i1z-ahuzZo
While hiking behind a beaver pond, I met a sow and her
yearling eating skunk cabbage near the trail. I didn't notice them until I
heard loud tearing sounds. The bears were so focused on foraging skunk cabbage
that they didn't hear me approaching. The incident lasted about twenty seconds,
giving me time to decide what to do.
My first thought was "Oh crap!" as I never
expected this! I was so close that sudden movement might startle the sow, who
was just a short lunge away. I chose to freeze, hoping she would scent or see
me and leave. She looked up at me in disbelief before bolting off, stopping
thirty yards away and looking back for her cub. The yearling cub stayed by a small tree,
watching me. I slowly backed away, and after a few steps, the yearling ran to
its mother.
Thankfully, my decision worked out well. Let me know your
thoughts . What would you have done ? hikingcamera@aol.com
Jim
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Every year I hope to get at least one cow and calf video.
Last year I struck out. Hopefully with this early capture they’ll be
more to come.
Tc’s captured two pregnant cows earlier this year.
Jim
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Mating season for bears is in full swing. My TC’s videoed
two different females being followed by males. Sows with cubs have all but
disappeared around bear marking trees and for good reason. A mother bear
wouldn’t want conflict with a male bear. I have read that a male bear will kill
cubs in attempt to push the female back into estrus. Think about that for a
moment. It doesn’t make sense. The likelihood of a lactating female coming back
into heat is rare and do you think the male is going to stick around that long?
If it were true that killing a cub does send female back into estrus , wouldn’t
all the cubs need to be removed.
Male black bears are opportunistic foragers. If a cub or
fawn were in its path, likely it would be killed and eaten.
MassWildlife put together an excellent presentation about co-existing
with bears. The presentation is informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnH_7ZHlFNo
Jim
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Two trail cameras have been monitoring this location for at
least three years with minimal wildlife captured on video. I pulled the trail cameras this week looking to redeploy in another area and hopefully video more wildlife.
After reviewing the videos, I returned to that same location two days later and reset
the trail cameras
Jim
The fawn in the cover photo was a surprise. After
snapping a quick picture, the twin fawns followed their mother deeper into the
woods.
Last week was busy with wildlife activity in
Massachusetts. I hiked to an eagle nest and observed one eaglet after 1.5
hours. When I arrived, the female was on the nest and the male was in a nearby
tree, indicating a recent food drop.
In April, my trail cameras videoed bears seventy-five
times. A sow with two first-year cubs was videoed in three different locations
during her eleven-mile loop.
Jim
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I did get back to the peninsula to check trail cameras and
wasn’t disappointed. The video provides several tips on trail camera placement and
things to look for when setting trail cameras. Bear activity is beginning to pick
up with the start of bear mating cycle in Massachusetts. Sows with yearlings
will start breaking up the family group and sending the cubs on their own.
There is no shortage of water here in central Massachusetts.
I’ll need to stay away from most beaver dams until the water recedes. A wet hike
this morning checking TC’s and high waterproof boots were aa must. The forecast
for next week looks good and I should be able to check all the bear bite tree
sites.
Jim
