Trail-Cam Treasures!
It’s that time of year! Scouting and preparing for deer season has begun! While we are always working and enjoying the woods – this time of year is very exciting! We put out trail-cams every year and watch how our woods begins to change and grow. The best part about this is the trail-cam pictures! I must confess it is just like opening a present every time we check the cameras. Some of the most amazing animals and views have been caught on a trail-cam and ours are no exception.

One of the most exciting events captured on our trail cams, at least for me, is the emerging of the newborn animals. The best picture we’ve gotten is a picture of a doe with her fawn that couldn’t have been more than a few days old.There is nothing more beautiful than watching the fawn grow and develop right before our eyes.
There is also nothing like seeing a large flock of Tom turkeys strut through an area you’ve been working on for the last few months.

We’ve been fortunate with our trail cameras; we’ve caught turkeys, pigs, coyotes, bobcats and even bears. Trail cameras are a great way to see what exactly is moving, if anything, in an area that we are looking at as a potential hunting spot or, for that matter, just watching. They are also a great way to monitor the area that is being groomed and prepared for hunting season.

We keep our cameras up for a long period of time, well through the majority of the hunting seasons in our state. We leave them in an area we are looking at as a potential hunting area for a couple of weeks to try to get the best picture of what is going on there. If we do not see the animals and movement we would like, we can change the placement of the camera or choose another area entirely.

We look forareas that are well protected for the animals, however, they must also be able to adapt to the preparations for hunting season and the type of animal we are hunting easily and without a lot of disrupting the natural flow – sometimes this can be difficult. For example, we may find a great area that reveals many mature deer but if we are planning to hunt turkeys in that area that isn’t going to be ideal. We too must adapt to our property and let the natural flow guide us to a great harvest.

Once a potential spot has been established, we start to groom our chosen area for the season. We trim shooting lanes, scout out potential licking branches and provide minerals to the animals to help them get the nutrients they need. As we do these things, we can see the growth of the animals in our pictures and see their travel patterns. For us, trail cameras are an invaluable tool that we utilize to not only monitor the animals on our property but to educate ourselves and learn the new changes that occur every year.