Jump to content

Trail cam IR light


walshie
 Share

Recommended Posts

There's been talk about whether animals are put off by the red glow on the older trail cams and I think there's something to it.

We had an old ewe commit suicide a couple of weeks ago, but it was in the top field and with all the rain and mud it was impossible to drag the carcass out or get a quad up there. I thought I'd let nature take it's course. I set a trail cam right next to the sheep to see what time the foxes came and give me an idea for lambing time roughly how many there were.

The first week, nothing. I put it down to the cold and assumed foxes didn't like their meat frozen. Next week, nothing except a very fleeting glimpse of a fox having a look round. The sheep was untouched. A few days ago I brought the camera in to look at the pics and couldn't be bothered to take it all the way back so there has been no camera there since Wednesday.

I've just been up there and the sheep is now a head, a ribcage, 2 feet and some wool. 

I wonder if it was the IR lights or coincidence? :hmm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, walshie said:

There's been talk about whether animals are put off by the red glow on the older trail cams and I think there's something to it.

We had an old ewe commit suicide a couple of weeks ago, but it was in the top field and with all the rain and mud it was impossible to drag the carcass out or get a quad up there. I thought I'd let nature take it's course. I set a trail cam right next to the sheep to see what time the foxes came and give me an idea for lambing time roughly how many there were.

The first week, nothing. I put it down to the cold and assumed foxes didn't like their meat frozen. Next week, nothing except a very fleeting glimpse of a fox having a look round. The sheep was untouched. A few days ago I brought the camera in to look at the pics and couldn't be bothered to take it all the way back so there has been no camera there since Wednesday.

I've just been up there and the sheep is now a head, a ribcage, 2 feet and some wool. 

I wonder if it was the IR lights or coincidence? :hmm:

I would think Coincedence. Plus, on most trailcams, the Infrared light is usually invisible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. I bait continuously here and often many weeks can go by before a carcass is touched and then other times the opposite. I have a permanent trail cam set up too andthe light is visible in use at such close range. 

I have a very powerful IR lamp for my NV, but to date apart from rabbits looking in my direction, it's not had a noticeable impact. 

What i do notice is that some bait does not seem to draw them in as well as others. A couple of weeks ago I put out some cockrels they were gone in a night. I have done nothing with the foxes but they have ignored a rabbit and squirrel for at least a week. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The beam itself is invisible on mine, but as I said, it's quite old now and you can see the red glow from the lamps round the lens. Only faint, but even I can see them. 

I know foxes prefer their bait a bit stinky, so maybe it was just the timescale involved. 

3 nights from whole sheep to skellington :lol:would suggest there's a few critters around. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, oowee said:

Looks like you need to sit out :good:I hope they were coming at a convenient time. 

The one pic I got of the fox having a look was about 10.00p.m. Hopefully the other action was a similar time. 

I was going to take the truck up there when the ground dries out a bit and sit and wait  :good:

Edited by walshie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was out shooting one night, thermal spotting and IR on top of the Drone, also pretty much a full moon. Spotted a fox with the thermal about 250 yards away just sitting slightly down from a wood. Switched over to the Drone, switched it on but didn't switch the IR on, and could clearly see the fox looking to my right at some moorhens making a bit of a noise. Flicked the IR and it instantly looked straight at me. I'm not convinced foxes can't see IR beams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, walshie said:

I'm going to have to go old school then to shoot these foxes. Only a regular lamp and the smell of mulligatawny soup wafting out the truck window to put them off.  

Funny, I have noticed with fox, cats and rats that there looking at the camera when I've got pics, my camera is very close to where I put the squirrels and I've wondered if they can see the flash? Or if they hear something as the picture is taken.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve had a fox turn, look straight at me then shy away when lit up with IR. I got him the next night in a similar area but made sure my torch was dimmed down, which didn’t seem to spook him. Rabbits round here seem to stand on their hind legs when shone with IR so I am convinced that animals can see it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...