Wisconsin is an amazing state full of lush forests and abundant wildlife. It is pretty amazing what you can catch on camera these days. One of my favorite ways to catch the outdoor action is with game cameras placed in different spots on the property.
We use a couple of Moultree cameras purchased about 5 years ago at Gander Mountain. These cameras work quite well, but are not as sophisticated as what you will find on the shelf now.
Over lunch, I walked out to get the mail and grab the SD cards from the cameras. It is like Christmas each time I put one in my computer to see what is inside. So far I have seen cats, dogs, coyotes, buzzards, deer (bucks, does and babies), raccoons, crows, squirrels and turkeys. Today, I hit the jackpot with camera 2. As you can see from the pictures that follow, many different animals stopped by to get their picture taken in this two-week period:
The first image is of a very young buck that survived the fall hunt. He looks to be a spike, but there are shadows of tines. Next year he could have quite a pretty rack. When it comes to capturing images of deer, the time-frame is split pretty much 50/50. We see bucks, does and fawns both in the dead of night as well as midday equally.
Next is a turkey. This is just one of several flocks of turkeys we have roaming around the place. I have seen pictures of over a dozen snapped by camera 1 near the front of our property. Who knows – maybe this fella was taking up the rear and moving quickly. Over the years, it is not uncommon to take turkey pictures exclusively during the day as they roost in the trees come night fall.
The third picture is of a raccoon. So far I have only seen one in the pictures taken by our cameras this year, but who knows, we may get lucky enough to see babies at some point in the spring. These fellas only show up on camera at night, much like the coyotes.
The last image is of one of the coyotes we have in the area. While I have seen both coyotes and wolves during the day while out riding, I have never seen them on camera except at night. Over the last few years, the population of coyotes and wolves alike has increased; however, from what I have seen, they are not increasing drastically in this area.
What has increased; however, is the turkey population. As a girl, I remember enormous herds of deer in the farmer’s fields, but very few turkeys. Thirty years later, it is the turkey that predominates and the deer that are less abundant.
What type of wildlife do you see when you are out walking or driving near your home?
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