Winter Scouting

 

This past week I’ve been out “Beating the Brush” looking for fisher tracks in the snow, deer sheds and new places to set camera traps. I finally located a fisher track on a dusting of snow on the ice. That didn’t provide much opportunity to do any tracking. The most important find was a secluded beaver pond. There are no trails or roads to this location. I guess the only folks that might happenstance onto this spot is a hunter or forager.  It’s certainly remote and an ideal location to set a number of camera traps. There is one lodge with fresh beaver chews in the area. I set two camera traps for the winter. Scouting the area showed signs of moose, deer, coyotes, fisher and porcupine. I’m hoping bears & moose use the area. Time will tell.

Jim

Trail Camera Flashback

 

18 Year Flashback!

 Recently I stumbled across an old trail camera photo album.

Oh how trail camera technology has changed. My first experiences “Camera Trapping “started nearly two decades ago. Back then trail cameras used C or D batteries and film. Changing out the film cartridges was a challenge, especially when the slotted film edges didn’t catch on the thumb gear in the camera. The exiting part then (and now) was driving out on Saturday mornings to change the film cartridges ,then driving  straight to the local pharmacy (waiting an hour) to have the film processed through the expedited “ One Hour  Film Developing Service “  

Camera Trapping a bobcat and fisher were highlights back then. Roadkill beaver and deer were used as attractants. The moose, coyote and bear were also first captures.  Over the years trail camera technology and learning wildlife behavior has helped to make camera trapping a passion for me.

Jim

Winter Is Here !

 

Central Massachusetts received 2” of fluffy snow last Sunday night which made for ideal tracking conditions. I got in fifteen miles over four days looking for animal tracks. My hope was to cross a fisher track, follow it, looking for scent mounds and then set out a trail camera(s). I was rather surprised I didn’t find one. My efforts were in areas that I’ve seen fishers or my camera traps have caught them on video. This makes for a good winter project. I’ll keep you updated with my progress.

The cover picture is a bank beaver lodge with a cache of tree limbs in the water at the lodge opening. It will be interesting to see what wildlife visits this location over the winter. A beautiful bull moose is the first to stroll by.

Jim

Looking For New Areas !

 

It’s been a good week! I hiked back into the new area I shared with you last week. Two camera traps were set, one on the dam and the other on the east end of the pond. There is a steep hardwood ridge with a worn game trail coming down to the pond. Moose have been browsing along the trail. Hopefully a big bull uses it during the day.

I checked out another area with a outcrop of boulders sitting high up on a ridge. Lots of effort reach this area. From the bottom looking up there appeared to be some small openings in the rocks. I was thinking this would be an ideal spot for bobcats. When I reached the top there was a nice view but unfortunately the openings weren’t very deep and there was no animal sign to be found. Not even a porcupine.

The cover pic is the last buck crossing this particular beaver dam. Not a monster but certainly a nice pic.

Jim

What A Find !

 

I’ve been scouring topo maps looking for new areas to camera trap in Massachusetts. Don’t get me wrong, my current spots are working out well. I really enjoy bushwhacking looking for new terrain and camera trap possibilities. My research and efforts paid off! I identified two new locations that looked good on the map and would require a bit of effort to get to. The most promising spot turned out to be nothing more than a large vernal pool. That’s not quite what I was looking for. The second location appeared the least promising on the map and turned out to be a homerun. Actually I stood in amazement for a moment. A Beaver pond, 1-1/2 acres with a nice dam on it. A camera trappers dream! There are no trails or easy access to this location and there were plenty ticks. I’m looking forward to setting trail cameras in the spring.

Jim

 

Trail Camera activity continues to be slow. I have been bushwhacking searching for new bear dens while checking old den sites. None of the old dens had any bears. There is still a little time left. Years back, a sow with three yearlings used a fieldstone den late December. Fingers crossed!

I set out two moose camera trap sets this week (pictured above). Best case, I can check them in January, worst case, late winter. Both cameras have external battery packs. Lithium batteries were put in both the camera and battery pack. It will be interesting to see how they hold up throughout the winter

While bushwhacking this week, any tree cavity caught my attention. I do not have many Fishers captures on my trail cameras and this winters effort will be focused on tracking fishers, and if all goes well, identifying a fisher scent pole to setup a camera trap.

Pictured above, fisher track and scat I located late last winter.

Jim

Bear Activity Slow This Fall

 

Bear activity this fall has been very slow. This is the first time since camera trapping that NO bears triggered any of my trail cameras in the month of October.  Then finally, this week a bear triggered a camera crossing a beaver dam. There’s not fewer bears. I have started compiling my 2022 bear trail camera data and was surprised to see that more bears in 2022 had triggered trail cameras. So, where did all the bears go? They are following the food! Mast nut crop trees this year in the area I camera trap were non-existent. The drought this summer impacted the berries as well. The majority of my trail cameras are setup in wetlands surrounded by ridges of white and red oak trees. Last year there were so many acorns you would roll on them under foot. This year there were very few acorns. No doubt bears are travelling greater distances to locate food sources. .

Jim