Wildlife Cameras?

[Rams]

I am seriously considering purchasing a couple of those wildlife trail cameras.  

We seem to have an abundance of different species roaming about our and neighboring properties.
Already observed Deer, an owl, more colorful birds than I can count, there is evidence of what I'm told is armadillo tracks, two different types of squirrels (rodents),  traveling (very) large turtles, we "think" we hear coyotes, some kind of larger cat tracks have been Id'd  and we've been told that once in a while a bear but have seen no evidence.   Not sure about that bear thing, think'n someone could be pull'n my chain on that one.  But, I am constantly seeing evidence of critters roaming our property during the hours of darkness (I assume).  Rained yesterday so hard, I thought I saw some flying fish going by.  

My Spousal Unit would like to see, record and identify what the different varieties are.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated cause, I don't know squat about them.

Rams

[baldo]

I am seriously considering purchasing a couple of those wildlife trail cameras.  

We seem to have an abundance of different species roaming about our and neighboring properties.
Already observed Deer, an owl, more colorful birds than I can count, there is evidence of what I'm told is armadillo tracks, two different types of squirrels (rodents),  traveling (very) large turtles, we "think" we hear coyotes, some kind of larger cat tracks have been Id'd  and we've been told that once in a while a bear but have seen no evidence.   Not sure about that bear thing, think'n someone could be pull'n my chain on that one.  But, I am constantly seeing evidence of critters roaming our property during the hours of darkness (I assume).  Rained yesterday so hard, I thought I saw some flying fish going by.  

My Spousal Unit would like to see, record and identify what the different varieties are.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated cause, I don't know squat about them.

Rams

We just put a couple of cameras in our chicken coop. I don't know much about these trail cams either, but this seemed to be the best bet for us. You can't beat $25 each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2YR23M/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The picture is clear as a bell, night vision is great and it has two-way audio. You wouldn't need the two-way, but it picks up any sound within a 10' radius. I know these are indoor, but they're coming out with exterior cams pretty soon. You can buy covers for these indoor cams to put them outside, we'll probably do that soon.

[Rams]

I am seriously considering purchasing a couple of those wildlife trail cameras.  

We seem to have an abundance of different species roaming about our and neighboring properties.
Already observed Deer, an owl, more colorful birds than I can count, there is evidence of what I'm told is armadillo tracks, two different types of squirrels (rodents),  traveling (very) large turtles, we "think" we hear coyotes, some kind of larger cat tracks have been Id'd  and we've been told that once in a while a bear but have seen no evidence.   Not sure about that bear thing, think'n someone could be pull'n my chain on that one.  But, I am constantly seeing evidence of critters roaming our property during the hours of darkness (I assume).  Rained yesterday so hard, I thought I saw some flying fish going by.  

My Spousal Unit would like to see, record and identify what the different varieties are.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated cause, I don't know squat about them.

Rams

We just put a couple of cameras in our chicken coop. I don't know much about these trail cams either, but this seemed to be the best bet for us. You can't beat $25 each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2YR23M/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The picture is clear as a bell, night vision is great and it has two-way audio. You wouldn't need the two-way, but it picks up any sound within a 10' radius. I know these are indoor, but they're coming out with exterior cams pretty soon. You can buy covers for these indoor cams to put them outside, we'll probably do that soon.

Thanks for the response.  Will run this and any other suggestions by the spousal unit.  
Says motion within 30 ft.   I'm thinking that is not enough range but, as I said, I don't know squat about this stuff.

Rams

[Serk]

Love the Wyze cams, I have 15 of them setup in and around my house, but they're more for near civilization (They require power, and if you want a live feed a WiFi signal. Also they're not weatherproof without adding an enclosure to them.)

From what it sounds like the better option for this situation would be battery powered trail cams like this one:



I don't know a lot about them, I have one but it's a very old one. You can spend at much as you wanna spend on 'em (Up to giving them a SIM card and a cell phone data plan so you can get live feeds, etc.) or get a simple one that just has an SD card in it and some batteries.

Mine is very simple, takes a few C-cell batteries and a memory card, strap it to a tree and set a few simple options and leave it, come back a week or month later and swap the memory card out with a spare so you can see what you got.

(For me, I use mine at my land which I only visit every few months)

[carolinarider09]

I have four of these (well their brand anyway I have not verified the same model).  I purchased them locally several years ago.  What I like about them is that they are fairly simple to use.  I change the memory chip every two weeks.  

Since I have  MacBook, sometimes  deleting files on the chips using the Mac requires that I stop at the mid position of the three position swich when changing out the chips.  Just something I noticed.  Not a big deal.  Battery life is pretty good.  They are always on and I change the 8 AAA batteries maybe twice or three times a year.  I think the winter months more often.  

https://www.amazon.com/Moultrie-25i-12MP-Infrared-Camera/dp/B07DKX5MLP/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1HPWA3JVVU8EQ&dchild=1&keywords=trail+camera+moultrie&qid=1598450986&sprefix=trail+ca%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-10

The add says a 60 foot detection range.  You must remember that at 60 feet, smaller animals like squirrels, rabbits, possums, armadillos, and the like will be hard to see and verify what they are.

I have uploaded some videos from the cameras to Youtube so you can see the results.  

The first one is a combination of four 15 second videos.  

https://youtu.be/Jhu_DqcBLKU

The second one is a combination of several videos that I combined because I finally found out why my dog Zoe was sniffing a stump every time we passed by it.  

https://youtu.be/x6-SiQ6mFbA

I have never measured the range for triggering the cameras.  So far it has been sufficient to trigger soon enough that the smaller animals are visible.  

I missed adding this one to the first group.  

https://youtu.be/NsITTTcLEcU

[Rams]

I have four of these (well their brand anyway I have not verified the same model).  I purchased them locally several years ago.  What I like about them is that they are fairly simple to use.  I change the memory chip every two weeks.  

Since I have  MacBook, sometimes  deleting files on the chips using the Mac requires that I stop at the mid position of the three position swich when changing out the chips.  Just something I noticed.  Not a big deal.  Battery life is pretty good.  They are always on and I change the 8 AAA batteries maybe twice or three times a year.  I think the winter months more often.  

https://www.amazon.com/Moultrie-25i-12MP-Infrared-Camera/dp/B07DKX5MLP/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1HPWA3JVVU8EQ&dchild=1&keywords=trail+camera+moultrie&qid=1598450986&sprefix=trail+ca%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-10

The add says a 60 foot detection range.  You must remember that at 60 feet, smaller animals like squirrels, rabbits, possums, armadillos, and the like will be hard to see and verify what they are.

I have uploaded some videos from the cameras to Youtube so you can see the results.  

The first one is a combination of four 15 second videos.  

https://youtu.be/Jhu_DqcBLKU

The second one is a combination of several videos that I combined because I finally found out why my dog Zoe was sniffing a stump every time we passed by it.  

https://youtu.be/x6-SiQ6mFbA

I have never measured the range for triggering the cameras.  So far it has been sufficient to trigger soon enough that the smaller animals are visible.  

I missed adding this one to the first group.  

https://youtu.be/NsITTTcLEcU

Some very cool videos.   Pretty much what my spousal unit would like.  
But, knowing who is going to have to install, maintain and whatever with these, I'm wanting a version that requires no batteries but is powered from an electrical source that I run and will transmit those images and sound either through wire or wireless to her viewing screen.   Is that too much to ask for?

Yeah, I'm getting lazy in my old age.  

Rams

[carolinarider09]

Well, my wife and I take daily walks and we pass the cameras on those walks so its easy to stop and change the chips and batteries.  I usually change them out on our Sunday afternoon walks.  

They do make cameras that do what you want.  I am not sure what the range of said cameras would be and if they are solar powered or wired, you have the issue of running the wires which requires digging a small trench for the low voltage power cables (if that is how they are powered) much like power for low voltage LED lights.  

From looking at the Amazon website, there is a Moultrie Mobile 6000 Cellular Trail Camera.  I have never used it or researched it.  I only know that the Moultrie cameras I use have been in cold and wind and rain and still work.  Only issue is that the lens will sometimes fog but will clear up as weather improves. 

Also you have to remember that they are triggered by motion so grass in front of the cameras sensing devices will trigger the camera. And, at night, the infra red illumination systems also are visible.  Thats why the night time videos of deer show them looking at the camera as it glows (well its red for me don't know about deer).

[Rams]

Well, my wife and I take daily walks and we pass the cameras on those walks so its easy to stop and change the chips and batteries.  I usually change them out on our Sunday afternoon walks.  

They do make cameras that do what you want.  I am not sure what the range of said cameras would be and if they are solar powered or wired, you have the issue of running the wires which requires digging a small trench for the low voltage power cables (if that is how they are powered) much like power for low voltage LED lights.  

From looking at the Amazon website, there is a Moultrie Mobile 6000 Cellular Trail Camera.  I have never used it or researched it.  I only know that the Moultrie cameras I use have been in cold and wind and rain and still work.  Only issue is that the lens will sometimes fog but will clear up as weather improves. 

Also you have to remember that they are triggered by motion so grass in front of the cameras sensing devices will trigger the camera. And, at night, the infra red illumination systems also are visible.  Thats why the night time videos of deer show them looking at the camera as it glows (well its red for me don't know about deer).

Good information, thanks.   Will look into that Moultrie Mobile 6000 Cellular Trail Camera.

Rams

[old2soon]

       As a thought/suggestion maybe your local feed and farm store can recommend or help with trail cam choice. Our weekly paper here some times posts pictures from the local trail cams. One of the larger farm stores in West Plains Mo. has a fair selection of trail cams as i recollect. As I said just a thought. RIDE SAFE.

[Rams]

       As a thought/suggestion maybe your local feed and farm store can recommend or help with trail cam choice. Our weekly paper here some times posts pictures from the local trail cams. One of the larger farm stores in West Plains Mo. has a fair selection of trail cams as i recollect. As I said just a thought. RIDE SAFE.

Based on the places I have seen locally, everything has been battery powered and using the little chip things.  But, I'll keep looking, thanks for the suggestion.   

Rams

[Patrick]

We were just talking about these this morning and of course I've already forgotten the name. Its a single word  I think. This company covered up to 14 cameras on one subscription and the videos of each camera could be brought up at any time on your phone. I should see him again soon and I'll try to remember to get the info. The videos were good. We have some absolute monster bucks in this area this year.

My version of a trail cam is a string strung between 2 trees. This stuff has come a long way.

[Rams]

We were just talking about these this morning and of course I've already forgotten the name. Its a single word  I think. This company covered up to 14 cameras on one subscription and the videos of each camera could be brought up at any time on your phone. I should see him again soon and I'll try to remember to get the info. The videos were good. We have some absolute monster bucks in this area this year.

My version of a trail cam is a string strung between 2 trees. This stuff has come a long way.

Appreciate that.

After discussing this with the "boss", we're also gonna check with our home security folks to see if they will install another camera or two outside our home.   Worth a try.

Rams