Trying out the Cuddeback Attack IR video

I purchased some Cuddeback Attack IR cameras through a grant. Now we are in the process of testing them out to make sure they work properly. I have to be honest and say although I have been (and continue to be) a big fan of the Cuddeback cameras, we are experiencing problems with two of the six Attacks. I am confident that the people at Cuddeback will make good on them, but it is disheartening. Anyway, I had two set on my property this past week and was anxious to see what was moving during the deer season. The answer, in short, is not much...

Raccoon
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/11)

There seems to be no shortage of raccoons on the property. Here is an image from a Cuddeback Capture (I had three of those out as well this week). I used some scent lure in a branch in front of this camera and the raccoon seems to be looking right at it. That nose must be in good working order! One of the Attack camera traps captured a nice video of a (the?) coon as well. That can be viewed here. I edited down to about 20 seconds from the original 30. It is worth watching to see the technique it uses to search for food under a submerged branch.

White-tailed deer running
(Seneca Falls, NY 11/11)

I also captured some video and stills of white-tailed deer. There are two deer here and it appears to be an adult doe and her fawn. This Attack was set very close to one of the Captures. Let's look at an image from the Capture first. This deer appears to be really on the move! There was a bit of a fog, but otherwise a great photo. But what got the deer so spooked? Well, I think I got the answer when I checked the Attack. In this first video, watch as a single deer seems to be alerted to the presence of the camera. Click here. Now I have always gotten photos of animals looking right at the camera and when it is a still photo, it is hard to convince me that the critter wasn't just guilty of looking in that direction. But with the video, I am seeing more of the story. Whereas the raccoon in the earlier video gave no evidence that it detected the camera, this deer sure gets spooked. But if that doesn't convince you, maybe this next video will. Before you watch, let me set it up for you. It occurs only two minutes after the previous video.   If you watch until the end, note the second deer that becomes visible (mostly a glowing eye..). She is coming from the location of the Cuddeback Capture. The time stamps on the two cameras lead me to believe that I captured a video of one deer being startled on the Attack and the deer it was traveling with reacting to that on the Capture. Kind of neat.... Oh, the link! Watch it here.