Tag: Game Camera Video

Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

The not so perfect game camera, Vandals!

Sam

It is an unfortunate happening. Many game cameras will be vandalized or pilfered over their lifetime.  Python locks are used to keep the game cameras from being lifted. My vandals usually have 4 legs but occasionally there are those that have two.

The two-legged variety of vandals perch and defecate on the camera.  The four-legged variety usually hit the camera with speed, resulting in the tripod mount being broken and the camera somewhere on the ground.

My usual 4-legged suspects are deer.  Curious elk and cranky bears will also displace cameras.  This week, I found two tripod mounted cameras upside down and facing the opposite direction of their intended targets. After reviewing the video, I have determined the vandal was a curious cow.

The cow investigated the camera in the early morning hours. -Patches

Community, Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

The Not So Perfect Game Camera, a Surprise

Sam

An opportunity to capture pictures of scavengers on a carcass  presented itself. I placed two cameras overlooking the carcass.  I had hoped the bears would find this substantial food source. If not, maybe I would have pictures of coyotes or foxes. I had 65 videos, some as long as 4 minutes of ravens, a lot of ravens. It is gruesome and repetitive to watch ravens feast on a carcass. Finally, the eagles show up.

It is still gruesome to watch eagles on a carcass.  But on the video, there was a surprise.  A brave and reckless raven would tug on the tail feathers of the bald eagle.  The raven was more persistent in harassing the juvenile bald eagle than an adult eagle.  The only reaction from the eagles appeared to be flapping their wings resulting in a temporary scattering of the ravens.

 I also had 7500 photos of ravens and eagles to review. Not one picture clearly shows a raven tugging on the tail feathers of an eagle. Game cam videos do provide glimpses of animal behavior hard to capture on a still camera.  The down side, video uses your batteries and SD cards quickly. Both accessories need to be replaced often.

-Patches

Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

The not so Perfect Game Camera: Night Video

Sam

The trick to capturing pictures, and video, is to know where things are going to be and to put the camera up before they arrive. In the short term, this is a matter of luck, in the long term it becomes a matter of experience.

In winter, this is easier. Tracks in the snow provide some clues about what has been by, and where might be a good place to position a camera. As the snow piles deeper, the local wildlife is no more inclined to wade through it than we are, and cameras can be placed along cleared areas (such as plowed driveways) with greater success.

On the whole, getting good pictures and video requires luck, good camera placement, and wading through a great many bad photos and deer selfies.

-Patches

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Patches' Pieces, Wildlife

The not so perfect Game Camera: Video

Sam

After missing what should have been great photos of bears, I decided to see if the video mode would be any better.  I don’t use video very much because I haven’t invested in the companies that make batteries;  Video uses batteries quickly. 

Video also takes lots of space on your SD cards.  And I only need so many videos of deer walking up to sniff the camera.

According to my cameras this week, no bears walked on the driveway.  A follow up confirmed no new bear droppings.  If my cameras are to be believed, only a few deer, a feral cat, and a couple of turkeys were on the driveway. I will leave the camera in video mode probably until Thanksgiving in hopes of getting a video of a stray bear wandering by or maybe a coyote or two. In the meantime, here are the turkeys.

-Patches

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