Bobcat Activity Picking Up

 

I was able to check the six-beaver lodge camera trap sets last week. Three of the six lodges had bobcat activity. The bobcat that was on the cover last week walked by the same lodge  in darkness. One of the abandon lodges had a bobcat pass by the lodge six times over the last week . Activity is picking , just need some daytime videos. Coyotes are regular visitors to all the lodges.

Tracking the fisher last week resulted in capturing some good video footage of a female visiting the scent post then a male checking it out about an hour later.

https://youtu.be/ZoL7l_LKHOA

 Late last fall I located an outcrop of boulders with a ledge. Trail cameras were set in December. A TC check this week had two videos of bobcats. That is the cover pic this week.

Jim

Bobcat Activity Slow / Tracking Fishers

 

With below freezing temperatures in Massachusetts this week, beaver ponds have finally frozen over. January bobcat activity is off to a SLOW start. The bobcat pic above is a video grab. It would have been an impressive pic had it been one hour later. The tracks on the lodge belong to a coyote. Surprisingly, the pictured bobcat had no interest in the lodge. Earlier in the week beavers were adding mud to the lodge during the snowstorm.

With the few inches of snow central MA received this week, it made for ideal tracking conditions. My hope was to locate a fisher track in the fluffy snow. Fortunately, that happened, and I spent the last mornings tracking one fisher and learning its behavior. The total trail length was three miles zig zagging through the woods. The trail never ventured more than a mile and a half from the starting point. I did locate two active scent posts and set up trail cameras on them. With fisher mating season beginning soon, hopefully the fisher use those scent posts. While tracking this morning, I did locate five moose beds. After seeing them I had hopes of coming across a moose shed. No such luck !!

https://youtu.be/njhVtebmzi4      video added 1/20/24

 

Jim

 

Massachusetts Trail Camera Activity Slow

 

Not much is going on with trail camera sets last week. The weather has been all over the place. My area of Massachusetts received fifteen inches of snow last week, then two significant rain events. Flood warnings are in affect and ponds have little if any ice on them. The long-range forecast looks like cold temperatures next week. Hopefully then TC’s will start capturing videos of bobcats investigating beaver lodges. One trail camera did get a decent bobcat video at the fieldstone wall set. That TC missed what would have been a nice second video of the bobcat exiting the den.

 

If you set enough trail cameras you have experienced that trail cameras aren’t precise instruments and don’t always trigger as programmed. It’s difficult to understand how this trail camera could have  missed the second trigger. When I viewed the first video, I was surprised to see that the bobcat spent a minute inside the opening. Watching the next video in sequence and anticipating an IMPRESSIVE exit capture of the bobcat, it did not happen! The Bushnell Aggressor triggered fifty-nine seconds later with nothing on the video. I’m guessing the bobcat exited just prior to the start of the second video while the camera was re-setting .

Jim

Winter Finally Arrives In Massachusetts

 

Finally, wintry weather in Massachusetts. It has been a busy week checking  camera trap sets that are monitoring beaver lodges, only one beaver pond had enough ice to support a coyote or bobcat  ( cover pic). Although the temperatures are going to get above freezing next week, hopefully the ice will stay. Last week, two camera trap sets on log bridges captured bobcats crossing during the night. I will start keeping track of the number of bobcats that trigger trail cameras this winter. Tomorrow morning, I head out on my first tracking adventure of the year. Certainly, will be a bit challenging with a foot of snow.

Jim

Early Winter Bear ! And A few TC Sets

 

Wow !, The last week of December and no ice ! All that is needed is about half an inch. That will make the beaver lodges accessible by bobcats and other predators. A SD card check last week showed a large bobcat in the vicinity of one of the lodges, The extended weather forecast sounds like at least freezing temps at night. The YouTube  video shares one morning last week checking SD cards in Massachusetts . https://youtu.be/4JnM8ddywo0

The cover pic is from a log bridge set . A beautiful young bobcat crosses during the day. I have another beaver lodge set in the area, hopefully with a little  ice on the pond this bobcat will check out the beaver lodge,

 

Jim

Massachusetts Bobcats Winter Focus

 

Okay , it’s that time of year to start thinking about setting camera trapping goals for 2024. Doing this helps keeps me focused and adds additional purpose to my camera trapping. And by the end of the year ,I’ve learned more about nature. The focus this winter is going to be bobcats. I have found over the years that beaver lodges attract bobcats in search of food. Six lodges , two inactive and four active have been set up with camera traps. The goal is to monitor the lodges for the months of January and February ( 60 days ) . That will provide 360 camera trap days ( 6 lodges x 60 days = 360) The objectives:

-          10% total  bobcat camera trap triggers over the two months ( 36 videos)

-          Of the 36 videos (4) hopefully “ Top Captures “

-          Of the (4)  top capture videos, hopefully one Unique Video

-          Track the data on a spreadsheet!

Looking towards next spring and summer, otters and more bears will be the focus.

Jim

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Thank You for following my blog !!

Winter Sets - Beaver Lodges

 

It has been a busy week re-deploying trail cameras. The focus continues to be on beaver ponds with new and old beaver lodges. Camera trap sets will  be moved slightly once there is enough ice to support a bobcat / coyote. A good example of this is the bobcat pictured above. The easiest access to this lodge without getting wet is to jump from the stone wall to the lodge. This is an ideal camera trap location because this funnels wildlife down the wall. Once the pond has iced over most predators would access the dam from the ice. That’s  when trail cameras will be moved  back away from the lodge, giving a wider field of view and hopefully video a predator approaching the beaver lodge .

Jim