Does anyone have a critter cam? (Eagle, Star: how much, neighborhood, buying)

[banjomike]

My brother's son-in-law works at a sporting goods store in the winter, and bought a critter cam.
He installed the camera next to a small spring that is halfway up the mountain part of our property lies on.

I knew we had a resident moose up there, and a black bear. Deer are always up there as are occasional elk.

The critter cam caught all of them, but it also took pictures of a mountain lion, 2 vultures, several weasels, one pine martin and a flock of wild turkeys.

I've never seen a lion up there, but I've seen several bobcats. Saw some turkey vultures once, have never seen a martin, and never wild turkeys.

I found it astonishing how much wildlife surrounds us without our ever seeing them or even knowing they are so close. The spring is only about a mile and a half from our cabin.

[cleosmom]

Don't have one, but have "spied" on a few. It was neat watching Eagle eggs come to life

[Clark Fork Fantast]

We don't have one, but now I think we want to get one! We want to be able to watch all the critters passing through our place when we're not there. We have wild turkeys, black bears, moose, elk, deer, and a resident mountain lion unless somebody has put him out of our misery over the winter (pleeeze...). I love mountain lions, up high where they belong, but this one is an old tom who has no fear of people. He ate a neighbor's llama a few years ago. And then of course there is our local wolf pack. So Banjomike, how does the cam work? How often do you have to recharge the battery? Can it be left in place for an extended period?

[banjomike]

Hi, CFF...
I haven't talked to the owner about the camera, but as far as I know, they are pretty much a set and forget outfit.

Ive seen them put in place on some Idaho nature shows; I think they have either an infra-red or a ultra-high frequency beam trigger. Apparently, they have a very soft clicking of the lens, as bird as cautious as a turkey would split if it was loud enough to alarm them. The battery usage is also probably very low as they are designed to work for at least a month with no maintenance.

I don't know how expensive they are, but my relative-in-law wouldn't spend a lot on something like this. He may have gotten an employee's discount from the outdoor shop where he works, but I'm sure the net would have someplace that sells them on a similar discount.

I'll have to go over and check it out. Our ranch extends from one side of a mountain across some sagebrush flats and into the Willow Creek canyon. It would be interesting to see what goes down to the canyon to take a drink. It would also be interesting to see what animals are coming over from the other side of the mountain.

Our resident cow moose and the local bear are seldom seen, but both leave lots of evidence they're there. The moose has been dry the past 2 years, but she must winter in the canyon; that's the only place that has winter browse. I wonder if her boyfriend is still around. I'm not at all sure the bear is the same one we have seen in the past, either. We had a big neighborhood bear that ranged all around our area for many years, but the last one I saw was a much smaller sow.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

The cam I have is to view human critters after some loser decided to steal a bunch of cool yard art from the front of my house. Seems like where I live in Colorado is going to hell in a hand basket in more ways than one. Wish I was buying a cam to look at moose instead.

[chevpu1967]

Same here, StarrySkies,