trail cam – Page 2 – The Outdoors Guy

February 20, 2012

Coyote versus raccoon results may surprise you

Everyone knows how much I enjoy playing with trail cameras. Its not only a past-time, it’s a real passion of mine.

Passionate about trail-cams? Is that even possible?

The use of wildlife surveillance is not only addictive, but is as close to hunting as it gets. The thrill of the catch is there, and knowledge and understanding your quarry is also required for proper trail cam set-ups, just like hunting. And as with hunting, you must have at least some comprehension of wildlife patterns and movements to be a successful trail-camer.

Even after taking (& studying) tens of thousands of trail-cam images over the past 7 years or so, I do occasionally surprise myself by capturing a rarity or some neat occurrence in the outdoors.

For example, I have taken several trailcam images of flying-squirrels which is a real rarity captured on surveillance camera.(At least for me it is) Above all else, I find hunting with trail cameras to be great education and a fabulous tool for learning more about wildlife behaviour and interaction.

This past weekend, I captured a series of photos which, I believe, has helped shed some light on a subject I have often wondered about.

Coyotes versus Raccoon

Do coyotes actively pursue raccoons, and if so, are they successful at it?

Coyote predation on the raccoon is something I had secretly hoped was going-on behind the scenes, it would be the one silver lining in an otherwise dark room with our burgeoning coyote population. If these yotes could help manage the coon population they would, at least, be serving as a biological control for another critter in an apparent population boom.(Much in the same way the red fox helps control squirrel numbers in some areas.)

Well, finally I have some hard evidence on the subject and the results may surprise you!

Here in this first photo, a raccoon is seen on the skidoo trail.

The raccoon walks off the skidoo trail and into some brush on the left.

13-second later a coyote appears on the skidoo trail staring in the direction of the raccoon.

Mr coyote is wondering where the raccoon disappeared to

The coyote sniffs the coon tracks while standing there.

16-seconds later, the raccoon suddenly returns into to view; (see glowing eyes)staring straight at the coyote at a distance of perhaps 20 feet.

A stand-off ensues – neither the coyote nor the raccoon move a muscle.

Coyote and raccoon continue the staring contest

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18-seconds later coyote can be seen with its head turned; this time looking down the skidoo trail and away from the raccoon. The coon has now disappeared from view.

Coyote continues looking down skidoo trail and away from the raccoon. There is no real concern or interest in pursuing the coon at this point.

Coyote eventually looks back in the direction of where the raccoon had been, but it is gone.

Now the coyote too disappears from view. It trotted down the skidoo trail without taking a single step towards the raccoon.

Evidentally the coon was not too scared of the coyote either, as if it perceived there to be no real threat. In the early images you can clearly see the coon had disappeared from view and then came back to check-out the coyote.

So, do eastern coyotes hunt raccoons?

According to this photo series, coyotes have no interest what-so-ever in raccoons as prey. (At least this particular coyote didn’t)

Outdoorsguy

Footnote:
To show how brave these raccoons can be, check-out these photos provided by ‘matt’. You have to look closely at what is poking out of the bear’s bait bucket:

That’s one brave little coon!!!

November 14, 2011

Wolf pursuing deer caught on film

The following sequence of trail camera photos depicts a scenario which is, no doubt, a daily occurrence in our deer woods, however, it’s the first time I ever captured it on film.

With the recent increase in predators across eastern Ontario and western QC, our white-tailed deer surely need eyes in the back of their head just to stay one step ahead.

When I arrived at our deer camp in the Laurentians a couple of weeks back, I had my work cut out for me reviewing images on the three trail cams I had in place since Labour Day. I was like a child on Christmas morning scrolling through all the images, it was great!

One camera in particular – my ‘invisible’ Bushnell Black LED Trophy Cam – featured a virtual cornucopia of activity from the past two months, at a popular creek crossing. The images including that of a cow moose, bucks, does and fawns, one 300 pound + black bear, and this bold looking bugger below.

Hey, who says timber wolves don’t exist this far south. My camp is only 2 hours north and although I did see a common eastern coyote (brush wolf) during the deer season, I also captured some tell-tail images of this large timber wolf.

I took some measurements in the area where he passed through; and I estimated this wolf to be minimum 90 pounds and probably closer to 100 pounds. It was basically the size of a full grown German Sheppard.

Pay close attention to the ‘time stamp’ in each photograph.

(A doe puts up ‘the flag’ and hightails it down the trail)

(Her tail can still be seen bounding through the trees)

(Doe bounds out of sight on the right side of the photo – time 5:52 & 34 seconds)

(A large white/black timber wolf suddenly appears on the deer’s trail – less than 1.5 minutes later)

(Wolf tears down the same trail in hot pursuit; now 2 minutes behind)

(Wolf just before it disappeared from sight)

(Both deer and wolf disappear out of sight)

Footnote:

The same doe did reappear on camera 2 days later without so much as a hair out of place.

I suppose in this particular battle the deer came out on top, but what about next time?

Outdoorsguy

November 3, 2011

Pursuit of ghost buck continues

Well, the search for my ghost buck continues……

As this saga enters its forth year I find myself no further ahead in locating a deer we have appropriately called ‘Ghost buck’.

Most of you know I am an avid trail camera aficionado. I find them to be perhaps the most useful scouting tool ever invented. On the other side of the coin, they can also frustrate the hell out of you!

Every hunter should know it is somewhat unrealistic to think you’ll harvest every big buck that appears on your camera, and that locating a particular wily beast will be an easy task.

Although I have seen several bucks over the years during the hunting season and matched them up to photos on my camera, such has never been the case with my old pal the ghost buck.

The first year I captured an image of old ghosty was back in 2009 – 3 days prior to the Quebec rifle season. Although my camera had been in place since Sep that year, ghosty appeared on only one particular evening around 11:00 PM and was never seen again that season.

Until the fall of 2010, of course, when he returned for a visit. You guessed it, he was there again exactly 3 days before the opening of rifle season! This year he was bigger again; sporting a handsome looking 10-point rack with a distinctive forked tine. Well, we never saw ghosty that year and did not capture any more images of him.

The 2011 deer rifle season arrived this past weekend with great anticipation. I couldn’t wait to get into camp and check the camera for my old ghost friend.

After scrolling through several hundred photos of does, fawns and a smaller buck, WHAM! There he was in all his glory and man he was looking better than ever!

This year he mixed up his visit a little and arrived 4 days prior to the season instead of 3.

And as with previous years, we hunted his suspected hang-out spots for 5 days to no avail. The ghost buck was nowhere to be seen and I was starting to develop mixed feelings about the elusive bad boy.

I was certainly pleased that he had made it through at least 4 hunting seasons, but miffed that I still never got a chance to see him in the flesh.

I am beginning to think this old boy may eventually die of old age and I suppose, in a way, he will have earned that right.

Here are photos of my ghost buck starting from 2009 season running through to 2011…Enjoy!!

(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2009)

(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2010)

(Ghost buck as he appeared last week (2011)

August 9, 2011

Three year old buck takes a quick bite

After a 6 week absence this nice looking 3 year old, 8-point buck (I call Garfield) returned to my feeder last week for a quick bite.

My Bushnell Trophy cam captures my old friend as he tentatively approaches the feeder; trying to decide whether or not to sneak in a nibble.

With the trusty trail cam set on ‘2 photo burst’ on 30-second intervals, his every movement is recorded as he nears the feeder; grabs a mouthful of feed and then moves on.

God bless the glorious trail camera!!

Outdoorsguy

July 14, 2011

Summer fun with trail cameras

Summer is a fabulous time to play with trail cameras, don’t you think?

Actually, having said that, anytime of year really is a great time for trail cams if you ask me.

I have my Bushnell Trophy cams set-up all year long and enjoy nothing more than that exciting moment when you first review your photos. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning, you know that same feeling when you’re inside your ground blind, or perched high in a tree-stand in the fall?

Wide-eyed and anxious because you just never know what image might be on there!

(Anyone who loves trail cams knows what I’m talking about)

Hey, and in Eastern ON or Western QC, you could have shots of wild turkeys, bears, predators and hopefully lots and lots of deer. Sadly, most of the images I get are of the neighbour’s cat, crows, raccoons, and with a smaller percentage of deer, turkeys and foxes.

So I have to sift through a bit of milk before I get to the cream, but that’s ok.

‘Sure-shot Dave’ is another lad who enjoys trail cams; actually security and monitoring also happens to be his business. (You gotta love it when work and play come together in such a nice way)

Here are some of Dave’s recent trail cam images to enjoy (Nice to see the newborn fawn pics):

Here are some of my own trail cam pics taken over the past few weeks:

(This nice-looking 2-year old, we call Rainbow, survived a very large cyst last winter. The growth was on the left side of his haunch; which has all since healed over. Only a patch of skin is left where the hair didn’t grow back)

(This young doe I suspect has a fawn,I just haven’t seen it yet)

(Another young buck coming in for a look)

(Pesky coon inside the feed trough)

(Another doe checking out my Bushnell Trophy XLT. That older model has an element which glows, while the new one I have is completly invisible night and day)

Thanks to McDan for his ‘buck in velvet’ trail cam images. The 3rd image is just awesome:

Let’s just say the following images, sent in by Iggy, show bears being bears in the most natural sense. The amazing thing is to capture the act on film; two days in a row!

Happy trail-caming everyone and thanks for the shots.

Hey, if you have any of your own summer trail cam images, drop my a pm and send them along. I’ll add them to the post.

Outdoorsguy

December 7, 2010

Testing Bushnell Trophy Cam XLT

With the advent of modern technology came a flood of leading edge digital trail cameras. For today’s astute big-game hunter who takes ‘scouting’ to a whole other level, the trail camera market is chalk full of quality new products.

Gone are the days of the primitive wildlife surveillance cameras with molasses slow trigger speeds, grainy images and no night vision capability to speak of.

Enter the new Bushnell Trophy Cam XLT – a prime example of what modern day trail cams are meant to be. The Trophy Cam XLT is more versatile and powerful than any trail cam I have ever used.

But it didn’t just happen all at once….

Bushnell took great lengths, over the years, at perfecting their trail camera systems from the days of the Trail Sentry, Trail Scout, Trail Scout Pro, Generation 1 Trophy Cam and now the new Trophy Cam XLT. It is what I would describe as the natural evolution of wildlife surveillance technology.

If you’re looking for a trail camera that fits in your hand, and offers such features as lightning fast trigger speed, fully automatic ‘flash free’ Night vision infrared technology, unbelievable battery life with a full colour built-in image display, then look no further.

On September 4^th of Labour Day Weekend, when I first up set-up the new Trophy Cam XLT in my deer woods, I had concerns about battery life; since I knew it would be a month or more before I could return to check on it.

As it turned out, a full two months had passed before I made it back to the deer woods to check on my trail cam. To my great surprise – and 600 large format (8 Mg) images later – the batteries in Trophy XLT were still going strong and remained at nearly full power! According to the Manufacturer’s specifications, battery life is up to 6 months depending on the conditions.

Here are some of the wonderful day and night time deer images I have captured over the past couple of months:

If you’re concerned about safety with your new Trophy Cam XLT, Bushnell has another new product on the market called the Bear Safe. – It’s an indestructible security box to house your trail cam. Combined with a Python lock, the Bear Safe provides both protection from theft and damage from a potential bear attack.

After having used the Trophy Cam XLT under a variety of conditions, I can tell you that it functions as well in warm weather as it does in sub-zero temperatures, and has yet to foul up.

The new XLT has also been upgraded from 24 to 32 Nightvision LED’s which means brighter and clearer night time images. The Passive Infrared Sensor coverage area is also three times larger than any cam Bushnell has ever built.

Another wise upgrade is the XLT’s ability to use up to a 16GB SD card for greatly increased image capacity. The new built-in 2″ colour viewer also makes quick viewing in the field a breeze. All that for around $200.00 makes an already great product even better!

But hey, don’t just take my word for it; check out Bushnell.com for more information:

http://www.bushnell.com/products/trail-cameras/trophy-cam/

October 6, 2010

Trail camera bragging board

First off, I would like to thank everyone who participated in this first Trail Camera Bragging Board.

Without all you guys in the field, this never would have been possible.

It is truly amazing to see how many people today are using modern wildlife surveillance equipment as a scouting tool for big-game. I, for one, am a huge proponent of trail cameras for a variety of outdoor situations.

So without further ado…sit back and enjoy some of the incredible photographs provided by the many fanatical readers and contributors of the Outdoors Guy Blog!

In this first image, our friend “Trapper” sent in this photo I call ‘a covey of coons’ Trapper says it’s going to be a great trapping season at this location for obvious reasons:

Here is a fine collection of images submitted by “Billy in the Valley”. They include a shot of Billy’s ‘deluxe tree stand in the sky’, a fine-looking black bear and a great whitetail buck (Which, I’m told, he harvested shortly after that photo was taken) and a raven(or crow) that Billy calls the ‘Black Angel’.

Here is Chessy’s contribution proving that coyote’s do enjoy eating apples (among other things):

Here are some truly unique shots of ‘bucks in velvet’ sent-in by Shawn Lyons. They were taken with incandescent flash (you can tell because its the only way night images will ever appear in colour)

I suggested to Shawn that he consider changing his camera angle, but apparently it’s because the deer are so close when the images were taken. Whatever the case, Shawn’s photos offer a neat perspective:

Here is Rick Poulin with the fine buck he took in September during his annual hunting trip to Manitoba. I know its not a trail camera image, but I have been meaning to post it.

Nice job Rick!

McDan sent in these great deer feeding photos; including one spectacular ray of sunlight…perhaps that is the Deer Gods shining down on him…thanks Dan!

In these images, you’ll see ‘yours truly’ trying to contact someone on the two-way radio and delivering some apples. In the third photo a doe can be seen wondering what happened to the Acorn Rage. I’ve also included a bonus photo of my old friend Grand Daddy…for no other reason than I simply like to stare at him!

Our ‘Whitetail Guru’ friend Rick Poulin just sent-in some excellent ‘Before and After’ photos of a whitetail buck and black bear. Below, Rick Poulin’s trail cam pics show a buck and boar which were later harvested by he and his hunting partner:

Rick’s ‘Before’ bear:

Rick’s ‘After’ bear (the black animal on the left) :

Rick’s ‘Before’ buck:

Rick’s ‘After Buck’:

Finally, here is one of Rick’s favourite trail camera photos; he regards as one of the best he’s ever taken (and you can see why):

Billy of the Valley sent it a close-up shot of his Mega tree-stand which, unfortunately, rules out any chance of a Lady Gaga after party:

Sorry to Terry Alguire for over-looking his collection of trail cam images from 2009 (Obviously Terry is surrounded by a plethora of wild game):

Great looking buck but what the heck happened to his ear? I once had a German Sheppard with a lazy ear like that. Was that an old injury, Terry?

Reader Serge Picard(aka 3D Man) just returned from a successful moose hunt in 15B and provided these incredible timber wolf photos below. After tagging out on moose, Serge tried baiting some bears and these timber wolves showed up.

With all the photos we’ve seen of eastern coyotes (brush wolves) you can sure tell the difference when looking at images of bona fide timber wolves.

Jeff Scharf – who has a hunt camp in Barry’s Bay – is an avid hunter and a follower of the Blog. He told me that while over in Afghanistan he’d log onto the OttawaSun.com whenever he had the chance, just to read the Outdoors Guy. In Jeff’s words; “When you are stuck in the middle of the desert, it was sure nice to read about the hunting and fishing back home’. Thanks Jeff for the fabulous image of two very inquisitive bucks, and best of luck finding them this fall. Great looking owl too..what is that Rick, a Barred Owl??

Here are Savage Joe’s trail cam images taken in the span of just one week. SJ says he is a long-time reader and first time contributor, and from what I see here he needs to contribute more!.

Talk about variety!!!

Here is trout expert Grant Bailey’s contribution of a fine 8-point and some gobblers – showing clearly that the man is much more than just brook trout:

Now, if I have somehow forgotten your trail camera image, please let me know and I’ll post it right away. If anyone else has images they would like to share, let ‘er rip!

Ahhh, isn’t Fall a wonderful time of year when captured on a trail cam…..

Outdoorsguy

September 27, 2010

Enjoying Trail cameras to the fullest

I don’t know about you, but using a Trail Camera to monitor wildlife movement and activity has become one of my favourite past-times.

In a way it’s a lot like hunting or trapping except with no firearms or traps involved. When you return to check your camera for images, it is like a treasure hunt as you never know what you might find!
Here are some of my favourite trail camera photos taken over the years. I invite all of you to send in your favourite trail cam photos.

Keep in mind, I have no real way of modifying the images, so be prepared to have anything you send appear on this Blog just the way it is.

Here’s a little six pointer from 3 years ago, I later got to see in person and choose to pass on:

Here’s a big boy from last year I never got to see in person and hope is still alive!

Here’s a picture of my Dad and our hunting partner Ken…not realizing they’re on camera.

Here’s my old friend Grand daddy from last December. I know he made it through the winter I just haven’t seen him recently.

Another side view of Grand daddy’s rack..which I have estimated at over 24″ wide!

Ok, now its your turn!

Click on ‘contact the Outdoors Guy’ or simply email your trail cam image to [email protected]

Outdoorsguy

September 7, 2010

Pre season scouting anyone

For those hunters out there not currently chasing black bears or gearing up for moose, just a reminder that it’s nearing that time of year when pre-season deer scouting is in order.

This past weekend I was at my hunt camp and visited my deer woods to check out what’s been going on since last fall. While there, I put out a trail camera and investigated some of the old runways for activity.

I must admit I was a tad concerned about entering the deer woods this year following two meagre years in a row, but it looks as though things may be on the rebound.

I was pleased to see a fair numbers of old and new deer tracks around; indicating that at least some deer are still around from last year, and undoubtedly some new critters have arrived this summer.

Man, I don’t care who you are, just setting one foot into your hunting territory at this time of year is exciting.

Has anyone else done any pre-season deer scouting?

Outdoorsguy