Trail Cameras Again

[Snaggletooth 3,050]

6 minutes ago, Mrleft8 said:

Glinda the good witch of the North is visiting!

Etxacley what I thouht to.                                       

[See Level 708]

Local Bobcat just now.

From my phone

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

I get lots of pictures of this raccoon but it doesn't usually stop to pose in front of the camera.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

I get dozens of squirrel pictures every day but flying stunt squirrels are kinda rare.

[Norse Horse 611]

6 hours ago, Plenipotentiary Tom said:

I get dozens of squirrel pictures every day but flying stunt squirrels are kinda rare.

 

Nice picks Tom. Have you ever had a "spider coon"?

 

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

On 12/2/2019 at 12:07 PM, Norse Horse said:

Have you ever had a "spider coon"?

Not even sure what I am looking at there but it's pretty funny.

I wasn't sure what this was either...

But the video answered the question: it's the first of two passing coyotes.

 

[Snaggletooth 3,050]

10 hours ago, Plenipotentiary Tom said:

My fiste thouht wase, "wowe that coyotte wearres a pretty fancey headresse"

then I realized wase palm fronns                                   

[See Level 708]

Varmint Miranda?

[Snaggletooth 3,050]

4 minutes ago, See Level said:

Varmint Canine Miranda?

???              

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

The bobcat passed through again a couple of nights ago.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

I gotta say.... That's the longest legged bob cat I ever saw....

 I'd like to get a good look at his/her face. Might be a panther that got it's tail shortened.....

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Bobcat visit New Years Eve.

I have video of it walking cautiously from that position out of the frame.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,174]

when you setup a camera to see who's getting to your fruit and you get trolled

 

[DtM 544]

Too funny.  Give it a name and let it eat a bit of your fruit.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

A raccoon studies the chicken coop.

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Taken 7:32 am on 2/12/20, this is a baby cedar tree that I probably should have killed years ago, but I like it.

And something behind it.

What?

[See Level 708]

Coyote, or neighbor dog.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

28 minutes ago, See Level said:

Coyote, or neighbor dog.

There's a decent chance it's my dog. Looks like her tail but the face is all wrong.

[MisterMoon 255]

Occams Razor says it’s Libby.  

[DtM 544]

The nose and the eyes are also your dog.  The black tip on tail is the clincher.

Keep the cedar.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

Snot a coyote.

[Big Bob 14]

Pic were taken at our place in nothern Washington 4 miles from the Canadian border near Chesaw. 

Couple of bucks locked up. Left a game cam to record during one winter.

We think this is a mountain lion

[Big Bob 14]

Couple of trespassers!

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

On 2/16/2020 at 2:20 PM, MisterMoon said:

Occams Razor says it’s Libby.  

It is Libby.

If you see a pointy ear just above what's actually her eye, there's another one in the adjacent blur. With those ears and incorporating a bit of the ground beyond her, I was seeing what could only be a feline face. At that size, only a panther.

Now that I can see her eye and tongue, it's hard to even see the cat face. Like one of those trick images where you can see two things.

Anyway, still waiting for a panther pic. Neighbors sometimes see them and I heard one was sighted nearby recently but I haven't seen one since the 90's out here.

[Fat Point Jack 148]

On 10/18/2019 at 3:52 PM, Fat Point Jack said:

I joined the I Slipped Messing About With Boat And Fractured My Hip Club.  Tom, at least you were using the boat as it should be.  I was using it as a platform to trim trees in the yard and slipped on the fender and at 66 have now had my first bone fracture.

Anyway, in rehab limited tv channels and watched  local tv news.  They showed bears down in Golden Gate.  A few years ago some visited Lakewood Ranch MHP.  

They will make for some real cool pictures in your yard.

 

Collier County is having a FWC subsidized sale of bear proof garbage cans. $115.00.

Do you put out any chum (besides the chickens)?

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

1 hour ago, Fat Point Jack said:

Do you put out any chum (besides the chickens)?

Hah! No, other than the chickens I have no bait. When we had lots of pigs a few years ago a neighbor did put out some corn and I put the camera by it and got some pig pics. He didn't manage to shoot any.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

1 hour ago, Fat Point Jack said:

Collier County is having a FWC subsidized sale of bear proof garbage cans. $115.00.

One neighbor spotted a bear by his pond a few years ago but that's the only sighting I know about in our immediate area.

All of our trash cans live out by the gate, at least 1,000 ft from any house, and they haven't been disturbed by any wildlife.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

The coyote has been back around the last couple of nights.

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Yesterday the camera caught a pretty good picture of a heron landing on some branches in the pond.

[pbd 131]

On 3/12/2020 at 5:19 AM, Plenipotentiary Tom said:

Yesterday the camera caught a pretty good picture of a heron landing on some branches in the pond.

Y'all got white herons down there?

The big ones on the left coast are all blue.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

1 hour ago, pbd said:

Y'all got white herons down there?

The big ones on the left coast are all blue.

I was gonna say..... Great White Herons are pretty rare.... Are you sure that's not an Egret?...... But on further reflection, it sure does look more like a Heron. I've only seen 4 of them once in my life..... They're very rare.

[cyclone 288]

Dark legs, probably an egret.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

I'm not a bird guy so will guess you guys are probably right. It was a big bird, bigger than the ones that like to follow a bush hog around. I've heard those called cattle egrets.

[DtM 544]

Looks too big to be an Egret to me.

 

[Mrleft8 2,271]

2 hours ago, DtM said:

Looks too big to be an Egret to me.

 

I have no Egrets..... From what little I can see, it's legs are dark. but Herons have been know to wade in the mud......

 It's a damn big bird, no doubt. I love them all those shore birds....

 One night I sailed my Bluejay out to an uninhabited island in the Thimble group. I made a little dinner, drank some iced tea, and sat, and watched the sky turn dark.  Back then the stars were bright, and plentiful.... I wrapped myself in my sleeping bag and drifted off..... Sometime just before sunrise I was awakened by a great croaking noise.... Not from one animal. I poked my head out and there was a flock of about 15 Great blue Herons flying over. In my half asleep stupor my first thought was Pterodactyls.

 I'd never seen Herons flock before.

 I asked my friend, David Sibley, who was a birder, and he said it was very rare, but occasionally during migration they would join up....

 It was a sight, and sound I'll never forget.

[cyclone 288]

I suppose it’s fair to consider David Sibley a “birder”.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

One of my cats last week. He's a wanderer and I get lots of game camera pics of him.

Then, six minutes later,

The accompanying videos showed there was also an armadillo wandering that area just as the coyote came along.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

The bobcat is looking a bit thin considering how many wabbits are around here.

.

 

 

[DtM 544]

Those wascally wabbits

[See Level 708]

Found on you tube

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

The stretch at 8 seconds in that video is astonishing.

[Tunnel Rat 1,123]

1 hour ago, Cacoethesic Tom said:

The stretch at 8 seconds in that video is astonishing.

….made of rubber bands! 

It doesn't look as though he is really trying.  I bet he could go a lot further if food or threat was involved.

[DtM 544]

Wow.  Did it easy.

[Innocent Bystander 898]

Looks like that was not his first time using that “bridge.”

 

[Jobowerman 0]

Was that racoon on the second pic?

[rantro 778]

Resting out the back paddock, about 200m away.  But the big fella knew I was taking a pic of him.

[rantro 778]

"Somewhere quiet, where the birds build their nests and Kangaroos graze quietly across the lawn."

[Black Sox 719]

On 5/14/2020 at 1:52 AM, See Level said:

Found on you tube

 

No bother, Bosco!!!

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Lots of armadillos and possums on the camera lately. And of course squirrels and our pets.

Here's our tabby cat a few nights ago.

And the next night, a bit clearer shot of him. He appears to have found the hiding place of baby wabbits.

A short time later, this coyote came through.

I will miss Libby when she's gone but the local gopher tortoises will not. I usually find her guarding her catch and take them away but that didn't happen this time so I'm guessing she lost interest and it got away. She can't remember where she put her ball any more either.

[rantro 778]

Fuck Tom, that last pic is years old.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

22 hours ago, astro said:

Fuck Tom, that last pic is years old.

No, it's a new one. I have quite a few that are similar.

[Jobowerman 0]

 

 

 

 

Quote

The pictures are awesome. I really like the way they make photos. Which brand of a trail camera do you use? I’m not searching cost for a good trail camera, and cannot make a decision. I found a very good website with a gear review about the best trail & game camera. What do you think about cameras showing there? They also have scopes, I can not decide which ones to buy.

The Bushnell is especially suitable for wildlife photography.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

[Mrleft8 2,271]

Bastards at PB just deleted the best pic I had of that coyote.....

[Mrleft8 2,271]

[MisterMoon 255]

On 5/21/2020 at 6:16 AM, Cacoethesic Tom said:

Lots of armadillos and possums on the camera lately. And of course squirrels and our pets.

Here's our tabby cat a few nights ago.

And the next night, a bit clearer shot of him. He appears to have found the hiding place of baby wabbits.

A short time later, this coyote came through.

I will miss Libby when she's gone but the local gopher tortoises will not. I usually find her guarding her catch and take them away but that didn't happen this time so I'm guessing she lost interest and it got away. She can't remember where she put her ball any more either.

My wife is going to love your new screen name. 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

On 5/27/2020 at 11:22 PM, MisterMoon said:

My wife is going to love your new screen name. 

Be sure to thank her for me.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

I got what looks like a hawk or an owl in flight. Much more likely to be a hawk because they're very common and it was taken near noon.

This coyote couldn't decide which way to go.

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Checked the camera this morning and got a hawk and a bobcat this time.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Piggies.

And their mom.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Not the trail cam but last night I reached for my grill starter in the dark, expecting a metal and wood handle, and felt something squishy instead. This snake was crawling around on the handle for some reason.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

50 minutes ago, Quotidian Tom said:

Not the trail cam but last night I reached for my grill starter in the dark, expecting a metal and wood handle, and felt something squishy instead. This snake was crawling around on the handle for some reason.

Nice little rat snake. As long as you don't have baby chicks, or hens laying eggs, they're good snakes to have around. Not only do they eat mice/rats, but they gobble up cockroaches like they're popcorn.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

10 hours ago, Mrleft8 said:

Nice little rat snake. As long as you don't have baby chicks, or hens laying eggs, they're good snakes to have around. Not only do they eat mice/rats, but they gobble up cockroaches like they're popcorn.

No snakes have figured out how to get into the chickens' nesting box yet. That one was pretty small and would probably get eaten by a chicken if it tried. Too small to swallow an egg anyway. These are very common here. I see black racers the most, then corn snakes, then coral snakes. I'm glad it wasn't a coral snake I accidentally grabbed in the dark!

 

[VWAP 974]

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

I heard some coyotes yipping it up the other night but went out with a flashlight and saw no eyes.

It's pretty rare to get pics of them in daylight but this one showed up on my camera.

That same animal or its twin appeared on a shot from 1 o'clock this morning but it was a lousy picture.

 

[Innocent Bystander 898]

Tom

wpuld you buy another Moultrie 180?  SWMBO wants a trail camera to Susa out the beaver who is clearing the bank near our pier as well as catch some pics of the couple of foxes and what may be our first coyote. With the proliferation of wildlife, I expect to get tons of squirrel, deer, duck, goose, our cat, etc. pics but I guess that’s unavoidable. 
 

looking at the Moultrie 180i as a reasonable mix of features and cost. Thinking the Included 16g card is a bit small so would likely upgrade. 
 

thoughts anyone?

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

21 hours ago, Innocent Bystander said:

Tom

wpuld you buy another Moultrie 180?  SWMBO wants a trail camera to Susa out the beaver who is clearing the bank near our pier as well as catch some pics of the couple of foxes and what may be our first coyote. With the proliferation of wildlife, I expect to get tons of squirrel, deer, duck, goose, our cat, etc. pics but I guess that’s unavoidable. 
 

looking at the Moultrie 180i as a reasonable mix of features and cost. Thinking the Included 16g card is a bit small so would likely upgrade. 
 

thoughts anyone?

I bought the previous version of the same camera so I'm already a repeat buyer. Yes, I like it. I have no experience with any other and the original basis for my purchase of the first one was a few recommendations on a hunting forum. It's been years now, and tech moves along. I didn't even check for recommendations prior to buying this one so consider my recommendation anecdotal, uninformed, and dated.

I like it because it has three cameras and covers 180 degrees. It's pretty battery-hungry and eats 12 AA's at a time. But again, I don't know if others are better or worse in that respect.

I have mine set to shoot a pic and then a video when it detects motion. Batteries last a lot longer without the video part so I'm thinking of going back to that.

[Fat Point Jack 148]

Can you hook up a solar panel to it?

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

1 minute ago, Fat Point Jack said:

Can you hook up a solar panel to it?

I suppose it's possible but I hang it on trees and it is seldom hit by direct sunlight. Also, some of the more interesting shots happen at night.

The panel that powers my pond fountain is great in full sun but output diminishes dramatically if even the smallest cloud goes over. It powers the pump directly, no battery, so you can watch the flow and see the effect immediately.

 

[F395 56]

I am ready for my closeup Mr. Director

[Rum Runner 324]

10 minutes ago, F395 said:

I am ready for my closeup Mr. Director

 

Oh Deer!!!!!

[Snaggletooth 3,050]

12 hours ago, F395 said:

I am ready for my closeup Mr. Director DeMille

[Mrleft8 2,271]

On 12/5/2020 at 8:24 AM, Polytelum Tom said:

I heard some coyotes yipping it up the other night but went out with a flashlight and saw no eyes.

It's pretty rare to get pics of them in daylight but this one showed up on my camera.

That same animal or its twin appeared on a shot from 1 o'clock this morning but it was a lousy picture.

 

That looks like it's daddy was a Gibson, and it's Mama was a Fender.....

 Coy-dog material.

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

9 hours ago, Mrleft8 said:

 Coy-dog material.

That's what my wife said and she's well known for always being right.

Just found this shot of a hawk flying by the camera the other day.

[Mrleft8 2,271]

Dem hawks is purty birds.... Silly little squeaky voices, but I'd just as soon rather not have one mistake my head for a 'possum....

[Tunnel Rat 1,123]

2 hours ago, Mrleft8 said:

Dem hawks is purty birds.... Silly little squeaky voices, but I'd just as soon rather not have one mistake my head for a 'possum....

Several years ago I inadvertently got too close to the nest of a black kite on top of a high rise building.  It swooped down and took a chunk out of the top of my head.  Lots of blood.  I never heard of this happen to anyone else.

 Stock photo - not mine.

[Innocent Bystander 898]

Set up my new camera yesterday afternoon. Rainy night with temps about 40. Set for 2 shots with a 5 second reset. Got 4 pics during setup and another 4 when pulling the card. The remaining 64 were of a couple of fat does grazing right around sunset. Set the camera between an obvious deer train pointing away from the trail and toward the recent beaver activity.  Too deep8; the trees to capture hawks, eagles or geese. Deer aren’t interesting.  We have so many, I invite a friend to bow hunt on the back side of the property. He took 3 last season and 2 so far this season. We’ll see if it shows anything interesting in the next couple of days. 
 

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

12 hours ago, Innocent Bystander said:

Set up my new camera yesterday afternoon. Rainy night with temps about 40. Set for 2 shots with a 5 second reset. Got 4 pics during setup and another 4 when pulling the card. The remaining 64 were of a couple of fat does grazing right around sunset. Set the camera between an obvious deer train pointing away from the trail and toward the recent beaver activity.  Too deep8; the trees to capture hawks, eagles or geese. Deer aren’t interesting.  We have so many, I invite a friend to bow hunt on the back side of the property. He took 3 last season and 2 so far this season. We’ll see if it shows anything interesting in the next couple of days. 
 

 

What kind of camera did you wind up getting?

[Innocent Bystander 898]

8 hours ago, Polytelum Tom said:

What kind of camera did you wind up getting?

Browning Strike Force Pro. 24 MP so medium quality is still pretty clear and I didn’t need or want the 180 degree FOV.  Too many deer, fox squirrel, groundhogs,cat, etc. Mostly squirrel and deer that would keep a pano camera running all of the time. 
 

Also found lots of Moultrie “DOA” and early failure reviews with poor warranty resolution. Like most things nobody seemed neutral. Some love it and more than a few hated it from a reliability standpoint. 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

19 hours ago, Innocent Bystander said:

Browning Strike Force Pro. 24 MP so medium quality is still pretty clear and I didn’t need or want the 180 degree FOV.  Too many deer, fox squirrel, groundhogs,cat, etc. Mostly squirrel and deer that would keep a pano camera running all of the time. 
 

Also found lots of Moultrie “DOA” and early failure reviews with poor warranty resolution. Like most things nobody seemed neutral. Some love it and more than a few hated it from a reliability standpoint. 

Good luck with it! I do get lots and lots of squirrel pics.

My first one failed when a big branch fell and smashed it, so not Moultrie's fault. Lots of DOA's and early failures can happen if you sell a lot of products. No excuse for poor warranty support though. I bought my current one in 2019 so I guess it's out of warranty now. When it dies I will look around again and keep your report in mind, so thanks!

[Innocent Bystander 898]

3 hours ago, Polytelum Tom said:

Good luck with it! I do get lots and lots of squirrel pics.

My first one failed when a big branch fell and smashed it, so not Moultrie's fault. Lots of DOA's and early failures can happen if you sell a lot of products. No excuse for poor warranty support though. I bought my current one in 2019 so I guess it's out of warranty now. When it dies I will look around again and keep your report in mind, so thanks!

Thanks. Got more deer yesterday plus lots of empty pics and one of a boat going by out in the creek, several hundred feet away. Seems the afternoon sun flashing off small wakes may be triggering it.  May have to relocate it to avoid the view of the creek. 

[El Borracho 1,733]

2 minutes ago, Innocent Bystander said:

Thanks. Got more deer yesterday plus lots of empty pics and one of a boat going by out in the creek, several hundred feet away. Seems the afternoon sun flashing off small wakes may be triggering it.  May have to relocate it to avoid the view of the creek. 

Yes, placement is tricky. Running sunlit water is impossible. Mottled shadows from foliage in the sun with wind. Nearby sunlit leaves in wind. A curious, or mating, moth at night. I once got thousands of blurry pics of an industrious spider. I have the additional constraint of hiding the camera from theives.

[Steam Flyer 5,087]

44 minutes ago, El Borracho said:

.... I have the additional constraint of hiding the camera from theives.

 

I've been experimenting with lock boxes, made of fiberglass. It's not really difficult to cut free, just slow because it gums up saw teeth. Thieves are impatient, plus I put my cameras where they have a view of each other.

Some good advice in this thread, thanks all

- DSK

[bmiller 751]

I'm shopping now for my first ever trail camera, looking for advice.

The environment it will be used in will be cold, sometimes really cold. I imagine battery performance will be an issue, especially with rechargeables. 

I'm looking for basic, certainly nothing linked to a phone or anything like that. 

Budgeting less then 200.

Security isn't an issue.

What should I look at, what should I avoid.

Oh and my target is a large herd of elk that primarily moves around at night, frustrating the hell out of me. Might as well get some photos if I don't drop one this year.

 

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

21 hours ago, Innocent Bystander said:

Thanks. Got more deer yesterday plus lots of empty pics and one of a boat going by out in the creek, several hundred feet away. Seems the afternoon sun flashing off small wakes may be triggering it.  May have to relocate it to avoid the view of the creek. 

I failed to notice a blade of grass growing up tall in front of my camera once. Windy days ensued. Over a thousand pics of that damn thing.

19 hours ago, bmiller said:

Oh and my target is a large herd of elk that primarily moves around at night, frustrating the hell out of me. Might as well get some photos if I don't drop one this year.

My original camera had a red flash that was very visible to humans and animals. The one I have now has a flash in the infrared range that humans can't see and as far as I can tell animals can't either. They no longer look right at the camera anyway. Not sure how to tell you what to shop for. I just bought the newer version of the same camera I had previously purchased and two big changes were the invisible flash and the lack of noise. The invisible flash doesn't light the scene as well as the old one and has a smaller radius of light but I still like it better.

[Black Sox 719]

On 12/29/2020 at 9:18 PM, F395 said:

I am ready for my closeup Mr. Director

Doh!

[Steam Flyer 5,087]

I went with far less expensive cameras, an Apeman 16mp $41 which is OK but not great. Meidase P20 18mp $55. Both take big memory cards, have relatively long range sensors and infrared, no visible flash, and relatively quick latch time. With slower latch times you get a lot of views of an animals butt as he exits the zone.

The Meidase case "see" an animal moving in the bushes 50 yards away but it also takes a lot of photos of wind

No idea how much better the $100 and up trail cameras are, these do great for me and I can put out more than twice as any of them.

- DSK

[Pedagogical Tom 1,515]

Several pics of the hawk that preys on my abundant squirrel population in the last few days. A couple on the ground and this blurry one of the hawk flying upward.

 

[F_L 32]

I got a cheap trail cam off Amazon a while back. It eats batteries like crazy so don't run it 24/7. I did set it out last month after finding a dead axis deer in the woods next door. I was just interested in what would visit the carcass.

Got a good deer selfie. This guy is a regular around the house. Between his legs is a fox munching on fresh venison.

[Innocent Bystander 898]

Well,

 

Got some pics of the beaver and a few of his friends.  The cat is a neighborhood cat that periodically drops y to piss mine off.  That daylight pic does show the tree he is on that the beaver took down 2 weeks or so ago and the trees in the foreground that he or is daddy beat up badly a couple of years ago.  Not shown are the other 4 or 5 6-8" diameter trees that came down before Christmas. The creek in the background starts rapid firing pics about 2:30 in the afternoon when the sun angle gets just right.