A Trail Camera Knows

Original Article A Trail Cam Knows Published by Whitetail Unlimited

I didn't know that my food plots were being eaten so heavily until I put out one of those exclusion cages in each plot. After a few weeks, I could see the oats and clover were being fed upon heavily. Now, how do I find out how many deer are eating on the plots?

This is just one example of the many emails we received after running the Food Plot Doctor column entitled, Measure Usage of Your Food Plot, in the Summer 2012 issue of Whitetails Unlimited. Many food plot managers think that their planted crops are short and growing close to the ground because of poor soil conditions or fertilizer, or something they did wrong, when it is really a result of heavy deer foraging. The exclusion cages will usually point that out quickly.

Then the next question to answer is: Just how many deer are feeding on the plot? This is where the trail camera becomes a food plot manager's favorite tool.

It's a Numbers Game

It comes as no surprise to most food plot managers that the majority of foraging on food plots is done at night. For that reason, it's very difficult to know how many deer are feeding on each plot. Placing one or two trail cameras on each food plot and setting the timer to go off every five minutes when there is motion in the field is a good starting point to find out. You may want images on a more frequent basis as you get experience with the cameras.

A trail camera set on a food plot reveals a lot about what is happening in the plot.A trail camera set on a food plot reveals a lot about what is happening in the plot.

Depending upon the size and shape of the food plot, one camera may cover the whole area, or it may take several. Since the cameras are expensive, I try to find an area where most of the deer are entering the plot and set my camera there. Trial and error will help you determine the number of cameras needed to see how many deer are feeding in a given plot.

Food Preference Can be Determined

Trail cameras can also be used to determine exactly what food plot crops the deer in your area prefer. Last year I planted a small food plot in strips of various fall crops. Then I placed a camera on each side of the plot. The plot was heavily used but it became evident after a few weeks as to which crop the deer went to first. Pictures don't lie.

Time of Use

When you set up your camera, be sure to correctly set the date, time, and temperature functions. This allows you to pattern deer and their movements based on conditions such as moon phase, human activity in the area, weather, and so on. I have a camera out on a one-acre food plot and at noon each day, two older 8-pointers ease into the field for about 20 minutes. Then they return at 1:00 a.m. for a longer feeding session. Without the trail cameras, I would never see this pattern. By watching where they enter the plot each day, it is easy to determine a location to set up a stand and know when to be in it.

Competitive Use May Surprise You

I worked on one property where the small strip food plots in a bottom area were eaten down to the ground, but the owner's sons who hunted the plots complained of never seeing any deer. I set up trail cameras on each of the plots and waited to see the images they captured. Quickly, I was able to show the family what was getting fat on the plot crops beaver. A creek was near the plots and each night several beaver would emerge at dark and feed until full. They left little for the deer.

Wild hog, black bear, and large flocks of wild turkey can become a problem, and often the plot manager will not know it until a camera captures the culprit. I have learned the hard way that bear can enjoy playing with an expensive trail camera and destroy it, so if you are in bear country, special care needs to be taken to protect the camera.

Presence of Predators

Each food plot takes on a personality of its own based on the soil, the weather patterns, and what is going on in the area. On one property, I worked with a once highly productive food plot, in terms of attracting good bucks. Suddenly the plot became almost void of deer. Puzzled, since the plot had a lush growth of white clover and winter wheat, I set up a trail camera and found that the plot was visited almost every night by two young bobcats. The plot was good hunting grounds for cottontail rabbits and the young cats were taking advantage of the easy meals, so the frightened deer moved out and were eating elsewhere.

As I write this, I have just read about two trail cameras in Illinois that are capturing photos of mountain lions far from where they are expected. Often, images of coyote in surprising numbers are captured with a camera and help explain why a plot may not get the use it once did. Clearly, trail cameras can help answer lots of questions that we once could not explain.

Trail Cameras and Trespassers Don't Mix

Placing a trail camera on the edge or out in a food plot makes it easy for trespassers to spot if it is not well camouflaged. Many trail cameras are stolen each year by trespassers, so be sure to hide your cameras well on land that is not secure, and do not show your images to anyone but trusted friends. Boasting at the crossroads store about your images can tell thieves where a trail camera is located.

On the other hand, trail cameras are being used more and more to catch trespassers slipping in on food plots to hunt. Your local conservation officer always appreciates a good photo of a poacher, complete with an accurate time and date attached.

Cameras Can be a Vital Part of a Property Deer Survey

For those who want to get more involved with getting a professional deer survey conducted on their property, there is one survey technique that utilizes the use of trail cameras at food plots, bait stations, and other calculated areas. These surveys, when conducted with great care and know-how, can produce valuable deer management information on a property such as:

• Ratio of doe to bucks
• Population density
• Population health
• Antler quality
• Fawn recruitment
• Age distribution

The details of conducting such a survey are much too involved to discuss here, but an excellent book produced by the Quality Deer Management Association entitled Deer Cameras The Science of Scouting, devotes much attention to running such a survey.

From a hunter's perspective, the use of trail cameras on food plots provides a lot of insight into what is going on at the food plots, 24/7. It tells you not only how many deer are coming to the plot to eat, but also the quality of the bucks, the time they visit, where they enter the field, if they are using a mineral lick or not, movement at various temperatures, and if unique bucks are using more than one food plot on your property.

Trail cameras are a good way to learn how the deer in your area respond to weather events, moon phases, and farming activity. Those who plant food plots on a year-round basis can even learn a lot about deer during the months when surrounding native food is abundant, and what to plant when. I always enjoy hearing from hunters who have planted food plots and set up cameras and see bucks they normally don't see on their property. It is a good way to meet nocturnal bucks.

Tips to Keep the Camera Working

The cameras I have been using include the Leupold RCX-2 system of multiple cameras for large food plots, the Bushnell Trophy Cam with its excellent night vision, and PlotWatcher Pro, which is a good long-range camera with an excellent field of view. I use these cameras to get photos and videos of deer on food plots, and have found that with reasonable care, they are tough and give excellent results in all kinds of weather.

Predators in your food plot can have a significant influence on how many deer are in the area. Seeing an occasional coyote may not be a problem, but if you constantly find predators on your trail camera photos, you may not see many deer.

• Start with fresh batteries and an empty memory card. Keep extras with you when you visit the camera.
• Try to position the camera so that it is facing north or south to keep the sun from backlighting the subject.
• Keep the camera lens clean. Clean with a lens pen each time you visit the camera.
• Keep the camera human-scent free. Use gloves when handling.
• Hide cameras to avoid theft, but keep limbs, brush, and so on from blocking the view of the lens.
• Take the time to set up the camera at the correct height, and position it to be straight and level. Take a few trial photos to assure that you will get the images/video you want.
• Think about the location of your cameras and what potentially can happen. I have a friend who had three cameras set up on food plots that were adjacent to a creek. A flash flood got all three.

Trail cameras have allowed us to scout around the clock, seven days a week. By using trail cameras on food plots, we now know more than ever before about what the deer that use those plots do, and want. It's just a matter of us acting upon what we learn.