Saturday, May 2, 2009

Trail Camera

Mr. Johnson pulled the trail cameras out of storage for me last night. The weather has finally warmed up enough that the cold won't drain the batteries, so it's a good time to get those cameras set up and begin monitoring our nocturnal backyard visitors again.

You always want to do a test shot first to make sure everything's working correctly......

So here's our first visitor at 1:53 AM (I can see that I'll have to make an adjustment to the camera's time clock though). This little doe looks slightly moth-eaten as she begins to shed her gray-brown winter coat.

We usually don't see single deer in the backyard and this visit was no exception. These two are probably sisters and were born last spring.

This camera doesn't make any noise when it takes a picture, but the flash is blindingly bright!
I'd say the deer were a little annoyed by this and they didn't stay around for very long. I got one more picture on the other camera and I'm pretty sure it was probably the other deer that walked away from this feeder. Their visits have become a little more sporadic now with the arrival of spring and other readily available sources of food. Sometimes 2 or 3 days will go by before all the corn is cleaned out of these tray feeders.

I'll keep these cameras out in the backyard until we have to move them for deer hunting scouting, so stay tuned for future updates on nocturnal visitors to my backyard. I'm still hoping for pictures of fox and/or possums with their little ones.


17 comments:

Mama Pea said...

How cool! And what good quality pictures your camera gets. I'm excited to see what (who?) turns up next. (Do I need to get a life?)

Julie said...

Hi Ruthie! Looking forward to seeing pictures of your nightly visitors. Like the changes to your blog.

KGMom said...

Cool--I am looking forward to the creatures that visit you in the night.

Kelly said...

Ruthie...thanks for the link to the naturalist's program! I am going to look into it. Also....how fun to have a night-critter cam!

Kim said...

Very cool camera set up. Love the deer shots and can't wait to see what else shows up!

Jayne said...

I love seeing your stealth images Ruthie. I often wonder what goes on at night out by my feeders. It's fun to imagine the visitors.

Aleta said...

How neat to see what comes around after dark! We have a trail camera, too, and besides deer, we have pics of bobcat, coyote, and foxes. I posted some on my blog last year. Great pictures!

Dawn Fine said...

I think those cameras are so cool..I should have one out my back window here...I think we are getting a flying squirrel at our bird feeder at night.

Meggie said...

Can't wait to see if the camera shows us any interesting little ones.

Heather said...

I love your sweet little deer that you "caught in the act". I look forward to more nighttime critters!

Heidi said...

That'll be fun to see who else visits your yard at nights.

I like your new spring decor. Matches your new banner nicely :)

Carol said...

It's fun to see who shows up after dark...so far all I have are Racoons, Possums, Armadillos and Rabbits. Still havnt had any luck luring the deer in.

www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I would love to put a camera on our water feature. The water goes down quickly some nights. I always wonder who is there. Great shots of the deer.

Leslie said...

I'm wondering what brand you use, if you like that brand, ease of use, $$. I'd like to get one as I have tons of critters living next to Yellowstone. Also, since I see deer and elk during the day and I'd like to see bobcat, martens, etc., what bait might you recommend.

troutbirder said...

How neat. I think fox would be especially cool. We have them but I never see them.

RuthieJ said...

Glad you all enjoyed these pictures.
I have some tweaking to do with one of the cameras in regards to distance, so once I get that figured out, I should have some more pictures.

Leslie,
The photos in this post are from the Stealth Cam. Our other camera is a Leaf River. The Stealth Cam is easier to use, but goes through batteries much faster than the Leaf River. Neither of them are infrared, so both use a bright flash to take a picture. I don't put out bait specifically to attract critters, I've just placed the cameras near where I know the animals come to eat from bird feeder trays. At night I put out corn in those trays because that's what the deer like to eat (and it's cheaper than birdseed!) I also have a tray where I put dog food and have been able to attract possums, foxes, and a couple of feral cats. (I think a lot of the smaller wild critters like dog food--at least they do here in the Midwest)

Leslie said...

Thanks RuthieJ, I am going to check into these cameras asap. Thanks for visiting my blog. Bob Landis lives in Gardiner and he does all the fantastic photography for nature programs re: wolves i.e. the one you saw. He hangs out in the Lamar valley quite a bit and says he gets all that footage from the road! Of course, think of the equipment he has! Yellowstone is a magical wildlife mecca. I am so lucky to live here. You must come and visit. Take care and thnaks for the info. Leslie