Visited North American Bear Center in Ely , MN

 

 My apologies for missing  a month of blog articles. My wife and I have been on a Midwest camping trip travelling four thousand miles through thirteen states. My plan was to update the blog weekly. A change in plans  with adding new destinations to our route came daily  logistics issues and finding open campgrounds.

 Our furthest destination was Ely Minnesota. There we visited The North American Bear Center. I was like a kid walking into a candy store! The facility had so much to offer. The layout was inviting with many bear exhibits and a small theater showing a winter bear den check. The displays and exhibits were  informative. The Bear Center, in short, was incredible, many pictures were taken, the bear center’s website does a better job showing what’s available.

https://bear.org/visit-us/hours-admission-location/

Unfortunately, the Wolf Center on the other side of town was not open the day we were there.

I’ve been out the last few days collecting SD cards and have lots of videos to review. A mild October and  mast crop of acorns have kept the bears busy foraging. I hope at least one trail camera videoed a respectable bull moose during the recent rut. https://youtu.be/myOALWgvotk

 

Jim

 

Pic above - Buck seen in VA State Forest

A recent visit to Shenandoah NP in Virginia was a bust ! We had made campground reservations long before Hurricane Helena. When we arrived at the campground, there was concern with the Shenandoah River flooding and the campground may need to evacuate. Would have been nice if we had been made aware of this several days prior. It all worked out with another local campground found at higher elevation. We took a ride along Skyline Drive in hopes of catching a break in the foggy wet weather. It  was not meant to be on this trip. 

 Lessons Learned

I would recommend using a road atlas in conjunction with Google Maps, There were occasions when Google Maps routed  us through tight back roads which had me concerned pulling the camper.

-         I assumed the campground where we made reservations would have contacted us prior with evacuation concerns . I should have been more diligent with inquiring about any issues / concerns prior to the trip.

Jim

Bear Activity In Two Locations Still Good

 

I still have two active areas with bears. Both locations had scent marking trees during the bear mating season ( mid-May through mid-June) A sow with two yearlings passed a camera trap last week. I can only assume the family of three were the same bear family videoed earlier in September. It is hard to believe ( at least for me) that the 2024 bear season is winding down. Another five or six weeks and most bears will have gone in for their long winters nap.

It’s been another good year learning about  bears, I’ll share the details once bears den later this fall.

 I’ve been thinking about winter camera trapping projects.  Not sure what they are yet , but you can be sure I’ll come up with some ideas.

 

Jim

Massachusetts Moose Rut

  

Moose are on the move in Massachusetts with the fall rut in full swing. Several cameras have recorded a few respectable bulls, but there are much bigger out there. I’m hoping to get a good daytime video of a majestic bull.

There are acorns everywhere! A far cry from last year’s acorn crop. I’m still finding plenty of concord grapes. I’m actually surprised given the bear traffic in some of these areas.

I was in new beaver habitat a few weeks ago that got me a bit pumped for new opportunities in 2025. I set up a few cameras and went back last week to explore some more. To my surprise the upper beaver dam let go sending volumes of water downstream, which breached the second dam. What were two beaver ponds two weeks ago are now mud flats. I did see a little beaver sign that might suggest a rebuild on the once larger pond. I’ll wait to late Oct. to check it out again.

Jim

Where Are The Bears

 

Where are the bears ? Find the seasonal food sources. Bears are now in a stage called hyperphagia. What that means is binge eating. Bears  need to fatten up  in the next few months before searching for a winter den. Right now, they are eating apples, grapes, nuts, and plants, such as Jewelweed. The video shows a young bear feeding on jewelweed as it crosses a beaver dam. https://youtu.be/AwAMspubGqw

Last week while checking a fisher camera trap set there were broken white oak  branches on the ground. You could see  where the branches had been ripped from the tree  and there were no acorns on them. The bark on the tree was disturbed ,and about seven feet up there were bear claw marks. This is a first for me, finding this type of bear sign. There is a fisher scent post a few feet away with a camera trap set. Might that  trail camera provide any information? Checking the SD card when I got home showed a young bear had visited this area numerous days  looking for  acorns beginning September 6^th. I set a camera trap watching the base of the oak tree. Hopefully, it will continue visiting.

                                        White Oak branch ripped from tree

Jim

Moose On The Move - Bears Foraging

 

Wow ! Trail Cameras were busy the last two weeks. They started picking up moose activity with the rut now in full swing, along with bears foraging. The cover pic is a young bear that was foraging on the beaver dam, then meandered over to the trail camera offering a unique video grab that I named “ Looking Through a Bears Eyes”  While checking my Fisher camera trap sets this week I encountered bear sign that I’ve never seen before. It was an interesting find. I’ll share it with you next week.

Jim

Bear Late Scent Marling

 

Bear “ Stomping Behavior “ can be exhausting as shown by this large Massachusetts male bear. Something else has his attention, I do not think it is the sound of the trail camera. He rested for ten minutes in front of the camera constantly winding and moving his head left and right. He was serious about scent marking, urinating while stomping. I wonder if there is a female in late estrus. https://youtu.be/GenFJOtcwVE

I have another area where a younger bear has been marking one small hemlock sapling every few days. I am guessing it’s a male. It will be interesting to see if any other bears scent marks the sapling.

 Jim

Busy Log Bridge With Bears

 

This Massachusetts log bridge was very busy with bear activity last week. The log was crossed six times by five different bears. This is the time of year when bears constantly feed (hyperphagia) in preparation for denning late fall. They will travel to take advantage of available food sources. I have been seeing ripe concord grapes and early apples in this area and bears are aware of these food sources. https://youtu.be/rssP2bAzzQk

Jim

Curious Black Bear Climbs Tree

 

I was wondering how long it would take before a curious bear would climb the tree and check the trail camera. The first part of the video shows the bear climbing the tree. The second half of the video is the same bear scent marking ,then sees the trail camera in the tree positioned facing down watching him.

Massachusetts – Browning HP5 & Bushnell Aggressor in tree positioned facing down. https://youtu.be/AxInVVU8B88

Jim

Maine RV Camping

 

 It’s the last day camping north of Acadia NP in Maine. The view couldn’t be better (pic below) while putting together this week’s Blog. Kayaking at an ocean bay  earlier in the week presented wildlife picture opportunities. While paddling along,  pogeys ( bait fish) started to jump out of the water. A good sign was pushing them to the surface. With fish jumping, ospreys started to circle. Then a young harbor seal popped up out of the water presenting a nice pic opportunity. My next challenge was to see if I could take a photo of an osprey catching a fish. Paddling along again, pogeys started surfacing. No seals were seen , but I was able to get an osprey diving and catching a fish. It’s not an awesome pic but better than anything I have to date.  An interesting observations the last two weeks, eagles will harass an osprey in attempt to get it to drop its catch and roosting eagles are harassed by seagulls.

Jim

Nice view !

Osprey catches fish.

Massachusetts Moose Rut Coming Soon

 

It’s that time of year to start thinking about the Massachusetts moose rut and setting camera traps. This is when moose are the most active and the best chance to see or video a mature bull. I’m hoping to locate a “ Moose Wallow Pit “ this year. This is when a bull moose scrapes a shallow depression with its leg , urinates in it, then use its antlers to mix it up. When that is complete the bull will lay in it and roll. The scent from a mature bull will attract female moose.

The attached video shows just how it’s done. My friend ( John H.) was in Maine taking moose pictures several years ago, and found an active moose wallow. Imagine seeing this !  Thanks John. https://youtu.be/zGL3ZZKe-Pg

I’ll start bushwhacking looking for areas that show potential sign for setting trial cameras.

Cover pic from previous year

Jim

First MA Bobcat Kitten This Year

 

I’ll bet you thought my camera traps only videoed Massachusetts bears. I’ve had a number of trail cameras deployed hoping to capture unique bobcat behavior. Nothing earth shattering but was neat to FINALLY get a mom and kitten. Since early May, fifty bobcats have passed my trail cameras. This is the first with a kitten. These two are interested in a beaver side that has a mild scent of beaver castor. The date was wrong on the Gardepro, glad the Browning HP5 was on the other side of the beaver dam. https://youtu.be/61O_Pr2iLMM

Jim

Bear Alert !

 

 This is a different sow than the one I’ve shared the last several weeks. This sow has three cubs. It appears one cub has fallen behind and makes some type of sound. Turn your volume up and hear the sow “ grunt” several times telling the two cubs to climb a tree. Interesting how fast the sow reacted to the situation. https://youtu.be/74zX_hRsMwE

Jim

Cub Problem Solving

 

Here are two examples of bear cub(s) problem solving. One cub had to figure something out to  keep up with mom and sibling. A “ Precise” drop from the overhanging branch onto the log bridge fixed that problem. The next day things were not the same. A drop from the overhanging branch would result in landing in a fast-flowing stream. https://youtu.be/8G6Jrl3x2Fc

This week’s camera trap check showed extraordinarily little activity. The HOT weather surely contributed to less wildlife movement. Tomorrow I am off to check deep woods camera trap sets. I expect to find slow activity in this area with bear activity slowing down. Maybe I’ll get lucky ?

Jim

Sow & Cubs Cross Log Bridge

 

Last weeks cover picture was a sow and two cubs crossing a log bridge suspended over a stream. That video grab was from the trail camera that was positioned looking east. There is also a trail camera looking west. I couldn’t get to that trail camera on the opposite side of the stream last week due to extremely high water levels. This area is prone to flooding with heavy rain from thunderstorms.

https://youtu.be/QTtaRp36HBg

Jim

Tranquil to Raging

 

These hot humid days aren’t for me ! Even early morning hiking to check SD cards can be uncomfortable. Last week I set camera traps along a shallow stream hoping to capture wildlife foraging along the stream bed. Given one nasty thunderstorm last week, it may be a while . I was hoping to use my Gopro this morning and share my camera trap sets. It will have to wait a while.

https://youtu.be/O1GvAgaZNbg

 

Jim

Just Like That ! Bear Activity Slows Down

 

Just like that, black bear activity slows significantly in Massachusetts. The boars go back to their solitary lives. It amazes me how big these animals are, and how elusive they can become. With the trail cameras I have deployed throughout the state, I doubt any will trigger with a big boar moving past it. I might possibly catch one this September or October when they are foraging for food to fatten up before hibernating. The good news, now that mating season is just about over, Sows with cubs will travel more freely over there home ranges and with that comes more possibilities to video them.

I did try something different with a trail camera a few weeks back. Climbing up a bear scent tree, about fifteen feet, a  trail was placed facing down in hopes of capturing a bear scent rubbing the tree. ( see attached video)

https://youtu.be/l9F8lkcxoNU

My next challenge is to try and capture ( TC video) a bear walking along a Massachusetts stream. I set out a few trail cameras this morning, in a few weeks I’ll put together a video showing how I went about it.

Jim

Kayaking - Camera - Bear Sign

 

Locating a new bear marking tree late in the Massachusetts black bear mating season has shown some very good bear scent marking activity. The video below shares what I has found.

https://youtu.be/-K3MdJqUUMw

I took my kayak and camera out a couple times this week looking for wildlife photo opportunities. Early morning paddling is the ideal time for increasing your chances of seeing most anything, especially during these HOT DAYS. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Now that bear mating season is winding down and the boars are heading back to their solitary lives. Sows with cubs will be on the move. Hopefully over the next few weeks camera traps will video more sows with cubs.

Jim

Bear Activity In MA Slowing Down

 

Recent camera trap checks showed bear activity declining. Massachusetts bear mating cycle is nearing its end for this year. The biggest bear videoed so far is pictured above. I would estimate that bears weight around 350 lbs. That’s a big bear ! I had a conversation this weekend with a stranger showing me a picture of a bear that he had seen, and he estimated  it weighed 500lbs. Over the years I have heard this 500 lb. number many times when somebody sees a big bear. It’s tough to estimate a bear’s weight. The eight bears that I’ve seen this year, I would estimate there average weight between 125 – 150 lbs. The biggest bear I've ever camera trapped was estimated to weigh approximately 400 lbs. There are several camera trap locations that I haven’t  checked since late May. Hopefully there will be other BIG BEAR pics.

There are two eagle nests that I would like to check one more time before the eaglets fledge. One nest has one eaglet, and the other nest has  two eaglets.

I have an eagle presentation at the Athol Bird & Nature  Club, Massachusetts on July 21^st 1:00 – 4:00 PM .

Spending three months watching an eagle nest was an interesting project. I will share the good ,bad and ugly monitoring this nest. It certainly was an interesting experience.

Jim

MA Bears Very Active

 

I was able to check a few trail cameras that are in an out of the way location and takes a bit of effort to reach. They have  been out a month since the last SD check. The cameras were busy capturing lots of bear footage. It looks like seven different bears were videoed. It’s  now “ Prime Time “ mating season and bears are on the move. One trail camera did video a male and female bear in a playful and carefree time. Not sure how long that lasted, two large males showed up in the area and I’m sure the playful small male moved on. I’ll try and put a video together, I’ve actually fallen a bit behind with my editing since the nice weather. 

Eaglets are nearing fledging in two Massachusetts nests. One nest has one eaglet, and the other one has two. A third nest was checked early this Spring that had a female sitting on eggs early on, but for whatever reason the nest failed. No adult eagles were seen in the area the morning I checked the nest a second time.

We are heading out with our camping trailer for the second  trip of the season. Kayaking , hiking, fishing and wildlife photography are the plans ! We also like to tent camp, Unfortunately the state campground we enjoy camping at is closed again this year. Hopefully next year it will reopen.

Jim

Missed Loon Photo Opportunity

 

While kayaking one morning last week in northern Massachusetts I caught movement on the edge of the lake. It was a doe walking along with a fawn. I would guess the fawn was only a few days old. It had no balance and stumbled as it followed its mother. Wind direction was perfect and the two were never aware I was watching with my camera from the water.

The lake has several loons that use it as a stop each spring before moving on to a quieter pond for nesting. I was hoping to get a few pictures of them on this camping trip . I missed it be a day. The day before the loons swam around feeding in the pouring rain. It rained all day and didn’t make for a day to be out on the water. I did see and hear them the following morning calling to each other at the other end of the lake . Unfortunately they moved on before I could get out on the water with my kayak.

Jim

Strange MA Bear Family

 

Travelled to Northern Mass mid-week to check out an eagle nest. Kayaked out and watched for a while. No activity at all. Appears the nest has been abandoned. Guess we’ll never know why. Hopefully things work out in 2025.

Bear activity at several scent marking trees has been very busy. I still have another bear marking tree that needs to be checked. I wont be able to get to this tree until the first week of June.

The cover pic is a Sow with what appears to be a yearling and cub of the year ( COY) I have never seen anything like this. I posted on FB looking for input and will also send it to MassWildlife.

 

Jim

Bear Scent Marking Activity

 

In last week’s blog article, I shared attempting to be  creative with moving and adding trail cameras to an area that had fresh bear scent marking sign. I checked the TC’s a few days after making the changes and did get a new bear. I think it’s a female. You’ll see her in the attached video. She does a lot of winding and checking for scent near a bear marking tree. There is a good size boar in the area. That’s what caught her attention.

Bear scent marking has really increased the last two weeks. All my MA locations have bear activity.

 

Jim

https://youtu.be/Vk2JiNUZlMM

MA Bear Mating Season About To Start

 

Bear activity on my MA camera traps picked up last week. Mating season is just beginning. The cover pic is a young bear that regularly uses this area, The SD card check yesterday also showed a large boar in the area ,  After seeing the more frequent visits from the boar I did some checking in the area and located what appears to be a " Bear Stomp Trail" and an old " Bear Scent Marking Tree",

                                                           Bear Scent Marking Tree

                                                  

                                                                     Bear Stomp Trail

                                                Frequent visits from this bear, 

I got creative ( I think ?)  Stay Tuned !!!!!

JIm

MA Bear Babysitting Tree

 

                    It has been an eventful week hiking in Massachusetts woods. While bushwhacking a new area and reaching the top of small knoll, sixty yards away in a white pine two yearling cubs clung to the side of a tree watching me. I stopped and thought , if the cubs are in the tree ,where is the sow? It was just a few seconds before both cubs slid down the tree and all three bears ran in the opposite direction. That is a first for me! My biggest concern while bushwhacking is wandering between a sow and her cubs, fortunately a good outcome with this encounter. I carry bear spray on the outside of my pack and started to reach for it when seeing the cubs. I reminisced for a moment before veering off in the other direction. It was only a short distance before coming upon an area scattered with bear scat. Closer investigation revealed a “ Bear Babysitting Tree”. This consisted of a day bed at the base of a white pine tree. Broke away bark showed where the bears had been climbing the tree. A short distance away there was a skunk cabbage patch where the family of bears have been feeding. The sow will send her cubs up the tree while she wanders foraging.

                      I will make it a point to stay clear of this area while the bears find refuge.

                      Finally, a camera trap videoed the first bear cubs of the year. Video Below.

                        Jim

MA Bears On The Move !

 

Last week was a big week for bears. Two of the new locations were active. The new scent tree location had two visits from bears and two sows with yearling cubs were videoed in the area. The second new location had the “ biggest bear” to date pass by a camera trap.(cover photo). This bear is beautiful and what a “ blocky head.” Haven’t videoed and sows with new cubs yet. Should be soon !

I spent a morning sitting with my camera watching a breached beaver pond. It was actually  very quiet with no wildlife seen. I hope to get back there next week. Before leaving , I set a camera trap watching the exposed beaver lodge.

Another secluded beaver pond has had a small bear visiting it on a weekly basis.

Jim

Pond Watch With My Camera

 

I changed the pace a bit last week and sat with my camera watching a beaver pond. This pond’s beaver dam breached early April. Last Sunday pre-scouting the small pond , its water level was down considerably exposing the shoreline. The beaver pond is small ( 225 Yds long x 90 Yds wide). My sitting spot has ideal lighting with the sun behind me while watching the west side of the pond . The first morning was eventful. A lone beaver patrolled the pond at dawn stopping to eat, chewing the bark off small branches. It was not long before it caught my scent and gave me the tail slap on the water. I was trying to avoid this because no doubt the tail slapping alerts wildlife to danger. All went quiet for about an hour or so, while watching the distant shoreline a small bear appeared out of nowhere, heading towards the beaver lodge. I was able to get a decent picture before it disappeared into the wood line. I am going to spend a few mornings there next week.

 Checking SD cards at a different location, the stream log trail camera set captured a good video of a “ Flying Bobcat.” This is a pic grab from the video  

This morning, I checked the new bear scent post tree I shared with you in last week’s blog. Surprisingly, no bears passed by the scent tree. Hopefully, something with the next SD card check.

Jim

Big Bear Only In Cover of Darkness

 

Massachusetts fisher scent post activity has slowed down in April. In this video I have  summarized this year’s Fisher highlights. Included are several fisher behaviors that were learned by me camera trapping. Last winter tracking a fisher, two active scent posts were located sixty feet apart. I identified them as a    “ Primary” & “Secondary “ scent post. I didn’t think the two scent posts being in such close proximity of each other would stay active. The graphs at the end of the video show the activity.

 

It has been another good week hiking in the Massachusetts woods. While kneeling to change out SD cards , I looked across the small beaver pond and a bear was foraging along the shoreline. I tried to video it with my GoPro camera, but it was to far away. It was interesting watching the bear as it foraged for food, then stopping dead in its tracks when locating a bear scent tree. It stood up , turned with its back against the tree and started doing what I call the “ The Bear Jig.” This consists of deep knee bends and rubbing its back up and down the tree. It did this for three or four minutes, then laying at the base of the tree. I guess this might have been to rest after the vigorous rubbing activity. After a few minutes’ resting, the bear moved on as it continued to search for food. Watching the bear scent marking was interesting and the bear identified a scent marking tree. A trail camera was set and hopefully more bears will leave there scent travelling through the area. Stay tuned.

Fisher scent post activity has slowed down; however, a male fisher has freshened the scent post twice in April. I’ll leave TC’s for the month.

https://youtu.be/59A6WMamdic

Bear activity continues to increase. The first sow of the Spring with three yearlings passed by a camera trap in the cover of darkness. The video is what I call an evidence vid, it’s low light and doesn’t make for a good show and tell.

The biggest bear so far this year ( cover pic) has triggered the same trail camera five times over three weeks. All have been at night. It’s a beautiful big bear, I hope I’m lucky enough to have him pass the TC during the day.

I did get out in my kayak this week with a camera in hopes to get a few pics of migratory ducks. Nothing yet !

Jim

Bear # 4 - So Early in The Spring

 

An eventful week to say the least! It started while hiking back to an area that has shown considerable bear sign this Spring. Enough so, that additional trail cameras were packed in. Bushwhacking along, I watched a distant moose canter along the open hardwoods. Certainly, a wonderful way to start the morning. Reaching the area with all the bear activity and kneeling to set up the first trail camera . I felt like I was being watched. Looking up , their stood a moose, thirty yards away, staring at me! Neat and a bit concerning. I stood up, took a few steps, and the moose went on its way. A few minutes later I looked behind me and there stood the moose watching me again. I was glad it didn’t keep following me. Continuing along the swamp edge, movement eighty yards or so out caught my eye. A  bear was foraging, it wasn’t long before the light breeze carried my scent and the bear vanished into the swamp. Two more TC’s were set, and it was time to head out. Reaching a cart road and rounding the corner, a second bear of the morning walked slowly away from me. I watched it for a minute or so before it wandered into a thick area heading towards a hardwood ridge.

Also, this week ,I went to pull the two Fisher scent post trail cameras and was surprised to see that both a male and female had freshened the scent post. I figured scent post marking was over, given it has been sixteen days since the prior  scent post visit. Last year, activity stopped on March 17^th. It will be interesting to see when activity stops this year.

Late Wednesday ( before Thursday snow) bushwhacking to check trail cameras, a second deer antler was found. This one is unique (pic). It appears to have shed the winter of 2023. It was still in decent shape, with only a few chew marks from mice.

So, all and all, it was an eventful week in the woods.

With lots of effort and even more luck, my  Browning  Elite HP4 trail camera (Massachusetts) won the 2024 Trailcampro Video Contest. The contest rules were unique animal behavior and video quality. Who would ever believe a bear would behave as this one did in front of a trail camera? https://youtu.be/lsEZ-n4Zt-M

The cover picture bear is the forth different bear. The 2024 bear activity is starting out strong. In early April Sow’s with yearlings should start showing up on trail cameras then late April early May Sow’s with COY.

Jim

More and More Bears Showing UP On TCs

 

Last week after watching two otters preen and rub their scent on top of grass hummocks, I repositioned the trail camera just in case they returned. My efforts paid off with two minutes of wonderful otter footage. I included a snip below.

The cover pic is a young bull. I’m surprised to see he still has his antlers this late in March.

I’ll be pulling the Fisher sets this weekend. Scent post activity has stopped. A female really worked her scent back in mid-March I thought for sure a male would have responded to her last scent post coverage.

A hike this week to check the ledge camera trap sets turned out to be quite an eventful trip. The SD cards had two bobcats passing an opening that possibly could become a den site. Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw bear footage. Not that a bear would be out of the question in this spot, I just didn’t think I would ever capture a bear along this ledge transition line. 

Camera traps also videoed deer mice , chipmunks, and several gray squirrels. A paradise for a bobcat.

Jim

Spring Trail Cameras All Set

 

What a transformation Scat Swamp has been through since the two beaver dams breached last August. Torrential rains collapsed the primary dam which in tun washed away the secondary dam (shown in the pic above).  The beavers built a new smaller lodge and rebuilt the secondary dam. The new dam has an abundance of sticks that are interlocked  and will be much sturdier than the prior dam. Last week a bobcat used the dam on three occasions. Hopefully, the new beaver dam becomes a bridge for a variety of wildlife.

I had a wonderful otter experience this week, As I walked up to an active beaver lodge  two otters were approaching. Standing motionless the two otters climbed up onto  grass hummocks a short distance from me . For twenty minutes they chattered , preened, played, and napped. My trail camera was set to monitor the lodge and didn’t catch the otters, oh well , it was an awesome experience, 

Finally found a decent eight-point deer shed while checking trail cameras this week. With little snow this winter it was ideal conditions to search for antlers. Three months of bushwhacking gave up two old, chewed antlers (one moose , one deer) before finding the eight-point shed this week.

After visiting Urgent Care and getting a script for steroids my poison Ivy has cleared up. Hope not to do that again !

Jim

First 2024 MA Camera Trapped Bear

 

Last week I had one of those AWSOME camera trapping days, capturing my first 2024 Massachusetts bear on video. It is a fantastic way to start  with the onset of spring. Skunk cabbage has started to sprout in the local wetlands, A bears first greens. Hopefully, it will not be long be videoing sows with cubs.

Fishers are still visiting the scent post site. It will be interesting to see when the activity tapers off.

I was able to set more camera traps for bears this week. While doing so, I encountered poison ivy. Not sure where or how , but I managed to rub my face and eyes with it. That was a guaranteed trip to Urgent Care!! I am now back to wearing gloves when setting trail cameras. There are  several locations I still need to set cameras up. I will get them set next week.

Waterfowl are migrating north; it is an enjoyable time to be out with your camera. I loaded up the kayak, camera gear and headed out to a local hotspot yesterday. There were plenty of ducks, but unfortunately fog did not lift early enough. I will give it another try soon.

Jim

Morning camera trapping

https://youtu.be/4qeNZ0awrDw

Massachusetts Bears Soon Will Be On The Move

 

Camera trapping bobcats over the winter was a fun project. In addition to bobcats investigating beaver lodges , coyotes were also frequent visitors. I was able to pull a  nice picture ( cover pic -  video grab) of an Eastern Coyote.

The lodge in the picture ended up attracting more wildlife over the winter than any of the other five lodges.

Last week was the start of setting  camera traps for emerging bears. With warm temperatures in the forecast, no doubt bears will be on the move. Unfortunately, the nicer weather also brings TICKS. I have already pulled them off my cloths. Time to spray cloths with Permethrin .

The heavy rains sure are playing havoc setting and checking camera traps around beaver ponds. I’ve added hip boots to my pack. I needed them last week and with the heavy rain last night, surely will need them next week.

A bobcat has presented an interesting challenge for me. The cat is using a downed tree in the outflow of a breached beaver dam as a staging platform before jumping across turbulent water . A camera trap was set in efforts to catch the bobcat airborne.

Jim

 

Camera Trapping Massachusetts Bobcat's

 

My  Massachusetts winter bobcat camera trapping project is complete. It consisted of monitoring  six beaver lodges, (four active and two abandoned) in efforts to learn more about bobcat behavior around beaver lodges, and  the frequency they visited  beaver lodges. The project goals were to  set camera traps  during January & February, this would provide 360 camera trapping days. ( 60 days x 6 lodges = 360 trapping days. Over those sixty days the hope  ( my fingers crossed) was to capture at least thirty-six videos of bobcats on or near beaver lodges. Then, with a bit of luck there will be at least four interesting captures and one unique capture. There were variables .Setting specific numbers may prove unreasonable. Starting with two weeks during January, there was minimal  or no ice and most of the lodges had exposed water around them. That  prompted me to add one trail camera closer to ab abandon lodge. That addition ended up a GOOD DECISION with  excellent footage captured. My point with sharing that information  is after setting camera trap(s) at a location. they may  need tweaking to increase your captures.

Over the two-month period camera traps captured twenty-seven  ( 73% expectation ) of bobcats near or at a beaver lodge.

Top Captures for the project were:

-          Bobcat on lodge with snow

-          Bobcat looks into camera.

-          Vocal – two bobcats follow each other.

-          Distant bobcat walks by the lodge, falls out of view of the trail camera, then reappears  scent marks and walks close to camera with beaver lodge in background. This is also the most unique video captured during the project.

All six lodges had at least one bobcat  visit over the two-month period.

 Keeping track of the frequency each bobcat visits to the lodges  identified one lodge as a hotspot. This lodge had fifteen visits ,the best I could determine from four different bobcats.

 

 Project Summary:

I wasn’t surprised to see the level of bobcat activity at beaver  lodges. Most lodges create an ideal habitat for rodents. The bobcat in the first video was impressive with its size. I concluded it was a female with the low riding prom… She has been elusive over the years , capturing her on video twice. One lodge had fourteen visits from four different bobcats. Why would that lodge have drawn more bobcats to it than the other five lodges? It comes down to the location of the lodge in relation to its surroundings. This lodge is just west of a dam that had partially breached last summer. Bobcats could still navigate the dam without getting wet. West of the dam is a steep ridge that naturally  funnels wildlife to the edge of the beaver pond. Once on the edge of the pond the first thing in sight is the beaver lodge. Add stable ice around it you become a magnet for predators.

 Camera Trapping Winter Bobcats in Massachusetts

 

 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for spring  Massachusetts camera trapping projects.

 

Jim