Trail Camera Uses
Uses for a trail camera. Also known as a game camera. Hunters use them for scouting. But there’s more.. Many people have one. Some of the uses can be quite fun.
What are trail cameras used for? Well, they were primarily designed for the hunter. Typically strapped to a tree out on the trail somewhere (or wherever), always actively looking for ‘game’. They can take pictures and/or video. The hunter would check it from time to time and see if there had been any activity. If not, maybe it’s moved to another location. Etc..
They’re pretty useful! Not only do they assist the hunter finding ‘game’, but they’re good for all sorts of other discovery.
Many Uses For A Trail Camera
I have a trail camera. I’ve had it for many years. It’s always in service and doing its job. It’s mainly a security tool (which also captures lots of wildlife in its present location).
Security
Among the many trail camera uses, a popular one is for ordinary security. To track the comings and goings. Aimed at your driveway. Your private roadway. House door. You name it.. Although it’s not the same as having a ‘real’ security camera, at least there’s a photo or video record being kept (just in case).
I have a few security cameras recording 24/7. However in addition, I keep my old ‘Stealth Cam’ trail camera strapped to a tree, pointing at one part of my private roadway.
The trail camera will capture excellent images of any vehicle, and it’s license plate number. It simply provides a visual time-stamped record of all triggered activity.
It’s powered by an external battery pack. I recharge it twice a year. Once in awhile when I’m in the mood, I’ll pull the SD card and look at the photos. That’s when I find some surprises..
Trail Camera Captures All Sorts Of Wildlife
Often times it will capture a coyote trotting down the road as it gets close enough to trigger the camera. Sometimes a fox. Other times a bobcat. Most often, deer. Lots of deer. Bear too, except during winter when they’re hibernating. I’ve even caught photos of a moose! (Actually several times over the years).
Here’s a cropped image of a black bear caught on my trail camera some time ago. I had set it up near a brook on my property where I often saw bears.
Here’s a neat photo of a coyote at night during a snowstorm, caught on my trail camera’s infrared..
I know that I have a bunch of photos that I’ve captured with my trail camera over the years that I could show you here. They’re buried within my digital photo library. However I cannot yet bring myself to look through the folders, given that there are so, so many pictures in there of my old buddy Sampson (mini Dachshund) who left this world a year ago. But I digress..
I like that trail cameras are portable.
Unlike security cameras, trail cameras are portable. This makes it unique. They are battery powered, and you can literally put them just about anywhere. This makes them a sort of portable security camera I suppose. Or simply a wildlife stealth photographer of sorts.
For example, last summer some critter was making holes in the dirt within a few of my garden beds. It was strange. No plants were harmed either. I moved my trail camera from it’s normal location on the tree, and set it on the edge of a garden bed. As it turned out, the digger had been birds! Robins were digging up some of the dirt while pecking for bugs or worms in there. Mystery solved..
I mentioned earlier that I also have an external battery pack (12 volt) for my trail camera. Many or most of them have the ability to plug in an external battery. Obviously greatly extending the powered-on time. I would not be without one.
It can be fun to simply place the trail camera in different locations, hoping to catch unique photographs of wildlife. That’s fun to do.
I recently bought a bird bath. Maybe I’ll set the trail camera nearby – at least when the birds start to come (nothing yet because I just put it up – and we’ve been getting lots of rain lately).
So many uses. Anyway, have any of you used a trail camera for things other than hunting/scouting?
[ Read: Binoculars For Prepping, Preparedness, and their Many Uses ]