Animal Activity Slow With Heat

 

Man! , It has been Hot!

 Animal activity has slowed down significantly. I did find at least a dozen piles of bear scat in an area with blueberries. All the scat piles had blueberries in them.  While crossing a beaver dam this morning I saw the longest water snake I’ve ever seen! Deer flies toned down a bit. I was able to hike without a head net. 

There is a small bear that consistently crosses one beave dam east to west. I setup a 2^nd camera on the west side of the swamp attempting to catch a front view.

We need RAIN. Water levels are down and beaver ponds are low. I was able to walk the shorelines on several ponds this morning. I haven’t been able to do this since March. It gave me the opportunity to relocate several trail cameras.

A slight change with the cover picture. Bucks are starting to lose their velvet

 

 

Jim

That Didn't Take Long !

 

Well, everybody has to get lucky some time! I spent considerable time setting out cams in what I have figured out to be this sows northern home range. My goal was to see if I could capture videos of her and cubs... This is the sow that had four yearlings last year. One camera trap early on did catch glimpse of her without cubs in early May. I was curious as to how many cubs she had in tow for 2022. Focusing on some wild blueberry patches in her core range, several camera traps captured the sow with three cubs. The trail cameras also captured several other bears in close proximity to the berry patches. It will be interesting to see if she frequents this area after the berries pass.

Jim

Find The Berries !

 

Wild Blueberries are ripe. The areas that I have camera traps have become active with bear activity. Also, I am seeing many stumps dug out or ripped apart which typically are signs of bears looking for insects. Found a very BIG bear scat pile this morning filled with blueberries.

Tomorrow I’m off to check some new sets I put out last week. There’s a sow with COY which I have only captured once alone on video May 15^th. This bear has tightened her range. Last year with yearlings her family travels were much broader. I like the challenge to see if I can locate her and cubs. Stay tuned.

The swamp above with the sow and cubs is in close proximity of a wild blueberry patch.

Jim

Where Have All The Bears Gone !

 

Where Have All The Bears Gone?

Overall bear activity has really slowed down. I was fortunate to capture a sow with three COY and a sow with two COY at one of my camera trap locations over the last several weeks. Bears are foragers and will focus on available food sources. Wild blueberries will be ripe in the coming weeks.  I have a few camera traps set near berry patches, hopefully activity will pick up.

While bushwhacking yesterday, I came upon two stumps and one log that had been torn apart by a bear looking for insects. One of the stumps showed evidence of claw marks. Neat Find!

Jim

 

Hot steamy hike this morning to swap out SD cards. Muggy with showers made a paradise for mosquitoes and deer flies looking to feast on my head & neck. My head-net kept the blood suckers at bay. Interesting observation when arriving at the two small beaver ponds that have camera traps set. The lower ponds water was significantly down by at least two feet with no breech in the dam. The upper pond dam (80 yds.) up stream was built higher by the beavers. Fresh mud and sticks spanned the length of the beaver dam.  By doing this the beavers stopped the flow of water and rendered their new bank lodge unusable. Did the four rounds of bears digging on top of the bank lodge cause the beavers to abandon the pond? Has the lack of rain caused the beavers to raise the level of the upper pond? Might this be an indication of dry times to come during the Massachusetts summer? Time will tell

Jim

Consistent Sow Activity

 

I've been capturing several sows with COY's. over the last several weeks. Mating activity has slowed down . Camera traps aren't picking up the bear activity like they were a month ago. No shortage of deer flies,  head nets are an absolute requirement.

Trail Cameras are  videoing more moose and coyotes than in previous years. I'm not sure why. Camera traps are pretty much set in the same areas

Excited with retirement coming up in FOUR days !!!!!

Every day will be a Saturday , which means more time in the Great Outdoors, hiking and camera trapping ........ can't wait ;) 

Jim

Camera Trapping Massachusetts Turtles

 

Early June is the time Massachusetts turtles leave the safety of a pond or swamp on a quest to locate soft substrate to lay eggs. I coordinated a brief (one week) anecdotal study to document the different turtles that would use this ideal sandy location. When first locating this spot, the sand area (20’x20’) appeared as it had been rototilled. The disturbed sand was a result of predators digging for turtle eggs. What I found interesting is that there was no evidence of broken turtle shells anywhere. Crows/ Ravens were scavenging any eggshells that may have been left behind. The coyote and raccoon probably new of this turtle paradise year after year The young bear most likely just stumbled upon the area with its daily foraging.

Bushnell Aggressor / Browning Special Op

Jim