Bobcat on my trailcam (video!)

[SnowHorse]

I got a trailcam about a year ago after I spotted a bobcat in the yard one morning. I knew they were around, I had just never seen one, except for one crossing the road almost 2 miles from here, many many years ago.

So, after testing several spots on the acreage, I finally caught the bobcat with the trailcam, on my 2nd ever video with it - the first one was a coyote. I've caught it a few times since then, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night.

Fast forward a year, I got a new trailcam - because you just get addicted to seeing the critters, and want more! - and only about an hour after setting it up I caught the bobcat, suspiciously checking out the camera, close up. It is SOO pretty, I just can't get over it! Crossing my fingers for more captures!

Here is the link --

https://youtu.be/3sHCSzmDBZg




In case you want to see more of the trailcam vids, they can be found here, and there are all kinds of critters in the compilations

https://www.youtube.com/user/pimmimemom/videos

[blob]

oh wow! Thanks for sharing. He/she sure is beautiful. And the picture on your camera is crystal clear!

What state do you live in? (not trying to be creepy, just curious where you're getting such lovely green moss and bobcats!)

[SnowHorse]

Yeah, that new camera seems to be even better than the "old" one, so far. That video would be absolutely perfect if the kitty wasn't just a tad too close for a tack sharp focus (it's slightly out-of-focus at this distance), and too low to be all in the frame in the beginning! So far, I love the quality!

We're in NE Oklahoma, quite rural

[piedmontfields]

That footage is awesome. Thanks for sharing!

[blob]

We're in NE Oklahoma, quite rural

Ah, interesting--I normally think of bobcats as being further west than OK. Of course, I don't actually know anything about which habitats they thrive in. Just wouldn't have guessed you'd find them scampering around in OK!

[Moutaineer]

Lovely. Crystal clear picture!

Isn't it interesting how very aware they are of any change to their environment. I'm assuming the camera is quite small. He/she? probably sat and watched you put it up.

I'd like a trailcam to put over in the woods near the stream. What model is yours--I think I'd like to get one for Christmas

We have a lot of bobcats here. Occasionally a newbie up here on the mountain will get all excited about seeing a mountain lion, only to be asked "how long was it's tail?" (We do have mountain lions but they do make strenuous efforts to be invisible, whereas the bobcats are a bit more nonchalant.)

[Koolkat]

I showed DH your video, he was duly impressed. We have FIVE trail cams in the upper pasture and thousands (and thousands) of pictures, cuz indeed, you do get addicted! I love watching him traipse out to his cameras in the morning, always looks like a kid at Christmas.

[khall]

So much fun to watch the wildlife! I've been wanting a trail cam as well, did not know they were videoing now so count me in on loving to know what cam you have.

I'm in Georgia, we have bobcat all around. We see them every now and then here on the farm. Last year we had some work done on the house and the workers videoed a large bobcat in our back yard smack dab in the middle of the day. Way cool to see him.

Most recently was the spike white tail eating acorns in our back yard, and then last year I looked out to see a flock of about 30 wild turkeys from small ones to full grown. I can hear them in the woods some days, the toms calling. We are supposed to have black bear, but never have seen one here though a friend down the road did see one at their house. The only wildlife I am not so keen on is the poisonous snakes, the timber rattlers that hang around and the dang copper head that tried to get in the house one night.

[clanter]

we had a Jaguarundi living in our back pasture for a little over a year... it was about 700 miles north of it normal habitat ...

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[Tarlo Farm]

Climate change Clanter. And what a great video! Looks like a young cat - not much tufting to the ears. Just amazing! What brand trail cam Snowhorse?

[Tarlo Farm]

And we have a lot of bobcat in Michigan too. More and more people see them lately, even in the Lower Penninsula.

[SnowHorse]

blob - bobcats are pretty much everywhere, except for the north - cold and snow is for lynxes, their paws and general build are made for snow



Mountaineer - I was thinking the same - s/he was probably watching me. That said, our "little" dog (BC x ACD) was out with me, and she would probably have spotted it? Who knows.



koolkat -- that's how I am -- can't wait to get out there to see what's on my cameras! That's why I had to get the 2nd one...LOL


The new camera is a Browning Recon Force Advantage. It's a so called "red glow" camera, so when the IR is on at night, it emits a red light that animals can see. This gives you a better night time pic (vid), and it's also a tad cheaper than a "no glow" camera. I wanted to see how it does vs. my old one, which is a "no glow" camera, a Browning Spec Ops Advantage.

When buying both, my #1 requirement was image quality, and while I wasn't disappointed with my old one, IMHO the new one is clearly better during daylight. I don't have much to compare in night time vids yet on the new camera, so I will have to wait and see how it does on that.

Supposedly, animals shouldn't be able to see the "no glow" camera light, but I've noticed that they DO see it, as they often look straight at the camera. At least it shouldn't be as obvious to them as the "red glow" camera.

There are also "white flash" trail cams, but I haven't tested them, as I think these two are better for the job.

Both these cameras are "full HD" video cameras - as in 1920x1080 pixels -- THAT SAID - they're interpolated, so they're not true full HD, to quote, "Interpolated images are created when the camera digitally adds extra pixels for every real pixel the camera creates". Unfortunately all trailcam makers do this, because most people wouldn't understand the difference. But if you know it, you can still choose wisely, and know what to expect.

And yes, both cameras can shoot stills, you can pick your shooting modes between time lapses and bursts. You can NOT, however, shoot both video and stills on the same camera at the same time. I choose videos because I think it gives me a way cooler way to see into the private lives of the wildlife.



But to all those who are thinking of getting a trailcam - I used trailcampro.com to make my choice for my 1st camera, but bought it elsewhere (my usual camera store), but then I bought my 2nd one from them, I saw no reason not to. I bought it on Friday afternoon, and Monday morning I picked it up at the post office. They have GREAT reviews on all cameras (including videos and pics from them), as well as a guide that will help you if you're a first time buyer. I go to the website all the time to compare the new models, LOL!

There are also some 4K cameras for sale now - BUT, all I've seen so far have a very low frame rate on video - so, you'd be getting a large resolution image / video, but the videos would be all blurry because the frame rate just can't keep up with the movement of wildlife. Both mine are 60fps during daylight, and even at that if you stop the video, you see blur.


Anyway, all the other trailcam videos on my youtube channel are from the old camera, so there's LOTS of wildlife to see - but nothing exotic...haha
The videos have been saved at MEDIUM quality setting, so they're probably not as good as they could be on the high setting, but the reason for that is because my compilations are LONG (several minutes), so the files get huge, and our very rural ISP connection is slow, so I don't want to spend a day in uploading the maximum size files. Just a FYI.

[Koolkat]

Really nice video sequence SnowHorse!

Here's a few stills from over the years. DH has 6200 pictures of elk (not counting the discarded ones, LOL)! And bears are his favorite and what started this, I didn't ask. . .

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[Koolkat]

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[SnowHorse]

koolkat -- awesome pics! Love the bobkitteh! The bears are great, too -- but I know I wouldn't be comfortable knowing they're around. There are some farther out east from here, though.

[Flight]

That was cool! The pic is so clear Thanks for sharing.

Koolkat - awesome pics too!

[redsoxluvr]

I have thought many times about putting up a game camera, but never have because I probably don't WANT to know what prowls around my barnyard.

[heddylamar]

Exotic wildlife, lol! Very cool!! I plan to put a few cameras on our property, either security or trailcams, depending on what fits my needs best once we're there. But I won't be getting pics of any interesting wildlife. Our area of MD is pretty built up, so a few deer, fox, and raccoons may be all I see.

I really just want the cameras for when we'll be off property for long stretches, so I can check fencelines and that all horses are still on 4 legs.

[acheyarcher]

wow I envy you your wonderful home environments that allow these great creatures to share. Lovely footage of the bobcat, Snow Horse, He spotted that foreign item (camera) right away.

one of the most memorable experiences while riding, I had just mounted and was walking in the arena. I was alone as it was not yet evening time for most boarders. I spotted a Bobcat outside the arena and asked Jay to halt. He stood patiently while I watched the bobcat hunt and catch a vole, about 5 minutes total.

When I rode at night, particularly in the winter, I would hear sometimes hear the bobcat couple call. We have one that we occasionally spot around work, it has been pushed around by the loss of woodlands in the sprawling suburb

[SnowHorse]

Bobcats are such beautiful creatures, and it's not very often that one gets to see them, so it feels like a major privilege when it happens


If anyone is on the fence about getting a trailcam - the thought of getting one was on my mind for years - but after spotting that bobkitteh in the yard I HAD to get one, and I certainly haven't regretted it. One of the best purchases ever!



Last night I caught a coyote with the new camera- s/he definitely spotted the camera, but wasn't alarmed about it.

[SnowHorse]

I just realized my old camera is not the Spec Ops Advantage, but the Spec Ops Extreme. It's a discontinued model, so the one I thought it was is probably the closest to the same camera available now.

[SnowHorse]

I added a new set of video clips, the bobcat shows up a few times among the other wildlife

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S_XY5ytwDs

[khall]

We apparently don't need a trail cam, our bobcats showed up, at least their kittens did 11/18 in our back yard during the day. We had seen momma or daddy this time last year in the back yard, some workers got video of him/her. Broad daylight, apparently unconcerned about the humans that were working at the house about 100 ft away.

Just a few weeks ago we had a small buck eating acorns in our back yard within 50 ft of the house. Totally unconcerned I was bringing horses in. I know even more show up at night, i've seen the foot prints they have left in all the mud we have right now.

[SnowHorse]

khall -- lucky you!!

The wildlife around here is super skittish - deer, turkeys, Pileated woodpeckers, coyotes, bobcats.... if they see you, they're GONE. 400 feet away? Gone.

So, I gotta have a trail cam to see any -- LOL!!

[Moutaineer]

So interesting, Snowhorse, They know something is there, don't they!

Whatever dead thing was out there, they sure were taking full advantage of, too.

[SnowHorse]

Yeah, they do spot the cameras, no glow or red glow - I've also noticed they make a "click" when the videos start, and no doubt they can hear it. Wild animals wouldn't live long out there if they weren't aware of changes in their environment!

That dead thing was a deer head - no skin, no meat left, except the tongue in the beginning where the buzzard was ripping it out. There is a taxidermy place not far from us, and they dump all the "spare parts" out in a field, and coyotes tote them around. Our dogs found that head left behind by coyotes, and I stole it from them and took it back to the camera - which means I took it about halfway back to where it originally came from. As they say - nature doesn't waste anything - everything gets recycled by someone or something.

End of November and start of December have been slow - just birds and squirrels on video. I hope it picks up a little.

[Tuddy]

Thanks for sharing these!

[Tarlo Farm]

I added a new set of video clips, the bobcat shows up a few times among the other wildlife

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S_XY5ytwDs

I could spend half a day watching these! Love the coyote at about the 2min mark. He/she slips and looks back as if it was the fault of something else. Wonder what the hawk was doing?

[Tarlo Farm]

I must have missed it - do you have several cameras up, or are you turning one to get different angles?

[SnowHorse]

Tarlo - I do have two cameras, but I also move them somewhat often. If it looks like I'm not getting anything decent for a while, I move them to different spots on the property.
In that last set from 1:48 into the video the cameras are in the same spot, but pointing to opposite directions - so, the bobcat at about 2:03 is the same as the one in the next clip at 2:19 - it was first drinking in one camera, then moved towards south, and into the viewing area of the other camera. You can tell the two cameras apart as the new one has the info strip on bottom (date, time, etc), in the old camera it's off, so it's not visible.


The hawk must have caught something - it's a pity it was JUST on the very edge (for some reason the hawk I caught before managed to also stay on the edge, every time!) so you can't see it properly
That morning there was a pretty good size garter snake without its head on top of a log just above this camera spot - so it may have been left by the hawk when I approached, and the hawk came back to finish it up when I was gone. Just guessing, but would make sense.

[Koolkat]

More great footage, Snowhorse, really nice quality. What kind of woodpecker is that?

Here are some more of our locals (the last 2 w/DH's Canon):

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[SnowHorse]

Koolkat -- how in the world is that coyote pic in colors in the dark? Does the camera have a flash instead of infra red?

Love Mantids, they're so cool!
The Elk is magnificent!

I think the woodpecker is a juvenile Red-headed woodpecker - his head is still dark instead of being bright red. There's a lot of them, and they're loud, LOL!

[Koolkat]

The coyote pic is early morning, that camera is on a game trail that emerges from deep woods, depending on time of day, you get strong shadow formation. DH said that mantis was disconcerting, it was looking right back at him while he photographed it, seemed to be sizing him up!!

We have 5 species of woodpeckers here, but no redheads, they're beautiful! We do have sapsuckers which look quite a bit like them (smaller), one of their quirks is they like to find wood posts with metal caps, lol.

Keep those videos coming!

[SnowHorse]

Oh, that makes sense (shadows!).

Yeahs, mantids are like that, I've taken pics of several, and they just turn their head and loooooooook at you. They're pretty awesome.... until they catch a pretty butterfly and suck it dry... LOL!

We also have several different woodpeckers, plus sapsuckers and flickers. The trees around the gully where I caught the best bobcat video are mostly rotting, and the woodpeckers love them.

I moved the cameras a few days ago, and again this morning as I wasn't getting anything but birds and squirrels. I'm sooo impatient and I keep switching spots. Last year about this time when the old camera was still new I wasn't getting anything at all - so maybe it's just the time of year that keeps the animals hiding. I'm never happy anyway unless I catch the bobkitteh...LOL!!

[piedmontfields]

SnowHorse, your creek spot is awesome---it gets so much action! I'm pretty much planning on getting DH/us a camera for his bday. We have a lot of what you have plus the occasional black bear. I wish we had reliable water---that is clearly the place to put a single camera.

BTW, in E TN we have pileated woodpeckers plus, hairy, downy, red-headed and red-belly woodpeckers, plus northern flickers. We see all of them pretty regularly (on 20 acres). Alas, we have a *lot* of prime woodpecker trees aka snags.

[SnowHorse]

piedmont -- I love the creek area because it's so pretty. However, here in the last week or more I wasn't getting anything but squirrels and birds. There's an opening in the pasture in a flat spot where I've had a fairly good luck when everything else has failed. However, that's usually when the horses are NOT in that pasture, and now they're there. I put one of the cameras there this morning, and the other closer to the creek, but still in the pasture (the creek area is not pasture). So we'll see if I have more luck there now.

[piedmontfields]

Yes, the creek is gorgeous! That is a regret I have with our property. In our region, it really is possible to wish for a waterfall or cascade, but we just have draws down our hill.

Our dogs (pointers) live during the day in a serious multi-run kennel surrounded by several acres of fenced land. I'm always amazed by who leaves the fenced area when I bring the pointers out in the AM! (they are house dogs at night). I would think wildlife would skip that acreage but they don't.

[SnowHorse]

I keep moving the cameras again, as I'm not getting anything worthwhile. The new camera was in the pasture where the horses are, and one of them kept spooking at it every time he walked by. Apparently the red light IR it gives out is really obvious. That said, my younger gelding doesn't spook at it at all, but walks right up and starts pushing it around, even when I had it strapped to a tree. That little $#it, LOL! Oftentimes I have the cameras on a small post or some sticks that I can attach somewhere without hurting a tree. Just the basic strapping straight to a tree doesn't give easy ways to adjust and fine tune the direction, and sometimes there is no suitable tree available where I want the camera, either.

[Fatcat]

How do you all protect your trailcams from the weather? I have one that I put out during the summer, but once the rains start I bring it in. I would like to leave it out year 'round though.

[SnowHorse]

Fatcat - have you checked if your camera is waterproof?

My cameras are water proof, leaving them out in rain and snow is OK. The only trouble I get is when it rains so the water droplets get on the lens, you only get blur, or a foggy looking pic. I imagine if we got a lot of snow you might have a problem with snow piling up, too, and causing visibility problems, but we don't get enough snow to worry about. I check my cameras every morning anyway, so I can clean them up. Also, if I know we're getting rain I make sure to turn the camera away from the wind to minimize the chances of rain on the lens.

I have a clip from last summer when we had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night, and a raccoon was wandering near the camera. You can see the lighting flashing on the video. Then, a coyote comes by, and for whatever reason, doesn't see the raccoon that's just on the edge of the camera view, and as the coyote almost bumps into the raccoon, a lightning flashes and the raccoon runs towards the camera in panic.

It's in the very beginning of this one -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlziusWOyQE

[Fatcat]

Fatcat - have you checked if your camera is waterproof?

Thanks, I'll have to check to see. It's a Spypoint. It's fun to see what's wandering through (and scary, we've had cougars)

[SnowHorse]

Yeah, a cougar would scare me, too!
But, you can get neat pics or video of them if they come around!

[Tarlo Farm]

Snowhorse, I love these! Man, you have a MOST aggressive magpie in your neighborhood! What's it trying to take from the squirrel about two minutes in?

[SnowHorse]

Tarlo - it's a Mockingbird! And the squirrel has an apple, I think, but the Mockingbird nest was kinda close by, so she didn't want the darn squirrel there! On a later day I saw her chasing off a coyote, I just didn't get pics with my camera, and I had JUST moved the trailcam from there! Curiously enough, she was cool with me near the nest!

[SnowHorse]

After TWO whole months of no bobcat sightings on the cameras I was getting sad. I just looked through the SD cards from last night, and the bobcat was stalking on a rabbit in the darkness! The clips only last 20 secs at night, so in the first one the bobcat stalks the rabbit for the duration, then the next clip is SIX minutes later when the happy hunter jogs out of the view carrying the night's feast.

That was quite the comeback; I'm going to make a compilation of all the clips in a few days, and share the mighty hunter, too!

[piedmontfields]

Wow, that is quite a scene to capture! Look forward to your update.

I got my DH the latest camera you got from trail pro. It is very high quality footage, but we haven't captured anything interesting yet (deer, rabbits). He keeps moving it and experimenting with it (time series), which is fine by me.

[SnowHorse]

Piedmont -

There really haven't been many animals to see in the last two months - coyotes and raccoons mostly. I haven't seen any deer in several months, only assorted body parts that coyotes drop off after picking them up from the neighbor's place

I hope your DH is loving the camera! The coyotes around here seem to notice the red glow on that camera at night, and lots of times it scares them. The night quality vs. the old camera is definitely noticeable, however, the old one seems almost painfully blurry.

[SnowHorse]

OK, finally got it all together -

https://youtu.be/yoG_aPPuD4M

The bobcat stalking is at 2:00 mark!



I also uploaded December videos, the compilation is at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LazWqxDU18

[piedmontfields]

Very cool!

My husband is enjoying his new game camera. At one point, he arranged it to shoot our dog kennels (our pointers are out in kennels during the day, in the house at night). It is hysterical watching deer and rabbits cruise by the dogs like they (the dogs) are are in a shark cage. We are also seeing that our older pointer is WAY more energetic during the day than our younger pointer, who tends to sleep most of the time.

Next up is spying on our main veg growing plot to see who is violating the electric fence!

[SnowHorse]

Haha - wild animals know they're safe while the dogs are in there! You need to put a few clips of it on youtube!

...the garden plot, too, once you catch the violators on camera!