Dale Matson
We have a cabin in the foothills and have been fortunate to
see lots of game from inside the cabin. One day grandma, Jamo and Max were
seated at the dinner table. Max looked out the window and said, “What’s that?”
What’s that indeed! It was a Bobcat walking by just past the window on the west
side of the cabin. Maybe we should keep a camera inside the cabin too.
It was then I decided to get a couple of game cameras (also
called camera traps) and put them out to see what went on when we were not
there. Some of the best film of Siberian Tigers was shot with game cameras. Game cameras use motion sensors to trigger the
camera and can take infrared pictures at night also. They stand guard 24/7. The
cameras can be set for video and photographs. They even give the time and date
the photograph was taken. My “Truth Cam” also gives the temperature and the phase of the moon. I have
lots of photographs of a canvas cover for a table on our porch. When it blows
in the wind, it triggers the camera. The sensitivity of the motion sensor can
also be increased or decreased. The snow falling off the roof also triggers the camera. I take my laptop computer up with me to view and save the images on the memory cards.
A Game Camera
The Truth Cam uses “D” cell batteries which need replacing
about every six months. I also have a smaller Bushnell game camera that uses
double “A” batteries. It seems to last longer between changes. Deer seem to be
active day and night. We have had a doe and two fawns hanging around for quite
some time. She had a single new fawn this year.
What surprised me the most was the amount of nocturnal activity
that goes on out of sight. We got a picture of a Ringtail Cat (a relative of
the Raccoon family). I didn’t even know they existed. We also have a photograph
of a Screech Owl and a Grey Fox.
Ringtail Cat
Screech Owl
Grey Fox
Of course, there are coyotes, bears and mountain lions in
the area also. I have seen lion tracks in the snow above our cabin. We are
about 4,000’ in elevation and I think a hard winter with heavy snow would drive
the game and the animals that prey on them down to our elevation. We haven’t
had that kind of a winter since I installed the cameras.I would love to get a photograph of a mountain lion and of
course a photograph of a Sasquatch would be worth a ton of money.
We also get photographs people who happen to walk onto our
property. Some even come there after dark. So, the cameras are also security cameras
that let us know who is around when we are not.
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