Checking 4 Cameras July 4-5

This is the first time I checked the camera I set up in this new spot, which consists of an intersection of two trails at the edge of big dark timber and some more open forest.

I’ve had a camera here for a few years; it monitors a spot where a couple of minor trails meet a main trail where deer like to feed and bed down.

This camera was overlooking a bedding area. I got some interesting pictures here, but it’s a little too open for consistent traffic, so I moved it about 100 feet to an intersection in a small feeding area.

This is the new spot. Several trails cross this opening, and it has a good variety of plants that deer like, so it should do well.

The last camera I checked has been recording 15-second video clips on a main trail. I’ve had this camera here for a couple of years.

Setting Three More Cameras

I took a few cameras to an area I haven’t been to since I first started using trail cameras about 10 years ago. Back then, this area didn’t seem like a very good spot for camera trapping, considering how long it takes me to get there by kayak; after gaining a lot of experience with trail cameras, I think poor camera placement might have been the main reason I didn’t have better results here.

Set the first camera here, where three trails intersect; two trails run parallel to the camera’s view, and one comes down the hill behind the tree on the right.

Set the second camera in a skunk cabbage patch. Sitka blacktail deer love skunk cabbage, so this camera should get a lot of action.

When scouting new areas or places I haven’t been to in a long time, I spend a lot of time trying to call deer to help me get an idea of what lives there. This doe came in really close; I was using a new call my wife gave me for my birthday, made by Drop Shot Calls.

Set the last of the three cameras overlooking this beaver dam. Beaver dams are usually great places to see a variety of creatures.

Setting and Checking Cameras

Set a camera here hoping salmon will swim this far up this stream, and I will catch bears fishing for them in a couple months. There is a well-used animal trail following the bank on the right side of the picture, and another trail crossing the creek by the big rock, so I should get some action before the salmon show up.

Set another camera here to catch the bears and other critters that use this log to cross the stream. If salmon fill up this stream, I should get a lot of bald eagles here, too.

I’ve had a camera here for about a year; it’s a good feeding area during the growing season, but action was a little slow over the winter.

Last fall and winter I had this camera set to record video; you can see them here:

This has been my best camera location in this area; the camera is now set to record videos.