Strange MA Bear Family

 

Travelled to Northern Mass mid-week to check out an eagle nest. Kayaked out and watched for a while. No activity at all. Appears the nest has been abandoned. Guess we’ll never know why. Hopefully things work out in 2025.

Bear activity at several scent marking trees has been very busy. I still have another bear marking tree that needs to be checked. I wont be able to get to this tree until the first week of June.

The cover pic is a Sow with what appears to be a yearling and cub of the year ( COY) I have never seen anything like this. I posted on FB looking for input and will also send it to MassWildlife.

 

Jim

Bear Scent Marking Activity

 

In last week’s blog article, I shared attempting to be  creative with moving and adding trail cameras to an area that had fresh bear scent marking sign. I checked the TC’s a few days after making the changes and did get a new bear. I think it’s a female. You’ll see her in the attached video. She does a lot of winding and checking for scent near a bear marking tree. There is a good size boar in the area. That’s what caught her attention.

Bear scent marking has really increased the last two weeks. All my MA locations have bear activity.

 

Jim

https://youtu.be/Vk2JiNUZlMM

MA Bear Mating Season About To Start

 

Bear activity on my MA camera traps picked up last week. Mating season is just beginning. The cover pic is a young bear that regularly uses this area, The SD card check yesterday also showed a large boar in the area ,  After seeing the more frequent visits from the boar I did some checking in the area and located what appears to be a " Bear Stomp Trail" and an old " Bear Scent Marking Tree",

                                                           Bear Scent Marking Tree

                                                  

                                                                     Bear Stomp Trail

                                                Frequent visits from this bear, 

I got creative ( I think ?)  Stay Tuned !!!!!

JIm

MA Bear Babysitting Tree

 

                    It has been an eventful week hiking in Massachusetts woods. While bushwhacking a new area and reaching the top of small knoll, sixty yards away in a white pine two yearling cubs clung to the side of a tree watching me. I stopped and thought , if the cubs are in the tree ,where is the sow? It was just a few seconds before both cubs slid down the tree and all three bears ran in the opposite direction. That is a first for me! My biggest concern while bushwhacking is wandering between a sow and her cubs, fortunately a good outcome with this encounter. I carry bear spray on the outside of my pack and started to reach for it when seeing the cubs. I reminisced for a moment before veering off in the other direction. It was only a short distance before coming upon an area scattered with bear scat. Closer investigation revealed a “ Bear Babysitting Tree”. This consisted of a day bed at the base of a white pine tree. Broke away bark showed where the bears had been climbing the tree. A short distance away there was a skunk cabbage patch where the family of bears have been feeding. The sow will send her cubs up the tree while she wanders foraging.

                      I will make it a point to stay clear of this area while the bears find refuge.

                      Finally, a camera trap videoed the first bear cubs of the year. Video Below.

                        Jim

MA Bears On The Move !

 

Last week was a big week for bears. Two of the new locations were active. The new scent tree location had two visits from bears and two sows with yearling cubs were videoed in the area. The second new location had the “ biggest bear” to date pass by a camera trap.(cover photo). This bear is beautiful and what a “ blocky head.” Haven’t videoed and sows with new cubs yet. Should be soon !

I spent a morning sitting with my camera watching a breached beaver pond. It was actually  very quiet with no wildlife seen. I hope to get back there next week. Before leaving , I set a camera trap watching the exposed beaver lodge.

Another secluded beaver pond has had a small bear visiting it on a weekly basis.

Jim

Pond Watch With My Camera

 

I changed the pace a bit last week and sat with my camera watching a beaver pond. This pond’s beaver dam breached early April. Last Sunday pre-scouting the small pond , its water level was down considerably exposing the shoreline. The beaver pond is small ( 225 Yds long x 90 Yds wide). My sitting spot has ideal lighting with the sun behind me while watching the west side of the pond . The first morning was eventful. A lone beaver patrolled the pond at dawn stopping to eat, chewing the bark off small branches. It was not long before it caught my scent and gave me the tail slap on the water. I was trying to avoid this because no doubt the tail slapping alerts wildlife to danger. All went quiet for about an hour or so, while watching the distant shoreline a small bear appeared out of nowhere, heading towards the beaver lodge. I was able to get a decent picture before it disappeared into the wood line. I am going to spend a few mornings there next week.

 Checking SD cards at a different location, the stream log trail camera set captured a good video of a “ Flying Bobcat.” This is a pic grab from the video  

This morning, I checked the new bear scent post tree I shared with you in last week’s blog. Surprisingly, no bears passed by the scent tree. Hopefully, something with the next SD card check.

Jim

Big Bear Only In Cover of Darkness

 

Massachusetts fisher scent post activity has slowed down in April. In this video I have  summarized this year’s Fisher highlights. Included are several fisher behaviors that were learned by me camera trapping. Last winter tracking a fisher, two active scent posts were located sixty feet apart. I identified them as a    “ Primary” & “Secondary “ scent post. I didn’t think the two scent posts being in such close proximity of each other would stay active. The graphs at the end of the video show the activity.

 

It has been another good week hiking in the Massachusetts woods. While kneeling to change out SD cards , I looked across the small beaver pond and a bear was foraging along the shoreline. I tried to video it with my GoPro camera, but it was to far away. It was interesting watching the bear as it foraged for food, then stopping dead in its tracks when locating a bear scent tree. It stood up , turned with its back against the tree and started doing what I call the “ The Bear Jig.” This consists of deep knee bends and rubbing its back up and down the tree. It did this for three or four minutes, then laying at the base of the tree. I guess this might have been to rest after the vigorous rubbing activity. After a few minutes’ resting, the bear moved on as it continued to search for food. Watching the bear scent marking was interesting and the bear identified a scent marking tree. A trail camera was set and hopefully more bears will leave there scent travelling through the area. Stay tuned.

Fisher scent post activity has slowed down; however, a male fisher has freshened the scent post twice in April. I’ll leave TC’s for the month.

https://youtu.be/59A6WMamdic

Bear activity continues to increase. The first sow of the Spring with three yearlings passed by a camera trap in the cover of darkness. The video is what I call an evidence vid, it’s low light and doesn’t make for a good show and tell.

The biggest bear so far this year ( cover pic) has triggered the same trail camera five times over three weeks. All have been at night. It’s a beautiful big bear, I hope I’m lucky enough to have him pass the TC during the day.

I did get out in my kayak this week with a camera in hopes to get a few pics of migratory ducks. Nothing yet !

Jim