Find The Berries - You'll Find The Bears !

 

The small bear on the cover picture is a sow that had yearlings in tow late Spring. She is one of the three bears foraging on blueberries in a swamp.

 

Last year, the highbush blueberries had a banner crop in the swamps I was camera trapping. This year, the crop is more uneven: several swamps have sparse berries, while one swamp is loaded. Three different bears have found that site, as shown by broken blueberry branches and numerous scat piles throughout the swamp.

Highbush Blueberries

Bush Damaged From Bear 

There  is still some light scent marking going on with several bears at scent marking trees. One location that has been slow all year had three new bears pass by the marking tree in the last two weeks. Maybe just a coincidence.

I was excited to capture trail-camera video of a third sow with four cubs. So far this year, that makes three sows with four cubs each. The first sow with cubs was a considerable distance from the last two sows. The physical characteristics of the second and third sows made them easy to distinguish: one had a large body and a very dark muzzle, while the other had a much smaller frame and a brown muzzle.

Bear Scat w/ Blueberry Seeds Visisble

I have been moving trail cameras into blueberry swamps in hopes of capturing more videos of new bears.

Jim

Gardepro Solar Package Beaver Pond Set

 

It has been hot lately, so I’m glad I enjoy getting an early start at dawn.

Gardepro sent me an A60 Solar Package trail camera and I have it set up in a quiet, remote beaver pond. Wildlife activity has been slow in this area, likely because of the extreme heat. I also have two Gardepro T5WF trail cameras set nearby. I included a short YouTube video to share more details about the location.

So far, the A60 and T5WF cameras have videoed a respectable bear crossing the dam on a foggy morning. A few days ago, the T5WF captured a yearling cub foraging on the dam.

I use the T5WF white-flash trail cameras for fisher scent posts during the winter, though I believe this model is now obsolete.

I’ll share more photos as the summer goes on.

https://youtu.be/Ih9XxnbZLsI

Jim

Moose On The Move

 

It has been two months since I found this snag, which a bear had torn into while foraging for insects. A cow moose is the first notable mammal to pass through this location. I am still hoping the bear that excavated the snag returns, so I placed a small stick across the opening to tell from a distance whether anything has entered the cavity.

Moose have been on the move, with several cows and bulls triggering the trail cameras. So far, two different calves have been videoed.

Highbush blueberries are beginning to ripen, and one lone yearling has started feeding in one of the swamps my trail cameras are monitoring.

Jim

Just Like That, Everything Has Gone Quiet

 

My trail cameras have been working overtime recording bear activity throughout May and most of June. But this morning’s SD card check was unusually quiet. I checked three locations, with eight cameras monitoring bear scent-marking trees and two beaver dams. Seven cameras had zero bear triggers, and one TC captured two smaller bears crossing a log bridge.

Berry patches will likely be the next major food source. With mating season nearly over, sows with cubs should begin moving more freely. My trail cameras do not often capture sows with cub’s scent marking, but one sow with two cubs has been marking consistently in one area since early spring. Now, a second sow—the one in the cover photo—has marked in another location. Maybe sows with cub’s scent mark more than I realized, or perhaps my cameras simply have not captured much of that activity over the years.

Last week, while checking one of my more distant trail camera locations, a TC captured a second collared sow with four cubs. In ten years, this is only the second time my trail cameras have recorded two different sows with four cubs.

2nd Sow w/4 cubs

Jim

 

Gardepro Trail Camera company contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in trying out a TC solar package. The terms were agreed and the package arrived midweek. I set it up at a beaver dam with plenty of open sky. The solar panel needs direct sunlight and should face south to capture as much sun as possible. Because it would be difficult to conceal, I placed it in a secluded swamp. Once everything was set, I realized I had forgotten one thing: zip ties to secure the cable to the tree. I’ll take care of that on my next check.

This area has consistent bear activity, and with blueberries ripening soon, bears will likely use the beaver dam to reach them. It will be interesting to see how this setup performs.

Bear activity in May was high compared with April, as expected with mating season in full swing. April produced 53 bear triggers, while May produced 167. The year-to-date total bear triggers  is now 279 with what looks to be 45 different bears, including 19 new bears that showed up in May. As mating season winds down, males will soon return to their solitary routines and pass my TCs less often. On the other hand, now that males are no longer covering miles in search of females, sows with cubs should begin triggering the cameras more frequently.

Blueberries should be prime for foraging in a few weeks, so I have moved several trail cameras into those areas.

Jim

Returned Home From Camping And Several Surprises

 

A Milestone Week

It has been an interesting week. My wife and I just returned from our second camping trip, and when I checked on my blog, I noticed the page counter had reached 500,000 views. Flattering, to say the least.

I started this blog back in December 2012. Thirteen years may seem like a long time to reach that number, especially with today’s social media platforms and bloggers who have thousands of followers. Still, this feels like a meaningful milestone to me.

This blog started—and remains—a place where I share a few short weekly paragraphs about my outdoor adventures. To everyone who follows along:                                        Thank You!. I truly appreciate your interest in my adventures.

A New Trail Camera Opportunity

While we were away, a trail camera manufacturer contacted me about offering a free trail camera solar package. I am still working out the details and will share more in a future post.

A Long-Awaited Loon Photo

Finally, I captured a photo of a loon with a chick riding on its back. That shot has eluded me for years, and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity. Sometimes it really does come down to being in the right place at the right time.

Back to the Trail Cameras

Now it is time to get the hiking boots back on and start checking trail cameras again.

Jim

Pictured above is Blaze in ideal bear habitat

 

With bear mating season in full swing in Massachusetts, all the bear scent marking trees that my trail cameras are monitoring have been busy. One area ( ½ square mile) has five active scent marking trees that have been visited by seven different bears, two are females and five males.

All seven bears have visible features that help me identify them, I have named them according. There is Matty w/2 cubs - she appears to have mange and her fur is matted , Blaze -  has two large white blotches under his front chest, Dark Face -  has a solid black muzzle, Bald Back -  has balding running down the middle of his back, Butt Scar - has a large scar on his right butt cheek. Scar Face - has a long scar running along his muzzle and then finally No Scars - a beautiful looking bear. I have included a few pics below showing identifying features.

It will be interesting to see if the level of activity with the next SD card check remains high. Will the scent marking trees still be as active on the downward side of mating season? Will any new bears show up in this area?

One thing that I did find interesting was that Matty with her two cubs stays in the area with so many males. She has also scent marked three of the five scent marking trees. In my experience sows with cubs don’t tend to stay in areas with this level of male activity.

 

Blaze

Bald Back

Matty

Dark Face

Jim