Earlier this week, I went kayaking, caught a few fish, and took
pictures of eaglets before they fledged. Bear activity at the scent marking
trees is slowing as mating season winds down by the end of June. Deer flies
require wearing a head net for woodland walks. Blueberries will soon be ripe,
with bushes full due to the wet spring.
Jim
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An
eventful week in the woods.
This
sow with cubs hasn’t been around in a while, ( Pic Above) The cubs are getting big.
The
video was a surprise. Likely not to see this again. https://youtu.be/_i1z-ahuzZo
While hiking behind a beaver pond, I met a sow and her
yearling eating skunk cabbage near the trail. I didn't notice them until I
heard loud tearing sounds. The bears were so focused on foraging skunk cabbage
that they didn't hear me approaching. The incident lasted about twenty seconds,
giving me time to decide what to do.
My first thought was "Oh crap!" as I never
expected this! I was so close that sudden movement might startle the sow, who
was just a short lunge away. I chose to freeze, hoping she would scent or see
me and leave. She looked up at me in disbelief before bolting off, stopping
thirty yards away and looking back for her cub. The yearling cub stayed by a small tree,
watching me. I slowly backed away, and after a few steps, the yearling ran to
its mother.
Thankfully, my decision worked out well. Let me know your
thoughts . What would you have done ? hikingcamera@aol.com
Jim
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Every year I hope to get at least one cow and calf video.
Last year I struck out. Hopefully with this early capture they’ll be
more to come.
Tc’s captured two pregnant cows earlier this year.
Jim
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Mating season for bears is in full swing. My TC’s videoed
two different females being followed by males. Sows with cubs have all but
disappeared around bear marking trees and for good reason. A mother bear
wouldn’t want conflict with a male bear. I have read that a male bear will kill
cubs in attempt to push the female back into estrus. Think about that for a
moment. It doesn’t make sense. The likelihood of a lactating female coming back
into heat is rare and do you think the male is going to stick around that long?
If it were true that killing a cub does send female back into estrus , wouldn’t
all the cubs need to be removed.
Male black bears are opportunistic foragers. If a cub or
fawn were in its path, likely it would be killed and eaten.
MassWildlife put together an excellent presentation about co-existing
with bears. The presentation is informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnH_7ZHlFNo
Jim
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Two trail cameras have been monitoring this location for at
least three years with minimal wildlife captured on video. I pulled the trail cameras this week looking to redeploy in another area and hopefully video more wildlife.
After reviewing the videos, I returned to that same location two days later and reset
the trail cameras
Jim
The fawn in the cover photo was a surprise. After
snapping a quick picture, the twin fawns followed their mother deeper into the
woods.
Last week was busy with wildlife activity in
Massachusetts. I hiked to an eagle nest and observed one eaglet after 1.5
hours. When I arrived, the female was on the nest and the male was in a nearby
tree, indicating a recent food drop.
In April, my trail cameras videoed bears seventy-five
times. A sow with two first-year cubs was videoed in three different locations
during her eleven-mile loop.
Jim
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I did get back to the peninsula to check trail cameras and
wasn’t disappointed. The video provides several tips on trail camera placement and
things to look for when setting trail cameras. Bear activity is beginning to pick
up with the start of bear mating cycle in Massachusetts. Sows with yearlings
will start breaking up the family group and sending the cubs on their own.
There is no shortage of water here in central Massachusetts.
I’ll need to stay away from most beaver dams until the water recedes. A wet hike
this morning checking TC’s and high waterproof boots were aa must. The forecast
for next week looks good and I should be able to check all the bear bite tree
sites.
Jim
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I returned to the peninsula last week and set up more trail cameras. A medium-large bear scented the tree from last week's cover photo. Looking forward to returning this week to check tree cameras. Stay tuned !
In another location,
a bear stripped away bark creating a very visual bite mark tree. https://youtu.be/VxNacWt9bIw
Jim
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Last week, I set trail cameras at my final bear hot spot. To
the east, I noticed a game trail leading into the swamp and decided to follow
it. Surprisingly, a small beaver dam provided access to dry land, forming a
fourteen-acre peninsula filled with bear-marking trees. The photo above shows
one of the main bite mark trees. I couldn't hike back to the truck for more
cameras, I moved one from an earlier setup to this new area. This week, I'll
return with more cameras to cover the new location.
Jim
I've had a busy week exploring the Massachusetts
woods—hiking and paddling, I checked three eagle nests, two with females on
eggs. I'll revisit the active nests in May when the eaglets have grown a bit.
Next week, I plan to set trail cameras in one last area for bears before their May breeding season
starts. My other bear cameras have shown activity this year. Surprisingly, a
bear freshened a bite marking tree last week, which is unusual this early from
what I’ve seen in past years. The video shows the bite marking tree and an SD
card error.
Jim
The trail cameras in Massachusetts have been busy this week.
Typically, it's May before they capture a sow with first year cubs, but on
April 1st a sow with two cubs was videoed. Additionally, five sows with nine
yearlings were videoed over the last several weeks. These yearlings will be
independent in six to eight weeks as mating season begins.
I have several trail cameras set up to capture bears in
their habitat. The picture above shows a sow in her environment .
Jim
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The picture above is an area that I haven’t been in for many
years. I was surprised to see a new beaver lodge built on the shoreline, I
guess you could call it a bank lodge. The lodge being close to the shoreline
and having a few trees around was an ideal location to set trail cameras. This
will be my Spring / Summer Beaver Project. Trail Cameras were set back in February.
Earlier this week I hiked in to check SD cards and was surprised to see minimal
beaver scent mounding activity . Just as I was leaving two beavers were working
their way towards the lodge, so I slipped away undetected.
Jim
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- A coyote over looks the beaver pond.
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A bear gives the lodge a quick glance. I'm hoping to get a picture of a bear investigating the lodge.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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The inch of snow Massachusetts received earlier in the week was just enough to provide
decent tracking conditions. That along with locating a fisher track early on
made for an eventful few mornings tracking I was able to follow the fisher tracks just over
four miles and was never more than a half mile from my starting point. The
fisher trail wound through hemlock swamps and places that had downed trees.
https://youtu.be/zZJLl9iaEBw
Finding this unique location in 2018 and setting up a trail
camera has produced incredible videos over the years. The first few years had
special tenants before a porcupine moved in. Then after that, bobcats visit the
den monthly during the colder weather. https://youtu.be/Z_2VpIfXRc8
Massachusetts – Worcester County
Jim
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Following a fisher track in the snow led me to a food cache
where a partial opossum lay under a pile of leaves. While investigating , no
blood was visible on the blanket of snow,
just drag marks from the dispatch site to the base of large diameter tree. Speculation
on my part. Fisher dispatched the opossum, dragged it to the base of the tree, then
went tree bound with it. Once in the tree , started to eat it with pieces
falling to the ground. Then the bobcat found the pieces that fell and made the
food cache. The bobcat was concerned with something in the tree constantly
looking up. In the end neither the bobcat nor the fisher claimed the last of
the food cache. The video shows the culprit.
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It was a beautiful morning to be out scouting Spring prospects
for camera trapping locations. It has been years since setting any trail
cameras in this area, the “ SAFE” ice provided opportunity to really scout
the back of the swamp. Beavers are still using the pond and have built a bank
lodge in an ideal location to set camera traps. I will explain in the video. https://youtu.be/lnKFxVMD1z0
This time of year, safe ice conditions give opportunity to
get into swampy areas that are typically a challenge to reach any other time of
year. I will use the ice to scout other locations next week.
Thank You all that attended my bear presentation at the
Rutland MA library yesterday. There was
a good turnout with an interactive audience asking lots of good questions. The video clip “ How Big Do Massachusetts Bears Get” sparked
interest in guessing bears’ weight. Hard to believe bears get that big in MA. https://youtu.be/sMlfKn1U59A
Jim
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Last week I
had a couple of eventful tracking days following a male fisher. In the fishers
travel he checked out a pervious years scent post that has a trail camera
monitoring. I stopped following the track after it led me to a food cache. A
neat find for sure ! I’m not convinced the fisher made the cache which had only
the head of an opossum buried in it. I set a trail camera to see what animal
returns .
Late last
week I was able to check all my winter trail camera sets replacing batteries as
needed, I don’t check them as often in the winter, concerned with leaving my
tracks.
An early
January bear checked out a den site that one of my trail cameras has been
monitoring for thee years. It went inside the den tree , checked it out and
moved on.
Jim
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Taking trail
cameras to the next level learning about Massachusetts Black Bears. Now that I can
find bear sign has offered me opportunity to set camera traps and see more into
a black bears world. In this presentation I will share the interesting things I’ve
learned about Massachusetts Bears
Jim
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Bear Whammy Tree – Yes , there is such a thing as a bear whammy tree! Seeing my first whammy
tree ( in video ) was a real surprise and eye opener. The tree was literally beaten up I had two questions after seeing
this. What happened to the tree and why?
What happened is shown in the video, and
why.? A “ Bear Whammy Tree” is another means for bears to use trees communicating their presence in an area.
A whammy tree is visual sign along
with scent marking . Whammy trees are
made anytime of the year. I have several other videos that time stamp this
activity in July and September.
Summary –
Camera Trapping has helped me learn about bear behavior and the three types of bear marking trees used to
communicate. Over the last few months, I have found more bear marking trees. It
will be interesting to see what’s instore for 2025 learning more about
Massachusetts Black Bears
Jim
Video 1 – Bear
Bite Tree https://youtu.be/JyxLAjBSKiw
Video 2 –
Bear Scent Marking Tree https://youtu.be/97Mp_MBfiUo
Video 3 –
Bear Whammy Tree https://youtu.be/hNFnAfmVtt8
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Video
2 -This Black
Bear Scent marking tree with ritual trail passing at its base are good examples
showing different black bear age groups
that use the same marking tree throughout the year. The camera trap watching
this tree was triggered forty-two times in 2024. The compilation shows a good age mix of bears scent marking on the same tree. Most visits occurred between
May and August. Bears will scent mark all year long with the highest activity typically during the mating season.
This is the second
of three videos sharing my experiences learning about “ Bear Marking Trees” in Massachusetts
I’ll share
the third video next week
Massachusetts.
Browning Elite HP4
Jim
