May 5, 2019
So I had every intention of posting a March game camera report, I even had the photos sorted and ready to go. But I lost my mojo to sit down and write it out and put it all together. April was simply just too busy a month for me, and as it turns out, a busy month for the wildlife in the woods. The last two months provided for a nice variety of creatures on the St. Louis County game cameras as you will see below.
Turkeys like to pose for camera
The game cameras captured images of turkeys at both properties, including the first time ever for the farm location. Many of the photos show the turkeys posing broadside directly in front of the camera, strutting their stuff. In fact I hardly even have a bad picture of any of them. While they do show up on a fairly regular basis, numbers of turkeys seem to be down quite a bit on the property. The below header may offer a clue as to why.
A good month for predators
Bobcats and coyotes were recorded at both properties as well. In fact, one camera captured numerous images of a bobcat on several different days. I’m always fascinated by these animals, even if they may be cutting into the turkey population a bit.
Deer in transition
The past few months offered many great views of whitetail deer as well as some insight into their behavior and life cycle. The cameras recorded deer still holding antlers as late as April 7th. We also have some great photos of new antlers growing on several deer later in the month. Some of the does on the game cameras appear to be pregnant, and most of the deer are in larger groups. Also, a few of the older deer that we have seen the past few years seem to have made it through another winter. Should be fun to watch them progress through the year.
The other animals
I’m still so easily amused by the other ‘non-target’ animals that appear on the game cameras. This month we had plenty of squirrels, rabbits, opossum, songbirds, woodchucks, and a few skunks. We even had our typical tresspasser or two, and as always I’m just thankful that they haven’t bothered the cameras or stands. It would be cooler if they just wouldn’t tresspass in the first place but its amazing what you settle for sometimes.
So what’s next?
May promises to be exciting with certainly some new fawns on the way soon and more antler growth from the whitetail bucks. Should be interesting to see if the bobcats stick around, and maybe they will even have kittens. Hopefully the turkeys survive, and I know of a nest near one of the cameras so hopefully the eggs hatch successfully. But you never know what might appear on these hidden cameras, so I’m already looking forward to see what secrets they share this month.
