Just curious, if anyone has mounted game cameras, at different heights and angles in the same place and gotten different results.
I have had cameras out on our place since last October. I have had some of the cameras in the same place ever since. Typically I get about 1100 to 1700 pictures in a weeks time from the camera pointed at the feeder. It was mounted about 3' off the ground on a oak tree 20' from the feeder. Last weekend I moved that same camera up about 10' off the ground, in the same tree, pointed at the feeder. I just got 3792 pictures from one week.
I have another camera, near the feeder, pointing down a trail, that goes to the feeder. I have typically gotten between 15 and 70 pictures in a week on that camera. I mounted it up about 10' from the ground, in the same oak tree, pointed the same direction. I got 354 pictures since last weekend.
I have suspected that there are some bucks that avoid my cameras. I have gotten many pictures of bucks and doe, looking straight at the cameras. After I moved the cameras 10' off the ground, I don't have any pictures of deer looking at the cameras. They seem to spend a lot more time at the feeder. I have quite a few pictures of critters that I rarely got pictures of, from the same two cameras. I thought it was odd, that I almost never had pictures of coons at my feeder, but I have seen coon tracks going towards the feeder on some of the trails heading towards the feeder. I also never got pictures of foxes at the feeder. Now I have a lot of coon pictures from the feeder camera. Multiple fox pictures from the feeder camera. Then a whole lot more pictures of squirrels at the feeder. I am wondering if it was a case of the cameras were just not taking pictures often or are the animals showing up more because of lack of cameras or lack of cameras they notice.
Part of the reason I moved the cameras up high and angled them downwards, was I have had problems with some of my camera lenses getting wet when it rains, then I get distorted pictures for hours after it stops raining. Last week, we had some rain come from the east or south east. I have a camera pointed towards the east, the lens go soaked. So for many hours, all of the pictures it took were worthless. But I noticed my cameras that were pointed towards the west, all had perfectly dry lenses and took good clear pictures during the same rain storm and afterwards. So I decided that maybe getting the cameras up high and angled downwards would help with the lenses getting wet, then also possibly not spook the deer as much. So far the idea seems to be working. I am going to go get some more camera mounts and mount the rest of my cameras up high, then see what happens with those pictures. I suspect there is still one or two older mature bucks in the area, that are camera wary. It seems when I first put up a camera in the back of our place I got one or two pictures of a buck that looked pretty nice. But shortly afterwards he disappeared. There was another buck around as of last year, that has disappeared. I have not heard of that deer getting killed, I would suspect I would hear about it, if someone got that deer. I am thinking all of my cameras are spooking the older wiser deer away and also making the doe and younger bucks somewhat wary of the cameras.
The pictures I got from this week, look a whole lot different from what I have been getting from the same places for quite a while now. I am really thinking more deer are showing up and staying at the feeder longer. Then in the past, I have been surprised about the lack of deer at the feeder at night and lack of coons at the feeder at night. Back in July through October, when it was hot. I expected there to be a lot of deer activity at night, at the feeder. I would have expected there to be quite a bit of activity at the feeders at night, since October, but still virtually no deer at the feeder, at night. Now, since moving the cameras, there are lots of deer at the feeder at night, then coons every night and a fox or two, every night. Either the cameras have a problem taking pictures at night, or very few critters have been showing up. I do get night time pictures, but a lot less than I would have expected. 90% of the pictures I got from this week are deer pictures, so the big jump in picture numbers is not a result of lots of coon, squirrel, fox and bird pictures. But the numbers of picture of each of those critters has gone way up. In the past no pictures of some of those critters to 25 or so pictures. So not a big contributing factor in the over double the number of pictures I got from this week.
I have a water trough, with a camera pointed at it. At times, I have lots of activity at night, other times, there is virtually no activity at night. What activity I do get at the water trough at night, is usually coons or foxes, occasionally a coyote or two. Again, the deer will show up at the water trough during the day, for a short period of time, then take off. But virtually never come to the water trough at night, even during the summer, when it was hot and dry. I have lots of pictures from the water trough camera, of critters looking straight at the camera, like they are about to bolt or are nervous. I have not moved the camera pointed at the water trough yet, but it's going to get moved tomorrow, along with two other cameras.
I have had cameras out on our place since last October. I have had some of the cameras in the same place ever since. Typically I get about 1100 to 1700 pictures in a weeks time from the camera pointed at the feeder. It was mounted about 3' off the ground on a oak tree 20' from the feeder. Last weekend I moved that same camera up about 10' off the ground, in the same tree, pointed at the feeder. I just got 3792 pictures from one week.
I have another camera, near the feeder, pointing down a trail, that goes to the feeder. I have typically gotten between 15 and 70 pictures in a week on that camera. I mounted it up about 10' from the ground, in the same oak tree, pointed the same direction. I got 354 pictures since last weekend.
I have suspected that there are some bucks that avoid my cameras. I have gotten many pictures of bucks and doe, looking straight at the cameras. After I moved the cameras 10' off the ground, I don't have any pictures of deer looking at the cameras. They seem to spend a lot more time at the feeder. I have quite a few pictures of critters that I rarely got pictures of, from the same two cameras. I thought it was odd, that I almost never had pictures of coons at my feeder, but I have seen coon tracks going towards the feeder on some of the trails heading towards the feeder. I also never got pictures of foxes at the feeder. Now I have a lot of coon pictures from the feeder camera. Multiple fox pictures from the feeder camera. Then a whole lot more pictures of squirrels at the feeder. I am wondering if it was a case of the cameras were just not taking pictures often or are the animals showing up more because of lack of cameras or lack of cameras they notice.
Part of the reason I moved the cameras up high and angled them downwards, was I have had problems with some of my camera lenses getting wet when it rains, then I get distorted pictures for hours after it stops raining. Last week, we had some rain come from the east or south east. I have a camera pointed towards the east, the lens go soaked. So for many hours, all of the pictures it took were worthless. But I noticed my cameras that were pointed towards the west, all had perfectly dry lenses and took good clear pictures during the same rain storm and afterwards. So I decided that maybe getting the cameras up high and angled downwards would help with the lenses getting wet, then also possibly not spook the deer as much. So far the idea seems to be working. I am going to go get some more camera mounts and mount the rest of my cameras up high, then see what happens with those pictures. I suspect there is still one or two older mature bucks in the area, that are camera wary. It seems when I first put up a camera in the back of our place I got one or two pictures of a buck that looked pretty nice. But shortly afterwards he disappeared. There was another buck around as of last year, that has disappeared. I have not heard of that deer getting killed, I would suspect I would hear about it, if someone got that deer. I am thinking all of my cameras are spooking the older wiser deer away and also making the doe and younger bucks somewhat wary of the cameras.
The pictures I got from this week, look a whole lot different from what I have been getting from the same places for quite a while now. I am really thinking more deer are showing up and staying at the feeder longer. Then in the past, I have been surprised about the lack of deer at the feeder at night and lack of coons at the feeder at night. Back in July through October, when it was hot. I expected there to be a lot of deer activity at night, at the feeder. I would have expected there to be quite a bit of activity at the feeders at night, since October, but still virtually no deer at the feeder, at night. Now, since moving the cameras, there are lots of deer at the feeder at night, then coons every night and a fox or two, every night. Either the cameras have a problem taking pictures at night, or very few critters have been showing up. I do get night time pictures, but a lot less than I would have expected. 90% of the pictures I got from this week are deer pictures, so the big jump in picture numbers is not a result of lots of coon, squirrel, fox and bird pictures. But the numbers of picture of each of those critters has gone way up. In the past no pictures of some of those critters to 25 or so pictures. So not a big contributing factor in the over double the number of pictures I got from this week.
I have a water trough, with a camera pointed at it. At times, I have lots of activity at night, other times, there is virtually no activity at night. What activity I do get at the water trough at night, is usually coons or foxes, occasionally a coyote or two. Again, the deer will show up at the water trough during the day, for a short period of time, then take off. But virtually never come to the water trough at night, even during the summer, when it was hot and dry. I have lots of pictures from the water trough camera, of critters looking straight at the camera, like they are about to bolt or are nervous. I have not moved the camera pointed at the water trough yet, but it's going to get moved tomorrow, along with two other cameras.
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