Interesting Trail Cam Study

[Ski]

This is a long listen but well worth the info in it.

 

[BSK]

I don't have time this morning to listen to the whole thing, but I can't wait to see the whole interview/study. I wonder how much it will or won't correspond to the data I've been collecting on fall daylight buck activity.

 

[Ski]

I don't have time this morning to listen to the whole thing, but I can't wait to see the whole interview/study. I wonder how much it will or won't correspond to the data I've been collecting on fall daylight buck activity.

I run cams in TN and OH, on 6 different properties. The study in the video was conducted in PA. Still yet, the similarities between the study and my own cam Intel were uncanny.

 

[Trnr]

Ski, you beat me to the punch! Lol. I watched that too. Interesting observations, I'll be curious to see everyone else's thought when comparing to their data. I've only been logging information consistently for the last year so it's hard for me to compare my notes with theirs.

BSK, I really enjoy reading about your findings so really curious to get your thoughts when you have the time

 

[Ski]

Ski, you beat me to the punch! Lol. I watched that too. Interesting observations, I'll be curious to see everyone else's thought when comparing to their data. I've only been logging information consistently for the last year so it's hard for me to compare my notes with theirs.

BSK, I really enjoy reading about your findings so really curious to get your thoughts when you have the time

I went as far as to cross reference their data sheet with my daytime catches, and was pretty surprised that enough of the dates overlapped that it's not a coincidence. I didn't go through every single line item that didn't match but I did a few & found they were different weather patterns due to being different regions. Case in point, a NW cold front might smother NE PA and completely miss TN. But the pattern of correlating daylight activity with low temps is sot on.

The difference in Sherk's study and the info I record is that he didn't include wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, or anything else. He only referenced temperature. For simplicity sake I understand that but boy I wish he'd have noted more details. For instance, I have noticed that a very high percentage of my daylight catches corresponded to lulls in the wind direction. For example, the first pic below was a buck who showed up on Oct. 19th at 10am. Temp had risen 20* since daylight and still climbing, but the wind direction at that specific time was changing from south to north, stayed that way until almost 2pm, then shifted south again. That buck was on camera all day long.

The next buck was Dec 31 and it was nearly 60*, but at 7am when he was literally wading the creek bottom, it was raining. It rained for an hour that day and that's it. During that hour the wind shifted twice from south to north to east.

So while I find Sherk's study interesting and largely spot on, I feel there may be more to the movement than just temperature. I always cross reference my cam catches with Weather Underground to see what was going on at the precise day and time the buck was in front of camera. Almost every single time I catch a mature buck moving in daylight, something odd is happening with the weather. Sometimes it's temp drops, but I think the temp drop is only a byproduct of the weather change. I think the weather change in whole is what puts the bucks on their feet, especially wind direction change, not necessarily temp drop alone. Both of the bucks below are warm weather getting warmer. Given that bucks often bed in places that allow them an advantage of some sort, when the wind direction changes it makes sense that the buck will relocate. That's my theory at least. I'll find out for sure this season because I'm specifically going to focus on days with major wind direction changes during daylight hours.

 

[JN]

I don't have time this morning to listen to the whole thing, but I can't wait to see the whole interview/study. I wonder how much it will or won't correspond to the data I've been collecting on fall daylight buck activity.

You posted a graph once showing days with the most buck sightings and it was close to what I have had as well. I use to keep an excel spreadsheet with days and sightings but have not kept up with it in several years but have a mental note around these days you need to be sitting in the woods some place.

As for the video it will be on my watchlist tonight.

 

[Trnr]

Great info Ski. I'm with you, I wish they would have recorded other factors outside of temperature. I hunt almost exclusively public land so this year I'm expanding my data to include vehicles and "observed" hunter locations.

Don't get me wrong I'm not going to wander the woods looking for other people, but generally speaking where I hunt it's the same guys and gals all the time (outside of ML and modern firearm opening days) and we all are usually pretty good about communicating general areas we'll be and give each other plenty of space. It'll be fun if I can get enough consistent data to develop accurate theories

 

[Ski]

I hunt almost exclusively public land so this year I'm expanding my data to include vehicles and "observed" hunter locations.

It'll be fun if I can get enough consistent data to develop accurate theories

That's a great idea! I hadn't thought of including human intrusion before. Makes total sense, though. Let us know how that pans out if you don't mind.

 

[BSK]

I have not tried to link my trail-cam data to weather conditions, which is primarily what the researcher in the video has been doing. However, I've linked hunter observations of bucks to weather conditions for many years and that data would link fairly well the data in the video. I would agree temperature is quite important, although not as "absolute" as some hunters might imagine. And by that I mean warmer than normal weather doesn't guarantee bad hunting, but it decreases the odds of good activity. Colder weather increases the odds of good activity. For example, when highs are 70 degrees, over time you might see good activity only 3 hunts out of 10. But when the highs are 50, you see good activity 6 hunts out of 10. Warmer weather didn't guarantee poor results, it just decreased the odds of good results. Colder weather didn't guarantee good results, it just increased the odds of good results.

 

[redblood]

I went as far as to cross reference their data sheet with my daytime catches, and was pretty surprised that enough of the dates overlapped that it's not a coincidence. I didn't go through every single line item that didn't match but I did a few & found they were different weather patterns due to being different regions. Case in point, a NW cold front might smother NE PA and completely miss TN. But the pattern of correlating daylight activity with low temps is sot on.

The difference in Sherk's study and the info I record is that he didn't include wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, or anything else. He only referenced temperature. For simplicity sake I understand that but boy I wish he'd have noted more details. For instance, I have noticed that a very high percentage of my daylight catches corresponded to lulls in the wind direction. For example, the first pic below was a buck who showed up on Oct. 19th at 10am. Temp had risen 20* since daylight and still climbing, but the wind direction at that specific time was changing from south to north, stayed that way until almost 2pm, then shifted south again. That buck was on camera all day long.

The next buck was Dec 31 and it was nearly 60*, but at 7am when he was literally wading the creek bottom, it was raining. It rained for an hour that day and that's it. During that hour the wind shifted twice from south to north to east.

So while I find Sherk's study interesting and largely spot on, I feel there may be more to the movement than just temperature. I always cross reference my cam catches with Weather Underground to see what was going on at the precise day and time the buck was in front of camera. Almost every single time I catch a mature buck moving in daylight, something odd is happening with the weather. Sometimes it's temp drops, but I think the temp drop is only a byproduct of the weather change. I think the weather change in whole is what puts the bucks on their feet, especially wind direction change, not necessarily temp drop alone. Both of the bucks below are warm weather getting warmer. Given that bucks often bed in places that allow them an advantage of some sort, when the wind direction changes it makes sense that the buck will relocate. That's my theory at least. I'll find out for sure this season because I'm specifically going to focus on days with major wind direction changes during daylight hours.

Interesting for sure. But those appear to be immature bucks. Living where i do 24/7/365 i can tell you that unpressured young bucks are always moving. I would be curious to see weathet effects on mature bucks

 

[BSK]

I have two different trail-camera studies I'm working on. One involves all buck movement, and I'm primarily looking at trends in peak buck activity by date and then by hour of the day. And I've also been looking at the differences between good acorn and poor acorn years. I'm also able to break the data down by buck age. This study uses data from all camera locations, no matter what the camera is pointed at. My second study involves just buck scraping activity, and only uses cameras pointed at scrapes and only data from bucks that interact with the scrape (data from bucks just "walking by" is excluded). This study is looking at peak dates and times of actual scrape interactions, and the types of scrape interactions that occur (working the overhanging limb, actually working the scrape itself, etc.), as well as differences in these trends by buck age.

 

[Ski]

Interesting for sure. But those appear to be immature bucks. Living where i do 24/7/365 i can tell you that unpressured young bucks are always moving. I would be curious to see weathet effects on mature bucks

I consider anything 4yrs+ mature, especially right here in Coffee Co. where we have more hunters than deer. Due to having them on camera for years, I'm fairly certain they're both 4yr olds. But for fun here's some that are zero doubt mature The deer below are not from Coffee Co., unfortunately.


First pic was inside a 2hr window of 6mph east wind. Each side of that window was north winds of near zero. He was up & moving during the wind shift.

Second pic was inside a 4hr window of 0mph north wind. Each side of that lull was 4mph-6mph westerly winds. He's in the middle of a plot tearing up a scrape at almost 1pm.

Third pic is around 7am, right at daylight. He's there for almost an hour in the wide open woods. Aside from that scrape vine, which he ignored, there is a water tank just outside camera view. Beginning at 2am there was a steady 3mph south wind, then at 5am it died to a 0mph north, and picked back up to a 3mph south wind again at 8am. He was in that spot almost the entire time the wind was lull.

Fourth pic is 930am with a less than one hour 0mph north wind lull. Leading up to it was sustained 6mph-10mph NW wind. After the short lull it was 6mph-10mph NE wind. He was in broad bright sun hitting a scrape right smack dab in the lull between wind direction shift.

I've got many examples of this over several years, on several properties in two states. In nearly every daylight cam capture I have of a "big" buck, there's a dead time window of low or no wind while the direction of the wind is changing. It's not coincidence. What I do not know is if they're reacting to the change, or the cause of the change. For direction and speed of wind to change in such a short time frame, it generally means a change in pressure. Either a front is approaching or else moving out. I also do not know how thermals play a role. That change in weather usually means change in temp, wind, precipitation, pressure, everything. That all also effects thermal breezes, and that's something not outlined or recorded on weather sites. I'm still trying to figure it all out, but so far am convinced that a major shift in wind, even if brief, increases my chance of seeing a buck in daylight.

 

[BSK]

Fascinating stuff Ski.

 

[Ski]

Fascinating stuff Ski.

Yessir, TY. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot on its own, but when overlaying it with other data like the study in the video, or your study of hunter sightings, I can begin to pick out captures/sightings where multiple specific conditions accumulate. Going forward I can look at the forecast to see times where these "stars align" and plan on being in the woods for it. Doesn't mean I won't hunt because everything isn't perfect, and doesn't mean I'll be disappointed if they do and I see nothing that day. But it sure helps me understand buck behavior a little better, and possibly lets me know that I should be in the woods on Tuesday lunch hour rather than in the shop.

 

[BSK]

Yessir, TY. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot on its own, but when overlaying it with other data like the study in the video, or your study of hunter sightings, I can begin to pick out captures/sightings where multiple specific conditions accumulate. Going forward I can look at the forecast to see times where these "stars align" and plan on being in the woods for it. Doesn't mean I won't hunt because everything isn't perfect, and doesn't mean I'll be disappointed if they do and I see nothing that day. But it sure helps me understand buck behavior a little better, and possibly lets me know that I should be in the woods on Tuesday lunch hour rather than in the shop.

And there's the key right there. I never use weather or any of my other data to say, "I won't hunt these days." I'm going to hunt no matter the conditions. But I DO use data to say, "I'm absolutely going to hunt these days" because of highly favorable conditions.

 

[redblood]

I consider anything 4yrs+ mature, especially right here in Coffee Co. where we have more hunters than deer. Due to having them on camera for years, I'm fairly certain they're both 4yr olds. But for fun here's some that are zero doubt mature The deer below are not from Coffee Co., unfortunately.


First pic was inside a 2hr window of 6mph east wind. Each side of that window was north winds of near zero. He was up & moving during the wind shift.

Second pic was inside a 4hr window of 0mph north wind. Each side of that lull was 4mph-6mph westerly winds. He's in the middle of a plot tearing up a scrape at almost 1pm.

Third pic is around 7am, right at daylight. He's there for almost an hour in the wide open woods. Aside from that scrape vine, which he ignored, there is a water tank just outside camera view. Beginning at 2am there was a steady 3mph south wind, then at 5am it died to a 0mph north, and picked back up to a 3mph south wind again at 8am. He was in that spot almost the entire time the wind was lull.

Fourth pic is 930am with a less than one hour 0mph north wind lull. Leading up to it was sustained 6mph-10mph NW wind. After the short lull it was 6mph-10mph NE wind. He was in broad bright sun hitting a scrape right smack dab in the lull between wind direction shift.

I've got many examples of this over several years, on several properties in two states. In nearly every daylight cam capture I have of a "big" buck, there's a dead time window of low or no wind while the direction of the wind is changing. It's not coincidence. What I do not know is if they're reacting to the change, or the cause of the change. For direction and speed of wind to change in such a short time frame, it generally means a change in pressure. Either a front is approaching or else moving out. I also do not know how thermals play a role. That change in weather usually means change in temp, wind, precipitation, pressure, everything. That all also effects thermal breezes, and that's something not outlined or recorded on weather sites. I'm still trying to figure it all out, but so far am convinced that a major shift in wind, even if brief, increases my chance of seeing a buck in daylight.

Yep those are more like it. I have a small farm on the bedford moore coffee line and like you said, the deer numbers are surprisingly low. Where i live is on the marshall bedford line and deer numbers are through the roof. I always have wondered why coffee isnt s better deer county

 

[Ski]

Yep those are more like it. I have a small farm on the bedford moore coffee line and like you said, the deer numbers are surprisingly low. Where i live is on the marshall bedford line and deer numbers are through the roof. I always have wondered why coffee isnt s better deer county

I've wondered the same. Good ag. Good waterways. Lots of patchwork of habitat. But for whatever reason the deer are hit or miss, and bucks just don't get very big in general. I hear about a good one now and again, but it's rare. Ground shrinkage is a real thing around here!