Hiking Safety

 

Massachusetts has areas where cell phone coverage doesn’t exist and /or cell reception is inconsistent. My regular weekend hiking location(s) falls into little or no cell service. This concerns my family so they bought me a Garmin InReach Mini in the event an emergency were to arise. I’ve taken it along on the last several hikes. Having a website that tracks me using satellite and the ability to send a SOS message if I were to become injured brings a piece of mind to all. Although I’m just starting to bring this unit along with each hike, the device performs as advertised. Certainly something to consider if you’re a hiker.

Jim

Bear Den Scouting

 

It’s been a busy month checking bear den prospects and old den sites. So far no luck! As I wrote this article a major nor’easter has dumped twelve inches of snow in central Massachusetts. The likelihood of finding an occupied den is growing slim. The fieldstone den that has housed a sow with cub(s) the previous two winters was vacant when I checked it last weekend. One bear a month ago did pass by the entrance and showed interest in at least the scent that was lingering. A porcupine has been using the site.

So unless a bear has found the field stone den prior to the storm, I’ll be snowshoeing looking for other den possibilities.

Not all is lost. A bobcat has been seen in the area. Maybe it take up residence come mating season.

 

Jim

Not A Lot Of Activity

 

Wildlife photography on both fronts has been extremely slow.  Very little trail camera activity nor seeing anything to take a picture of.  I did see two bald eagles yesterday but they were too far away. I checked the bear den site last week and again this morning, it was empty. A porcupine still uses it off and on. A TC did get a bobcat spraying the entrance. May be that will be enough to keep the porcupine from hanging around.

Weatherman forecasts the possibility of a snow storm late next week. Hopefully a late season bear will use this den before the storm. Stay tuned…..

Jim

Slow Start To December

 

It’s deer hunting season in MA , I will need to be mindful where I hike and to wear safety orange. No hunting  permitted on Sunday's.

 I checked the fieldstone bear den last week and  it had no takers yet. However, I did get a video of a porcupine exiting the den. The bear from the previous week that was looking into the den most likely scented the porcupine and decided  to move on. I hope this isn't the porkies residence. If so , I doubt any bear will use it as a den.

This winter I plan on  exploring new areas to camera trap. The spots I currently camera trap are productive but its time to learn some new areas.

Jim

 

Bears Still On The Move

 

Trail Cameras have really slowed down ! Now that swamp vegetation has passed  mammals move on to other food sources. The bear above will surely be looking for a den soon. I did check several root balls that would make excellent den sites, but no takers.

This mornings hike was very quiet. seeing only one loon and a red squirrel.

Maybe a more productive day tomorrow

Jim

Nice Way To Wind Down Year

 

I missed an opportunity a few weeks ago of getting a picture of a sow and three cubs crossing this dam. There was a camera trap set on the dam for six months capturing a small yearling a number of times, so the camera was moved.. After getting pictures of a bear family in the area a few weeks ago , I put up a new set with hopes of getting another chance for a picture before bears den.

The picture of the moose above crossing the dam is a first for me. I've had moose all around a dam but never used it as a bridge.

 I noticed hiking this morning that the abundance of acorns a month ago are now scarce at best. Small mammals, deer, turkey's and bears have had a field day. Lets hope this doesn't mean a bad winter.

Jim

Peak Whitetail Rut

 

Did you ever wonder while hiking how many animals may pass behind you ? 

That's what this buck attempted to do this morning. I got to a spot on the cart road that offered a lane with some distance to it. I usually stop at spots like this and look back ,  with the majority of time seeing nothing. This buck gave me a few seconds to snap his picture awhile he was figuring out which way the doe went the he was following.

The weather the last week was unseasonably warm. My camera trap check yesterday and today showed little activity.

I started to pull in most of my cameras . Hunting season runs the first two weeks of December. I need to be mindful where I hike.

Jim

What A Difference A Week Makes !

 

Its mid-afternoon Friday November 6th and its seventy degrees, Weather is predicted to stay this mild for the next seven days. I'll take it ! This mornings hike was very comfortable with light cloths. It didn't take long before I had to stop and put my light vest in the pack. 

Leaves are pretty much all off the trees and you can see for long distances. The whitetail rut is in full swing. This time of year presents the best opportunity to see a big big.  Last Sunday I saw a very respectable buck but unfortunately he saw me first. One of my trail cameras captured the picture ( video grab) above. Several of my trail cameras have seen this guy in early summer while his rack was still developing and in velvet.

Only downfall to bushwhacking this time of year is TICKS. Be mindful if you're in the woods. 

Jim

Bears Still Active

 

This family of bears challenged me all summer trying to get a family portrait. It wont be long before they  consider denning for the winter. The woods still have an abundance of food for the bears to forage, but cold temps may start the den search.

We had 4/5 inches of snow today in north-central Massachusetts. Weather forecast is very cold for a few days then temps getting back into the 50's.

My hike to retrieve SD cards started in the dark this morning. I wanted to get in and back before there was enough snow to leave my foot prints. I'm always concerned that someone might follow them and find my trail cameras.

With this much snow I may just go looking for tracks tomorrow.

Jim

Nice Day Hiking

 

What a nice time of year to hike!

This morning I set off in the dark needing a flashlight. It wasn’t long before I heard a barred owl. “Who Cooks For You “It was somewhat of a dismal day weather wise, with periods of light drizzle. A goal of eight plus miles was on the agenda for the day. Stopping mid-morning at the reservoir was a treat. The water was like glass, light fog and a loon calling out. There wasn’t a mechanical to be heard. The 2020 fishing season ended last Saturday. No boats buzzing along and the misty morning made for a solitude hike.

Jim

Bears On The Move!

 

Bears are still on the move fattening up for winter. I haven't seen this family of four ( sow and 3 cubs) since late spring. Nice to see that there still around.

While passing through this area they took the opportunity to trash one of my trail camera's.                           

I new it would only be a matter of time ! This is an older trail camera that I don't have a security for. When purchasing new TC's a metal security box is a must.

My TC's are starting to catch a few bobcats. Its been a slow summer catching any bobcats on camera.

I've started to bring in some of my TC's. The fall attracts more folks to the woods. I'll set hem back out early winter.

Jim

Bull Moose In Full Rut

 

Great time of year to hike. The fall colors and crisp mornings are about as good as it gets! This morning I ventured out to do some bear den clean up work and set out one trail camera. It will be interesting to see how many bears check the site out and hopefully a bear makes it home for the winter.

Finally hit pay dirt with moose and a new area I’m camera trapping. Over the last several weeks three different bulls and one cow triggered trail cameras at this location. The bull in the video grunts while passing the trail camera. I’m sort of kicking myself for not putting the camera lower on the tree. This area is typically wet being the back side of a swamp. The lack of rain presented the opportunity with several open areas which made ideal spots to setup trail cameras. The moose video is the same Bull Moose now in rut. You can hear him grunt in hopes of locating a cow. The second video is of a much larger bull and most likely the dominant moose in the same area.

 

Jim

Moose TC Pics Slow .....

 

Bears have been the center of attention for me since they left their dens in early spring. Then recently my focus changed to moose with the ongoing rut. Interestingly some of my old moose camera trapping haunts have really quieted down. I wonder if a distant logging operation and more folks hiking have somehow impacted the moose moving through this area. Several years ago, seven different bulls were captured on trail cameras. So far this year “ ZERO”. I have one camera trap that hasn’t been checked in a month or so. I’m hoping at least one respectable bull has triggered that camera’s motion sensor.

Bobcat’s have been relatively scarce this year. Hmmm , wonder why? That will be the next focus.

Jim

3500 Miles Hiked Quabbin Watershed

 

I wanted to do something memorable reaching the 3500 mile marker hiking in the Quabbin Watershed.  Two of the areas that I camera trap are approximately five miles from each other. . The days hike consisted of making  a loop and ending back  at the truck. All went to plan, with a beautiful warm late September day. I was hoping a bull moose would wander by giving me a photo op . It wasn't in the plan!

Bears are still very active, especially  with re-arranging my trail cameras on the tree. 

Last Sunday was about as good a day as anyone could ask for camera trapping. My grandson accompanied me and he had a hundred questions about nature and camera trapping. He can now name tracks of a moose, deer and raccoon. He got a kick out of finding moose poop.

He asked how the TC took pictures when I’m not there. He seemed to understand my simple explanation of a motion sensor, or at least that was one of the few times he didn’t reply with “Why”. When done checking cameras we hiked around the swamp to a beaver lodge and many question about the beaver lodge.

 The hike was three miles RT. Many more questions on the way back to the truck. The best was to come. Got home , put the SD in the laptop and the first thing that popped up was a beautiful moose ! Then a bear.

Yup, he’s hooked!

Jim

 

Sorry for no update last week. Covid had put a squash on our Maine camping vacation. We were able to find a campground in another state last minute, so off we went

 

Won’t be long before moose are rutting in north - central Massachusetts. For a camera trapper this means more activity with bulls looking for females. I’ve yet to capture a crisp daytime picture of a  respectable bull. Mid-September thru mid-October present the best opportunities with the moose rut.

Last fall I located a new area late October. Several weeks ago while in this area  setting out trail cameras, moose droppings were everywhere . It’s a big area , hopefully my camera placement catches a majestic bull.

Jim

Fall Is In The Air !

 What a beautiful morning hiking. I had to wear a vest. Temps were in the high forties. No  Bugs!  It's been slow with my camera taking critter pictures. Sure glad I have trail cameras to fill in the gaps.

Pictured above is what is typically called a bachelor group of bucks. In this picture there is clearly a dominant buck with two subordinates. As November approaches and the whitetail deer rut starts, the larger buck will have no tolerance for the smaller bucks. This is a first for me getting three bucks together with a trail camera.

The trail cameras are still capturing bears. There are two areas that I can count on weekly pictures. Interestingly the cameras that I moved into a new place last week for moose, have caught the attention of a bear. Its almost as this bear followed my scent to each of the camera locations and intentionally smacked the lock around.

 Turn the sound up!

Jim

Time For Moose

 I met an older gentlemen (older than me that is) on my way to a remote swamp yesterday. The brief conversation we had was quite enjoyable. It focused around nature and we each shared several memorable experiences.

Somehow we got onto, remember when…. Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom use to be a premiere nature series on television. Oh how times have changed!

Time to start getting ready for the moose rut. I’m hoping this remote swamp in North Central MA has a king of the swamp! If moose droppings are any indication we should be good to go.

Jim

Nice Hiking Weather Starting! Bear Observations

 

The swamp pictured  above is an ideal location for camera trapping. No shortage of bears using this location.

Yesterday’s weather hiking was pretty good. It started out in the low fifties, but once the sun broke through it warmed up into the upper seventies fast. I hiked just over seven miles checking trail cameras and taking time to sit with my camera, hoping to catch a wandering bear. I did watch a distant eagle fishing with no success.

I keep track of the miles hiked with each outing.

With Isaias toppling many trees earlier this month in north central Massachusetts, it made for a number of bear den prospects. A blow down exposing tree roots makes for an ideal bear den. The picture above is a good example. 

Investigating, a sow with three cubs could easily fit comfortably in the back of this uprooted tree.

It’s been a good year capturing bears on trial cameras. I thought it would be interesting tabulating the video times to see if bears are more active day or night. The anecdotal study shows some interesting data. Over a five month period twelve to fifteen different bears (guess on my part) triggered camera traps in three different locations forty two times. The forty two data points suggest that 46% (19 of 42) of the bears were videoed between 6:00 AM – 12:00 Noon.

So, what’s all this mean LOL !

You’re more likely to see a bear in North Central Massachusetts during the daylight morning hours than you are any other time of the day.

Jim

New Spot More Bears !

A few months back I started camera trapping this new spot. Things started off slow with an occasional deer or moose passing by the trail camera. There was barely enough activity to keep me interested in this new location. Sure glad I stayed patient !

Three bear captures in one day ! That's a first. 

Sow with cubs , then about an hour later the sow walks by the TC alone. That evening a male walks by the camera. Check the scar out on its head. Most likely occurred fighting during breeding season. I've named him Scarhead.

The sow and three cubs is a new bear in my camera trap area. 

Lots of Bear Sign

 

With this hot summer, clearly animal movement has slowed down. Historic camera trap locations are coming up empty. It’s not very often I check a SD card and there’s been no activity. I did manage to get a bobcat drinking water directly in front of a camera, a moose sniffing a camera, and the backside of a bear crossing a beaver day

I did find three stumps / logs that appeared to be ripped apart by a bear looking for ants.

 Jim

Curious Bear

 This is a first for me camera trapping. Having a bear tinker with a trail camera four times over a four day period. Typically, any given year at least one bear messes with a camera. This regular visitor has been more inquisitive than annoyed by the camera. It will be interesting to see if the next trail camera check shows this bear still around.

Turn your volume up and hear the bear sniffing the camera trying to determine what it is. 

Several weeks ago, I started relocating cameras in effort to capture moose. So far so good! All areas have captured at least one moose video there has been three or four different bulls, several single cows (calf not seen), and one cow with two second year calves and two cows with a single calf from this year.

 Jim

Animals Moving Hot Weather / Blueberry Time !

I’ve added several new locations to my primary camera trap line. Parking my truck and trekking to all the sets on this line falls just short of six miles. In addition to the enjoyment of camera trapping, the exercise is great! That topped top of sitting in a remote location enjoying nature while eating a snack makes for a perfect morning.

A few comments on the video. These are two of my new locations. It was nice to capture the daytime bobcat.  This is only my third daytime bobcat this year. I really like the early evening lighting on the deer crossing the beaver dam.

Berries are turning ripe. It won't be long before the bears find this location.

https://youtu.be/jnkeMpn1_aE

Moose

I’ve started to raise my trail cameras targeting moose. In most cases the cameras are set about four feet high on the tree. That’s a starting point. I came very close to capturing a nice video of a cow and calf moose a few weeks back. I never expected the moose to enter the water directly in front of the camera. Since seeing this near miss video, I have hiked back in and set the camera up on a different tree. This set is 5.5 miles round trip. I certainly don’t want to check this weekly. My goal is to capture a bull in the water during the day. We shall see……..

Jim

Bears,Bears And More Bears

t’s been my best year yet camera trapping black bears in North Central Massachusetts and the opportunities continue. Ever wonder if bears are active in the middle of the day. Check the time stamp out on this video. The young bear thinks better than to exit the beaver dam on the opposite side. It stops, uses its nose, then determiners it’s better to go back the way it came.

Jim

Lesson Learned

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. The good and not so good. The video shows a male bear following a female. Some real good video of their butts! The male bear scent marks a white pine at the end of the video. Several weeks ago the same tree was tore up by a bear (pic). There is a trail camera set on each end of this beaver dam. Looking at the trail camera picture you’ll see brown cattails on the far end of the dam. That  was the camera that captured the video in the post. The trail camera in the picture is set on the opposite side of the dam. That video DIDN’TL capture any footage of either bear. Yesterday’s TC check showed the batteries were (3/4) fine!.......hmmmm. This TC did capture other animals two days prior. My guess is the batteries were drained. Lesson learned. Be mindful of the number of pics & video a camera is capturing. Especially in a hot spot. Sure wished I thought of this earlier, before those two bears crossed UGH!!!

Jim

Bobcat Activity Slow

Interesting in the areas that usually capture bobcats has been slow. Not sure if its due to the increased bear activity. I have seen few tracks and no scat . Gypsy months have impacted the area the last several years killing many trees. The chipmunk and squirrel sightings are few & far between. Maybe the bobcats have moved to areas with more abundant food.
Jim

Big Week For Bears !

Yesterday camera trap check was incredible. The above pic is a snip it from one of the videos. This is a new beaver dam for me, and up until this week it has been slow.  This set captured three different bears crossing the beaver dam in a three day period. Two of the bears were pretty impressive with their size.
Bear activity is high  being in the middle of mating season. Hopefully I can get another busy week at this location.
A TC check this morning wasn't as spectacular with capturing several deer and a twilight evening moose.

Jim

Eventful Hike !

Yesterday was pretty eventful hiking. The morning started out spotting a young bull feeding, and having enough light to get a reasonable picture. A short time later I was surprised to find a few bear tracks in the mud. It’s been a few years since seeing any tracks.

The plan was to reach a distant swamp early in hopes of catching a moose feeding on lilies.  That didn’t happen, but I got a bigger surprise on my hike out. Reaching the intersection of an old cart road there was a bear was moping along walking in the opposite direction. He did stop to look.

Deer flies were a nuisance on my return hike. A head net will be a must next time out.

Jim

Bear Activity Good

I’m off to a pretty good start with bear photo / trail camera captures this year. On my last hike I rounded a corner on a cart road and there was a bear headed my way. I find it exciting whenever a bear crosses my path.
Trail cameras have been setup in five different areas in north central Massachusetts in attempt of capturing bears. Interesting in one area several female bears with cubs have similar white patches on their chest. One might conclude somewhere in the mix they carry the same genes and their home range overlaps.

Jim

Look who’s in the cabbage patch this week.

This would be the last critter I would have anticipated capturing with this set!

I would doubt very much that this beaver traveled better than a half mile to visit this skunk cabbage patch. My assessment is that this is a two year old beaver that was displaced from the colony to make room for the new born pups. Many assumptions on my part. It appears the beaver is following a small brook in search of a new place to start its own colony.. The brook originates in a swamp that has an established colony of beavers. What the young beaver is going to learn is that it has another half mile to travel before reaching a large body of water. Its route travels through an area that has bobcats and coyotes. Both predators would find this situation as an opportunity for a meal. Hopefully all went well. This is the first time one of my trail cameras has captured a beaver so far away from the safety of water.

Jim

Bears on the Move

I had an opportunity to make a couple of new camera trap sets last weekend. Both sets are on new beaver dams that were located late last winter. What I really like about these two beaver dams is that they are remote and have high potential of bears using them.

The first two bears of the season were captured on my most productive beaver dam year after year. The first bear was only a glimpse of the hind quarter, the bear was moving fast across the dam and the sensor on the TC was pointed to low in front of the camera. I added another small log, raising the camera about five inches.

The second bear was a sow with three second year cubs. The bears crossed the dam walking away from the trail camera. Had they been crossing in the opposite direction, it would have made an incredible video. I added a second trail camera. Let’s hope that the bears use this dam again!

click on my website above below the pic on the cover page to view the sow with three cubs     

Jim