In The Tracks Of Black Bear - Masswildlife Article

Magazine article below

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zDjWgKHyN4IBadf1-NSPSB59q4uiG4Gs/view?usp=sharing 

This week’s blog includes my recent MassWildlife magazine article, “In the Tracks of Black Bear,” sharing bear sign that can be found  in Massachusetts woodlands. In Novemebr, I’ll give a presentation expanding on the article and sharing more signs to look for in the woods. I’ll post the details soon.

October has brought warm days, cool nights, and beautiful fall foliage. I’m kicking myself for winterizing our camper so early, especially with pleasant weather expected for the first few days of November. Bears are still roaming in the mild weather. Last week, my trail cameras recorded a very plump sow with two yearlings at one location and two other bears at another.

                                          Ticks have been relentless. Stay alert if you’re heading into the woods.

I set trail cameras at four whitetail scrapes, hoping to record bucks in daylight. Activity has been steady, with eight different bucks recorded—but only one during the day so far.

                                         
                                                                  Respectable 8 pointer

Patient Bobcat - Bears Still Active

 

 

The picture above shows a beaver dam, with the arrow pointing to a slide the beavers use from dusk to dawn to haul branches for their winter food cache. A bobcat has crossed the dam several times during the past month. Last week, it waited nearly two hours while watching the slide. Still, I imagine a beaver would be a tough match for a bobcat.

                                       Med/LG bear stands to check bear marking tree

I’m surprised by the amount of bear activity this late in October. Earlier this week, a small plump bear crossed a beaver dam. Yesterday, a sow with a yearling passed my cell cam, and a third bear stopped standing and sniffing a scent pole.

All my trail cameras are now accounted for, so I’ll begin scouting deer scrapes and setting several cameras.

                                               Sow and yearling pass cellcam 10/23

Jim

Neat Surprise

 

Yesterday morning brought a pleasant surprise while I was retrieving a few trail cameras. Just after swinging on my pack, I noticed movement in the distance. I leaned against a tree and waited as a bear wandered into view. It was not very large, but seeing a bear in its natural habitat is always exciting. With the light breeze in my favor and rubber boots masking my scent, I watched it meander within about twenty yards. Its body language then suggested it had caught my scent, and it slipped over a knoll into the distant woods. Though not especially plump, the bear had a remarkably glossy coat.

One of my trail cameras captured video of a bear earlier this month, the animal shown in the cover picture. It appeared to be about the same size, so I suspect it was the same bear.

Jim

 

A second ( different ) bear  quickly checks out the torn snag

It’s been a busy week of hiking and bringing in many of my trail cameras. In October, the Massachusetts woods fill with outdoor enthusiasts, and my cameras are triggered by more people now than at any other time of year. To limit camera exposure and avoid other potential problems, I scale back the number of cameras in the field each fall.

Collecting them gives me a chance to inspect the cameras and clean the security boxes.

 

I also looked back at my camera-trapping goals that were set last March. The results weren’t perfect, but I did reasonably well.

                 2026 Trail Camera Goals

-          Capture bears walking along a pond shoreline or stream.

-          Find new spots where logs cross water – “log bridges.”

-          Set trail cameras in new areas.

-          Frame shots with visually appealing backgrounds.

-          Monitor a wider variety of bear-bite trees.

 

Jim

-          Bear(s) walking along pond shoreline or stream                          -                                         Not quite what I was looking for.

 

-          New Locations with logs spanning over water – “Log Bridge.”

pic above is previous location with new fallen log bridge

-          Deploy TC’s in new locations. 

       Aesthetically pleasing backgrounds

-          Set up on different bear bite trees

   
                                         

Bear Activity Consistent - Several Locations

 

At last, five months after I found the torn snag last May, a small bear stopped (cover picture) and peered inside.

 Several of my trail-camera sites continue to record steady bear activity, mostly sow’s with their offspring and a few young bears.

                      Yearlings travelling together - Collared yellow circle

A few weeks ago, a trail camera recorded what looked like two yearlings traveling together. One appeared to be collared. They were dispersed from their family group in late May or early June. In past years my trail cameras have videoed other siblings teaming up for the summer and fall. I wonder whether these two will den together?

Late summer beaver dam find has been active the last several weeks with several bears and a small bull.

                                                Small bull crosses dam

                                                   Sow / 2 cubs cross dam

Jim

Bear Activity Good - Near Miss TC Damage

 

I decided to add one cell camera to my inventory. It is a new model, and CAMLOCBOX is currently fabricating metal security boxes for it. So far, so good—though the camera nearly needed an overhaul this week. I set a non-cellular trail camera to watch the cell camera, mainly to confirm whether the new camera was triggering properly. Earlier in the week, my iPhone dinged with two new photos. Both were slightly blurry. Hmmm...

Concerned, I hiked in to check the new camera and review the SD card from the non-cellular camera. Sure enough, a small bear had been messing with it. I moved the trail camera to a new location and will order a metal security box as soon as one becomes available.

 

Jim

Bull Moose Finally Moving -Rut

 

My wife and I just returned from what may be our last camping trip of the year. The weather was not ideal, and foggy mornings made it difficult to sit in any swamps with my camera.

Before we left, I checked a few trail cameras and finally started seeing moose rut activity. The pictured bull passed a camera while calling, with his dewlap hanging noticeably. I’m hoping this week’s SD card check brings more videos. I currently have eight “Moose Sites” monitored by trail cameras.

Although I do not have many cameras still set up for bears, one area has produced consistent activity. Three bears are using this location: a small bear I call “Resident Bear,” which has triggered cameras regularly since spring; a medium-to-large bear that appears every few weeks and is getting noticeably fat; and a sow with two cubs that has been visiting often. During last week’s video check, one cub appeared to have a back-leg injury. As it passed the cameras, it held the leg up and tried not to put weight on it. The cub trailed slightly behind the sow and its sibling but remains under its mother’s watchful eye. I hope the injury is minor and that one of my trail cameras captures the cub again before denning so I can see how it is doing.

Jim