My trail camera
check this morning gave up the biggest Massachusetts bull so far, this rutting
season. He is pictured above. Reviewing all my moose video footage since September
1st has captured three different bulls in two areas. I still have several
locations to check over the next few days. I’m still looking for a nice day
time video of a bull. Interesting the location I checked this morning usually
has at least one cow passing a trail camera each week. Nothing this week
Jim
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It appears my TC’s are dialed in for the Massachusetts moose
rut. One area had videoed several cows grunting and this
mornings SD card check had several bulls that have passed by the trail cameras
at night, I did see a beautiful cow hiking this morning. I won’t be able to check
the other moose spots for a week or so heading out camping.
Overall moose activity on trail cameras has been high. Hopefully
I’ll capture some nice moose footage over the next several weeks.
Jim
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In late summer,
my trail cameras seldom video any bear scent marking activity in Massachusetts.
Not sure of the reason(s) why this little hot spot is so popular.
There are
two camera trap sets at this location. Camera #1 is monitoring a bear stomp
trail with two scent marking trees that were marked during the June / July
mating season. Camera #2 is set up a short distance away, watching a small
opening in a hemlock grove, near a pond. It is an ideal location with the pond
on one side and a short steep ridge on the opposite side, which funnels
wildlife through a narrow area. The intent with this setup was, TC #1 captures
game travelling towards the hemlock clearing and TC #2 captures wildlife as passes
through the clearing. I did not expect to capture footage of bears scent
marking a tree right in the middle of the video frame. No doubt, luck does
factor into your camera trapping efforts.
The ground beehive
was another bonus for this location.? Bears have passed by that hive over the
summer. Surprisingly, it took this long before being detected.
Jim
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Find the cows and the bulls should follow ( hopefully ). The moose rut will be in full swing by late September. I hope to video a respectable bull during the day. Over the years my TC’s have captured a few big bulls, but all have been at night. Camera traps have videoed five different cows around Massachusetts the last several weeks. Now I just need a cow with a bull following it to stroll by a trail camera. Stay Tuned!!
Jim
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This past week I have been adding and moving camera traps in
anticipation of the upcoming Massachusetts moose rut. I did get a night video
last week of a cow passing by a trail camera and two minutes later a small bull
followed. In past years my cameras traps started videoing pre-rut activity
mid-September. Hard to believe that’s only a few weeks away.
Scat Swamp has shown the most potential with lots of moose
sign and capturing several bulls on video. Since the dam breached a few weeks
back there hasn’t been any activity in the shallow pond. I spent a morning
bushwhacking out a ways from the breached dam and there was no shortage of
moose droppings.
I hope to video a respectable bull during daylight hours. Last
year TC’s videoed some awesome nighttime rutting footage. I’ve yet to locate a “Wallow
Pool”, maybe this will be the year.
Jim
Scat Swamp experienced a significant change last week. I
noticed over the last month or so, beavers have been working aggressively raising
the height of the dam. Unfortunately, their efforts ended up futile! Heavy rain
in Massachusetts during July and August filled the one-acre pond to the dams breaking
point. The dam breached since my last SD card check, sending thousands of
gallons of water down a very small brook, washing away a secondary dam. This
MAJOR break in the primary dam left a fifty-foot gap. It will be interesting to
see if the beavers rebuild and how they go about it. Will they repair the
secondary dam first? Now that the pond is low, will wildlife behavior change. This
bull didn’t waste any time feeding on the exposed water vegetation.
This is the first time seeing this respectable bull feeding
in this area. Did the breached dam and low water levels catch his attention???
Scat Swamp experienced a significant change last week. I
noticed over the last month or so, beavers have been working aggressively raising
the height of the dam. Unfortunately, their efforts ended up futile! Heavy rain
in Massachusetts during July and August filled the one-acre pond to the dams breaking
point. The dam breached since my last SD card check, sending thousands of
gallons of water down a very small brook, washing away a secondary dam. This
MAJOR break in the primary dam left a fifty-foot gap. It will be interesting to
see if the beavers rebuild and how they go about it. Will they repair the
secondary dam first? Now that the pond is low, will wildlife behavior change. This
bull didn’t waste any time feeding on the exposed water vegetation.
This is the first time seeing this respectable bull feeding
in this area. Did the breached dam and low water levels catch his attention???
Jim
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I want to start taking wildlife pictures from a kayak. After
doing a bit of research and watching many You Tube Videos, I purchased an Old
Town 106 fishing kayak. It is extremely stable for a kayak and will work out
ideal for me fishing and taking wildlife pictures.
I have always wanted to kayak and set out trail cameras.
Earlier this week I loaded my camera gear and several trail cameras and paddled
a Massachusetts river looking for moose and bear then pulled the kayak up on
the riverbank to search for a good spot to set out camera traps. No moose or
bear were in the cards for the day, but I did find a nice area to set out the
trail cameras.
The morning provided me the opportunity to take a few bird
pics and to see how the tripod setup would work in the Kayak. I couldn’t be
more pleased; I could paddle easily and sit comfortably with the camera set up
in front of me. I’ll just need to get out a few more times to get comfortable with
it. If there was ONE important tip I could share, it would be to place your
camera and lens in a waterproof bag getting into and out of your kayak. It’s during
this time you’re more apt to slip or lose your balance.
Jim
