.png)
Massachusetts 2025 bear activity starts with a bonus. A
single bear crosses a newly monitored beaver dam, then four days later a sow with three yearlings crosses the same
dam. Then earlier this week a bear scent
marks a popular tree from last year. I was hoping this area would remain active
again this year. Now that the tree is scent marked other bears in the area will
also leave there scent.
Jim
.png)
It’s been a productive week in the Massachusetts woods ! Bear
TC’s have been set in the new areas . I spent one morning scouting a twelve-acre swamp that really didn’t show much
potential using Google Earth and OnX Satellite
View. Was I in for a surprise? Approximately nine acres of this swamp are thick
tangled bushes and swamp grass. Three acres on the backside are a camera
trappers dream with two beaver dams and two active lodges.
Earlier in the week I found my first deer shed of 2025 and
what a find ! My Best Find Ever !!!
Jim
.png)
It was a productive week making TC bear sets, I have the new
areas finished and have made sets in prior year locations.
I enjoy hiking with a camera in hand as well as setting
camera traps. Saturday morning a female fisher was seen sleeping high in a
hemlock tree . It was overcast and dark in the clump of branches where she was
resting. Watching patiently, it took about three hours before a sliver of
sunlight reached the top of the tree. I was able to squeak out two halfway
decent pictures, One with her sleeping and the other with a slight twinkle in
her eye. No doubt this fisher had a den nearby with recently born kits.
This week more TC’s will be set out in hopes of capturing an
elusive short-tail weasel.
Jim
.png)
The snow is gone and what a pleasure bushwhacking again and
not breaking through the snow crust. There has been little activity on the
trail cameras. I’ve been on a mission to try and get a short-tail weasel video.
From the looks of it, and input from other camera trappers, it’s a rare trail
camera capture. I got a long-tail weasel at a Fisher scent post last week. Typically,
LT Weasel turns white in the winter in
MA, this one was still brown.
I started setting my Spring 2025 bear camera trap sets. What
a great feeling knowing winter is behind us. My first sets are in a new area (
Pic Above) . Last fall I located two new spots with “ Bite Mark Trees” Tomorrow
I’ll set trail cameras in the second location.
Jim
.png)
The Fisher in the pic above returned to the “ Dig Tree” four times
over the last several weeks. This site is becoming a “ Scent Post” transitioning
from a dig site.
Fisher activity is consistent at two of my new scent post locations.
The scent post in the video is a pine tree that had blown over during a windstorm
exposing the root ball. The fisher is using one of the broken roots as a scent
post. It is the height of fisher mating season in MA. and female fishers are giving birth ,then
mating a few days later.
Earlier this week I made two trips to set up TC’s at my Spring
Beaver Project. The sun is strong, and it won’t be long before the ice gives way
to an open pond. I will put a video together soon sharing the setup.
I put many miles on
bushwhacking this week for sheds. Nothing
yet , but hopefully soon 😉
Jim
.png)
A tough week hiking. Several days of high wind and crusty
snow made for challenging bushwhacking
conditions. I did manage to visit all my fisher scent post sets. The efforts in
the last month following fisher tracks have paid off with three new scent post
locations.
Also, I had an interesting visitor while checking trail cameras.
https://youtu.be/jjU67FCiMCc
Jim
.png)
It was a good week tracking in central Massachusetts with one
trail camera videoing something quite unique. Last week while tracking a male
fisher the trail took me to five different dig sites. Dig sites are where a
fisher will dig into stumps , ground or standing rotten trees foraging for rodents
and insects. The last dig site was in an ideal location to set up a trail
camera. It was a long shot hoping that a fisher would return to work the tree.
I got lucky ! https://youtu.be/Eg1kzU_0LfE
I was hoping to find a bobcat track earlier in the week.
Checking several different locations resulted
in no tracks. While checking trail cameras mid-week, I did cut a bobcat track. A
quick SD card swapped out and I was off tracking the bobcat track. It wasn’t
long before locating a squat and dump imprint in the snow. The bobcat followed
the edge of a pond before heading to a ridge that led to a road. The cat “
Spritzed “ on log ends as it traveled through the thick stand of hemlock
saplings. The trail ended at a culvert with porcupine tracks leading into it.
Not sure if the bobcat jumped to the road or back tracked a short distance and
stayed on the porcupine trail. It was time for me to end the trail. I got a new
pic to add to my bobcat tracking library.
Jim
Picture - Bobcat crouched and left a deposit. Very much as a cat in a litter box.
