Rich just sent me the most recent pictures from the mountain. You can call it uncertainty, nervousness, suspicion, or ambivalence. The song dog has seen the camera but still wants to sniff those scats. It lingered long enough for two pictures. It's rangy enough to be a young adult.
The cub was following mama bear. Look at those scats on the ground and compare them between photographs. That cub is a wee little guy.
As far as we know, the creeks on the mountain have run dry. All the same, Rich reports there were no pictures taken at the water hole. He changed the setting for 24 hr shooting instead of night time only. If we don't get pictures next time, there must be other water sources we don't know about. When the weather cools off we'll have to do some exploring.
maybe the animals are avoiding the water hole because of the flashing light
ReplyDeleteThere is an article on Slate.com about camera trapping and its effects on the animals being photographed. Your name is mentioned and a link is given to your blog. The article title is "Paparazzi in the Woods".
ReplyDeleteZac
Hi & Thank you for helping me understand the outdoors all that much better, inspiring all to new ideas, and providing much great content ! I just purchased my first trail-game cam too!
ReplyDeleteJust curious how many do to you have (cams) working at time (on adv.)
Thank you !
scott
Scott, I have gradually built up to 14, but just had two go out of operation. My friend Rich has 7, and we work together. This combined number allows us to work 3 to 4 areas at the same time. But one will keep you busy, if you check it once a week.
ReplyDeleteI love your amazing photos captured on your cameras. I still am trying to capture more than just deer on mine. Do you bait the cams with anything, especially to attract a cougar? I would like to do the same with mine.
ReplyDeleteIt's illegal to bait game animals in California, but you can set a cam at a kill (e.g. a deer carcass) if you are lucky enough to find one. I distinguish between baiting (using food an an attractant) and using lures (using either sound like a predator caller or non-food scents like urine and glandular extracts). Check with the Va Game Commission to find out the regulations. Scent lures are a good way to get the animals attention and give the camera time to take multiple pictures, while sound lures are good to draw them in over longer distances.
ReplyDeleteMust be a spring somewhere, and nice coyote photos.
ReplyDeleteI set a camera up for your "Aplodon" in an area that suprised even me. It is on a steep sidehill in the St.Helens blast zone. I'm 99% sure but need a photo for proof. To have them survive the blast so close to the mountain is remarkable. How long did it take you to get a pic of one coming out of the runway? I'll check in 2 weeks and maybe set out more cameras for better odds.
cliff
Cliff, Good work on finding the colony. I was surprised to find that three weeks passed before the Aplodon showed its face in Sierra county. But I have gotten pictures of them in just a few days at Point Reyes. I didn't get pictures every night, but if you find where they are "making hay" or there are fresh cuttings in the runways you'll probably get a lot of pictures. I'll bet you get pictures of some other interesting critters also. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a couple of digital trail cameras, but I always get an overexposure if the animal is very close at night. For close up nocturnal animals do you partially cover the flash or ?
ReplyDeleteYou can solve the overexposure problem by covering the lens with paper, but you will have to experiment first using different thicknesses of paper and taking a test series of pictures at different distances. Write the distance and identify the type of paper on a card and include the card in the picture. That way you can compare the pictures easily, and you will quickly find out what works best. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: In the previous comment I said "covering the lens". I meant covering the flash.
ReplyDelete