Tips for studying Aerial Photos?

[woodsman]

I don't live near my hunting areas, and hunt 1-2 times per year for now, so I rely heavily on aerial photos for scouting.

It's fairly easy to tell the difference between oak and pine trees, but I'd like to find edges between different types of oak trees. Any experts have any tips you've picked up for pinpointing these types of edges?

Or any other observations you've made that have helped you get a really good feel for the lay of the land before you scout on foot?

I find Google Earth quite addicting, I spend WAY too much time there...

[Shake N' Bake]

Tuned in!

[stevolabo]

Tuned in!

x2

[twobittxn]

Different types of oak trees? I don't think you can. I think your better bet would be a combination of google satellite maps using the contour maps and google earth. You can find ridge lines and saddles that way. These should help you find the corridors the deer are using or should be using to move from one area to another.

[Montec man]

One tip I can give you is to not only look at the arial photo but also a topo map. That was you can see elevation changes and gives you an overall better idea of what you are looking at.

[jmaustin]

Only way I can tell the difference between Oaks is that most oaks loose their leaves in the winter, EXEPT Live Oaks. So, if you can find an aerial from the winter, the trees with leaves will most likely be cedar or Live Oak (no pines around here anyways). Depending on the area, I think Bing maps with the Birds Eye View is a really good tool. You can rotate your vantage point and it can show you tree heights, elevation changes, etc.

[Limbwalker]

Yes, it's helpful to find Live Oaks.

Another great use of Google Earth is to locate boundary fences.

But my #1 use is to locate funnels or pinch points.

[TallTexan]

In

[woodsman]

Thanks for the input everyone. I haven't checked out bing maps, I will look into that

Question about scouting natural funnels/corridors in the woods(steep draws and smaller creek bottoms)

Obviously deer will generally stay within a large river bottom, but in my 14 years of deer hunting, I have never seen deer use draws and small creeks as funnels. I've read so much lit saying how deer will parallel creeks and whatnot. But this may just be me.

My experience has been that game criss cross draws and smaller creeks regardless of the embankments. So I have thrown that theory out and just focus on actual trails, rather than thinking, "well it looks like deer should walk through this corridor." But I have seen many deer utilize "pinch points" between open areas, as I see that as a different type of funnel.

What have you observed about deer movement with respect to these types of alleged funnels? Do you look for these draws on topo maps?

[Razorback01]

Bing Maps, you can get aerial photos. And I like river bottoms, but I've seen more deer in the fringe areas.

But, I'm not a deer, and just when I think I have it all figured out, the deer go elsewhere.

[Limbwalker]

But I have seen many deer utilize "pinch points" between open areas, as I see that as a different type of funnel.

That's what I meant. During daylight hours, deer generally avoid openings, so bottlenecks between openings can be good places for a stand.

I also use aerial photos to figure out my route to and from my stand locations. This is just as important as WHERE your stand is. If you bust deer going in or coming out, you won't see them in that spot for long. And you don't want them to follow your trail in or out either. Add to that the prevailing wind directions, and an aerial photo becomes a "road map" for me to hunt an area.

I've been using them since the 80's .

[Dry Ace]

....I have never seen deer use draws and small creeks as funnels. I've read so much lit saying how deer will parallel creeks and whatnot. But this may just be me.....

in TX, my experience has been the same...i've been having a rough time finding deer in TX...

I grew up hunting in PA where the woods are completely different...deer there, i can tell you for sure they follow the edges of creeks there...imo it's because it's really hard to travel anywhere else...the underbrush in PA is completely different, briars and other thick bushes with a LOT of hardwoods, the pines grow in patches and deer use them for shelter during storms...

in TX there's so many stinkin "matchstick pine trees" i have an impossible time finding game trails to begin with...seems like there's just so much open under the trees that the routes they travel are "wherever i feel like walking" instead of down a beaten path...

[bowhuntntxn]

I use Cableas Recon Maps on my ipad. It allows you to view both satellite and topo maps at the same time. If you don't know how to read a topo map, I suggest you learn. It will help you find the pinch points, elevation changes, and other terrain features that don't show we'll on satellite images.

[jmaustin]

in TX, my experience has been the same...i've been having a rough time finding deer in TX...

I grew up hunting in PA where the woods are completely different...deer there, i can tell you for sure they follow the edges of creeks there...imo it's because it's really hard to travel anywhere else...the underbrush in PA is completely different, briars and other thick bushes with a LOT of hardwoods, the pines grow in patches and deer use them for shelter during storms...

in TX there's so many stinkin "matchstick pine trees" i have an impossible time finding game trails to begin with...seems like there's just so much open under the trees that the routes they travel are "wherever i feel like walking" instead of down a beaten path...

That's why we have feeders down here!!

Seriously though, especially in the rocky cedar covered hills of the Hill Country you can sit there and watch deer travel down a different path everytime. You can still generally pattern them traveling between point A and B, but their path between the two is always changing. Of course when you hang your stand in the tree they are bound to pass, you can watch them go by at 100 yards

[Dry Ace]

That's why we have feeders down here.....

dont' get me started...couple people that i've been private land hunting with have set me on a feeder and said "sit here, feeder goes off at 8"

if nothing shows up they want to get out of the stand by 8:30 and try later when it goes off again...

can't even ask where the deer are travelling because they have no idea other than "at my feeder around 8:05"

i hate it, and it's frustrating...hunted 1100 acres and the guy had only seen 80 of it because thats where he set up his feeder...i can tell you where deer will be and when they'll be there on the family land in PA, partly cuz i grew up there and partly cuz i pay attention...

back to public land and map reading:

so with the controlled burns they do here in texas is there a site that gives up to date sat images? i can tell you now that i've been in parts of DCNF that i didn't feel represented the sat image this year...(yes i know i was in the same spot, thankyou gps)