Daily Deercam

  This is in the dark, but not so dark that they can't keep some track of each other.

  The back left corner shows a little interaction, plus the animal on the right is stamping a front hoof....never a good sign.

  Across the creek.

Daily Deercam

  Rhynard chances by.

  Buck with shed antlers.

  Bobcat butt.

  Singing canid in the mid-morning.

  Hawk and crow.  Go figure.

  The usual suspects.  Also had a dog taking a dump on cam.  Charming.  Coons by the caseload.  Squirrels.  The coyote, fox and bobcat probably all have litters to feed.

  Single mosquito came and sang in my ear.  10 trillion in waiting.

Daily Deercam

  The boys across the creek.

  Moulting crow in the flash.  See the new feathers coming out of the quills?  Gotta love the moments of photography.  Bird is transparent because of the combination of flash exposure and available light exposure.

  Big healthy doe on the near cam.

  Shadow of Bigfoot.

  Burned about a billion leaves at the lake today.  Congress burned 790 billion on Friday.   Then off for a walk in the Butler Creek bottoms.  Must be about two miles round trip when I pick up an extra hilltop.  

  Strange item: the Great Blue Heron rookery, probably 60 nests in some big pines, has been totally deserted.  Third year in the same spot, now they have left on the cusp of egg-laying.

Daily Deercam

  Unknown.  Wasn't a time I was near the cam.  Bigfoot.

  This nursing bitch, (sorry) was at both cams.

  Crows talking corn at the trap.

  Dogs after the coon.  This will get you shot with a suppressed 10/22.

  This years buck fawns.

  Squirrel adjusting the camera.

  Had the two little bucks.  If they make it to next fall they are going to be awfully cute running around.

  Dogs attacked the trap with a coon in it.  They got beat up pretty badly, blood all over the trap, plus the handle, hand shield and trip levers were bitten off.  Took a bit of looking to find everything. The coon seemed untouched but it must have been sporty for a bit.

  Walked the hills across the creek into glorious deer habitat.  Absolutely perfect.  Plenty of cover, grass, brouse, acorns.  Many rubs and even a scrape.  Two climbing stands at the base of pines up past the best part.  I looked under each of them for brass on the ejection side.  Nothing. One of the stands had been moved a few trees to one side.  The squirrels had been shredding the straps and pads.   Tough hunting without some scent and rattling.

  I need a couple of cams back there with scent for an attractant.  I think there are some big bucks that use this as their core area.  It's over 100 acres of hilltop cover.  I kept an eye on the sun direction so I wouldn't get lost.

  Pig graveyard just off the adjacent hilltop. I thought I was seeing a horse skull until I spotted the one-piece jawbone.   Three year old skeletons of 13 hogs.  Skulls tend to wander off but that was the pelvis (pelvi?) count.  Only one skull had a bullet hole- .30-.38 cal from overhead.  Pistol coup de gras.

  Rode some game trails that followed the elevation contour coming out and homed in on the big Heron rookery.  They were busy stealing sticks from each others nests.  I hadn't been up the hills behind the cam since 1975.  I'm sure I look at them a lot differently now than then.

  I pulled the trap but I wove a cedar bough into the licking branch over the scrape in front of the cam and soaked it down with buck scent.  Be interesting to see what shows up.

    

Daily Deercam

  They sure cut it close.  Four coons on cam in one photo.  Too many.

  It's like they know where the trigger plate is.  Trap was still open this afternoon.  May have to go to catfood, the secret weapon.

  Quorum at the other cam.

  Actually SAW some deer today- the big doe with two buck fawns.  They look hale and healthy.

  Pileated Woodpeckers in the bottom along with may Great Blue Herons setting up their rookery.  Noisy down there.

  Too many coons on both cams. 

Update:  Crows all over both cams.  Eventually I'm going to catch one.

Daily Deercam

  Just.....go in.

  Not always happy and gay in coonville.

  Out of catfood for bait I just plopped the trap down right on top of the corn scatter.  They didn't go in.  Seven different coons and one yearling buck fawn were by.

  Might try catfood in a can next.  That's a sure-fire catch for something.

Daily Deercam

  Coon Pack across the creek.  Now down two more members

  Mature doe.

  Notice the long face on this grown animal.

  She is 2 or 4 years old and about 115-125 lbs.

  Crow flying into the cam area.

  Yesterday driving out of the lakehouse property I saw four pups someone had dumped in the usual place.  They were sitting in the middle of a pasture looking lost.  Today I was at my deercam and could hear them whimpering on another property in deep brush across the creek.  Not much fun.  I don't know why folks think dogs will do better dumped out here than taken to the pound.  Or dumped in town where there are more people and fewer coyotes.

  One coon in the trap, a big sow.  They had been wary for a few days, even digging the dry catfood out from under the sides of the trap.  Three down total.

  Doe and a yearling fawn in the pasture at dusk.  Nice to see them out and about.  They had a hard time figuring me in the dusk until I unslung the rifle for a second look.  I have an old Thompson Machine Gun sweb sling on my 10/22 and the rear clamp tinkles and chimes when you shrug it off.  That did it.  I saw them again on the other side of the pasture below the crown of the field when I worked my way around. 

  Shooting the suppressed Ruger coming and going.  Fun to plink away with little noise.

Sunday deercam

  This is a cheap Moultrie that overexposes and gives bad color though it is running and not giving me whiteout files.

 Crows, coons and a doe and her buck fawn across the creek.  I reset the coon trap with catfood.  No mice mime-ing in the traps.  Love to know where everyone is.  There is deer sign around.  Fresh enough, just not many on the cams.  Wonder what some buck spray would bring up?

  Coons digging holes in the corn broadcast area and sifting the sand.  Dog tracks in the creek clay at the crossing.

Deer and Raccoons

  This is a flash photo by the Moultrie gamecam.  The duration is about 1000 of a second.  In the actual deer/coon experience they are in the dark guided by smell, hearing and a very little bit of visual information.  I'm sure they wonder exactly where each other are.  See the ears focusing on both sides?  

  Raccoons are tough, well-armed, formidable opponents.  Both species are interested in the corn.  The cams show deer using their front hooves to chop at the coons and bared teeth on the other side.  They rarely seem to be co-existing with much good will.

Daily Deercam

  Big deer crossing the creek going both ways.  I went over and moved a cam to the original scrape where I had a cam stolen.  Maybe the kids are in school and this one will stay on the tree.  Hot scrape going over there.

  Scrapes all over the corner of the pasture and woods edge on the bluff at the other cam.

  Only interesting photo from old reliable Moultrie was the image above.  The twin fawns are STILL nursing.  Some buck will run them off when she goes into rut.  Middle of October, still nursing.  She LOOKED like she was still nursing, but I hadn't seen it.

  This is a good mom.  Very successful deer to get two fawns this big without being run down.  She must not be nursing them much.

  Nothing like deercams.

Daily Deercam: Two bucks.

  The little bent-horn buck across the creek.

  A year and a half buck on the lake side.  Notice how small his antlers are in relation to his ears.  An adult whitetail is about 13 inches across at the ears.  His horns look nine or ten inches wide.  Eight points.  Good genetics.

  Neither of these bucks are shootable.  Or they shouldn't be shot. Much better horns next year and REALLY good antlers in two years.

The Girls

  I don't THINK the button buck is one of the kids.  Could be wrong.

Daily Deercam

  Digital files of three coons.  All adults.  They are on the bubble of having the cease-fire lifted, the Nazis!  One doe and her fawn on cam, the other resident doe and her two fawns also.  Spots fading on the youngsters.  Nothing across the creek except over-exposed files.  Corn had been worked but it was a long walk for nothing.  Lots of very fresh sign everywhere as Gustav reset all the sand for fresh footprints.  Several big dead pines felled by the wind.  Had to move the trail across the deep creekbottom.

  Mosquitos trailed me the whole way, but the weather has broken.  64 degrees this morning.

  I added a little deer attractant, something I haven't used before, to the corn at both cams.  6.99 at the feed store.  Smells like some sugary-salt mix.  Didn't taste it.  Yet.

  Not one antler in velvet or not since the first of the year.  Crazy.

Update:  You can see the difference in the facial structure of a young deer and an adult doe in this photo.  She's almost got these fawns up and going.  Another two months and they will look like adults.  She's a good mom.  Still nursing.  Raised twins and is in good shape herself.  Rut starts in about a month and a half.  Bucks will probably run the youngsters off but they will stay close as they can.  She may start running and lose them for a while.  They will probably get back together for a while after she is bred.

  I'd love to know exactly how old this doe is.  She's over 2 and less than 8 I would think.  Very successful and experienced mom.