Trailcams, Winter Chores, Snow

 We had about 1" of wet snow on Friday night.

 It's always fun to see where the deer have been.  I was surprised to see how much traffic there was in this soybean field.  I didn't think there was a single dry bean left in there.

It is almost time to start hunting for shed antlers so it is fun to know where they've been walking.

There are a ton of turnips left and they have been pawing thru the snow to get to them.

 I don't do much supplemental feeding but I do like to spread a little corn at this time of year.  I can spot better when they drop their antlers.

 3 hours after dumping some corn the first customer arrives.

 One of the disadvantages of corn feeding is it concentrates their feeding and they may swap saliva.  It has been proposed that this may contribute to the spread of chronic wasting disease.

They do snuggle up for the corn.

 This young buck appears to have dropped antlers already.

But most haven't yet.

Although mating season is over, sparring can still happen over a good food source.

 Speaking of swapping saliva...

 I like this shot because of all the eyes glowing in the background.

 The bigger boys haven't shown up on camera recently.

Lots of younger ones though.

Food fight.

 After reading an article on photographing predators, I set up several cameras with some venison tied with butcher string.

 Gone the first night.  I guess raccoons like venison.

Even the deer were curious about the smell.

 This was another camera setup.

 Still there on the 21st when a squirrel went by.

 But gone on the 24th without any photographic evidence.

I was hoping to get a fox like this in action.

 Or a coyote like this.  Or a bobcat (I've never seen one live or on camera here).

 It could be phantoms.

I had 2 camera sets cleaned without any photographic evidence.  Bad cameras? I re-baited them and doubled the cameras on the one setup.

 I did some more hinge cutting to open the canopy and bring some browse down to the ground.

 The snow brought some action to our bird feeders.

 The red bellied woodpecker seemed to be the boss.

 I suspect these critters might be involved in the missing venison.  We do have 6 or so free ranging neighbor dogs.

 Out for a walk last week.

 Does in the same spot.

I carried my 223 with me this week on the off chance I get a shot at a varmint.

I got warm walking in that snow. 

Hunting, Poaching, Endangerment and Sustainable Use

I received an email from the Safari Club Foundation that contained a link to a video on elephants.  I thought the video was well done and informative.  It is a 50 minute show.  Here's what Safari Club had to say about it:

Misconceptions Of Elephant Policy Revealed

 

 The war against poaching and wildlife trafficking has grabbed the attention of millions.  Heart wrenching photos of elephants are being used to initiate actions at the national and international level.  Rarely is the full story told on how regulation or policy changes designed to help elephants are actually causing more harm than good.

The Elephant and the Pauper is an informative video that reveals misconceptions of policy actions taken to protect elephants and demonstrates how Africa’s wildlife and people have suffered from importation bans placed on African elephants.

In this video you will learn the past plights of conservationists in Zimbabwe and the obstacles they face today, as they work to find a balance between large elephant populations and maintaining the surrounding habitat to support that population.

This video is a message from the people in Africa who rely on wildlife as a renewable natural resource. It is a chance to understand the issues surrounding African elephants from people on-the-ground in Zimbabwe and we encourage you to listen to their story. 

Video on Elephants in Zimbabwe

Winter Chores

 Saturday was sunny and almost 50F.  I got the Bobcat out and finished clearing the trail that I started on last week

 I also made the camera tour and put out a salt block.

At a couple of cameras, I put out some corn.  My hope is that I'll get some bucks showing up so that I can see when they drop their antlers.  It usually happens anywhere from January to March.

 I read an article in QDMA magazine about setting some cameras to try and photograph predators.  It recommended putting some venison out in front of a camera.

I set up a couple of cameras with some venison tied with butcher twine.  We'll see what shows up.

 Saturday evening I tried calling in coyotes or fox - no luck.

 It was a nice sunset from the barn stand though.

 Poop of the week is this massive pile left one step off of our porch.  It's clearly a domestic dog but he's got some hair in his diet too.

 This is a likely candidate - we see him fairly often.

This yellow lab is also a possible suspect - she's big enough.  I ran into these dogs out in the field Saturday and chased them back home.

 Sunday morning I started a project to create more cover and browse by hinge cutting less desirable trees.

 I could stay busy for months doing this on maples and poplars.  I picked an area below the barn field that has a fair number of smaller maples mixed in with some oaks and cherries.

 Many times it ended up being more than a hinge cut.  The idea is to leave a connection to the stump so that the tree doesn't die immediately.  The deer will browse on the tree end twigs.

I found this rub on a really large tree just below the barn (see background).  The big bucks are closer than we think.

 This buck bomb was right by the rub.

 I also took a walk around the plots.  This chicory plot is almost bare.

 The turnip field has almost no green left but the bulbs are still there.

 There are all sizes from small to huge.

 It appears that they're still working on them.

 This time of year, the travel routes are kind of obvious.

 You can see their trails thru the grass.

 And also in the middle of the turnip field.  I walked right down the center of this field just to take a look for sheds.  It was muddy.

This ant hill is 8' long and 4' high.

Rubs are everywhere.

 Some of these trees are so damaged they may not survive.

 It's everywhere.

 This shot of does in the barn field is during the last evening of muzzleloader season.  Leo was making a stalk on them.

 The only buck on camera this week.

 Lots of does around.

 Five in this frame.

It says 45F - I believe it. Very nice for a January afternoon.