February 26th 2012

Nothing from the scouting camera this week, much to my surprise after the multiple shots of raccoon and deer from the week before. Batteries hanging on at about 80%, so that wasn't the issue either. The past week has been mostly warm, with some heavy rains Friday night that left some soggy ground in places. Where I'm accustomed to seeing raccoon tracks along the stream I saw these, which could be raccoon but seem too small and missing the fifth digit:

Maybe from a fox? Who knows. My tracking ID skills are marginal at best. Whatever the case, the skunk cabbage is sprouting apace:

A year ago it would have had to melt its way through about 18 inches of snow at this time.

The big news is that after a lot of hemming and hawing I took the plunge and set the camera up near this magnificent snag:

I've walked by it dozens of times now, and noticed the many cavities and scrapes along the surface of the trunk:

Also found some evidence of rodent nesting material at the base, which hopefully would attract animals that hunt rodents:

So those are the good points. More problematic is the snag's location relative to the school's ballfield, which can be seen in the pictures. The most logical spot for the camera is barely off the main trail heading into the woods as well. The pine sapling that was best placed has no low branches or any other shrub cover nearby. Camouflaging the camera was a challenge and involved piling up oak and pine branches and hoping they don't get blown directly in front of the camera lens. I'm not even convinced the pile of branches is enough cover, although I suppose if you're not looking directly at the camera it will avoid detection.

No ticks today, I stayed out of the thicker undergrowth.