Night visitors

Yes, they are fairly easy to setup. If you can operate a smartphone then you can also operate one of these motion detection cameras.

Mine is a generic model (Trail Camera RD1000).

One of the most difficult decisions you will have to make is where and how to mount the camera. Mine can be strapped against a tree or lamppost but I use the supplied ball-and-socket joint swivel arm bracket and mounting plate - the supplied nuts were of poor quality so I replaced them with stainless steel ones instead.

The other difficult decision is how and when you want the camera to respond to detected movement.

I just used a trial and error method for the latter.

 

Last night I placed dog food behind the large rock to see what animals it would attract. I have no idea of what this LARGE animal is; it appears to be some sort of cat. For reference, the rock is very large and difficult to lift. Also for reference I have included a photo of a domestic feral cat that also shows up several times each night. Whatever the big animal is, I would not like to meet it in the dark.

 

I posted the images on a domestic gardening forum that has folks from all over the US, many of whom have farms, so far they are stumped. But they agree it is a big fella, whatever it is. Better image.

 

Intriguing! The tail suggests a large cat but the rounded tops to the ears suggest otherwise. Is it a black racoon?

 

The face is not right for a raccoon, it is more cat like. And, that is a big rock and it seem to have a body too long for a coon.

 

It looks a bit like one of my neighbours cats which is the size of a small corgi. It's long haired though and has a good appetite There are though some large breeds of pedigree domestic cat like the Chausie for example. Not sure if it's one of these...



The average weight of a Chausie is 20lbs

 

The majority of people on another forum think it is an unneautered domestic house cat living wild. They claim that they can weigh twenty five to thirty five pounds. On occasion I will find a bloody piece of rabbit fur or feathers scattered around the property.

 

From what I can see of the deer they appear to be in great shape for this time of year.

 

There's plenty of activity on your property hydro Very interesting stuff! Thanks for the info you and MrQ posted further up the thread. I'm definitely going to get a camera ...I'll do a bit more research first.

 

Too bad I had the camera directed at the rock. I was trying to photograph the smaller animals that seem to prefer that location, so I only got the hind end of the deer. They passed through ten minutes after I turned the camera on so I just missed them myself. They seem to parade in the same direction every night; sometimes returning in the opposite direction several hours later. On rare occasions they are out during the daylight hours. I don't mind having them around, but they do a lot of damage to the tomato plants during the summer.

At times they seem to think that they own the place, while I am the intruder.

 

It's funny the way they always go in the same direction. Maybe they're creatures of habit or they're used to that particular path and don't want to get lost in the dark!! Anything interesting turn up tonight?

 

It may be something to do with the areas they graze. The hill sheep here always seem to be in the same places at certain times of the day.

 

Up until now the winter has been fairly mild, however, a cold front from Canada has settled in so the temperature last night was -15 C. I am reluctant to bring the camera from warm to intense cold and back again in the morning. As it is, when I bring it in condensation forms on the camera, even in the cooler basement area. It may warm up later in the week, so I can resume placing it outdoors. At some point I am going to place the cameras on my son's property. It is rural and he has a good sized wooded lot. We intend to place some dog food around to see what we can attract. My son claims he can hear coyotes, and I would like a photo of one of them. My son took the photo below last spring in back of his home. The Conservation Department came and got this big fella because there are too many small children in his area. And, getting him was no easy chore, we said he was just looking for love in all the wrong places.

 

-15C is cold! Makes sense not to bring the camera in and out. Nice photo. I'm trying to imagine one of them in my garden

 

I bet he weighs quite a bit!