2019 fall migration

[OutHouse]

Those are really really cool. Thanks for sharing and keep em coming!

[nwalpineguide]

Those are really really cool. Thanks for sharing and keep em coming!

Thanks for the kind compliments. I'll keep 'em coming.

[nwalpineguide]

High country scouting images! Captured while recovering 6 trail cam units this past weekend. Some of the roads and trails were pummeled with deer tracks. Guess the lions, wolves, coyotes, bears and disease didn't get all of the deer this past winter.

[nwalpineguide]

Some more images while scouting and retrieving game camera images.

[Boss .300 winmag]

👍

[jstone]

So the snow wasn’t deep and he headed out?

[nwalpineguide]

So the snow wasn’t deep and he headed out?

Great question; Yes. In my humble opinion this buck and others, as well many doe groups with fawns of the year are both migrating and rutting at the same time. The two seem to be related in this neck of the woods at this time every year. Elsewhere it might be significantly different. After looking at trail cam data from this spot for the last ten years this is a common observation for this spot. The rut and migration occurring in transition habitat; habitat between high sub alpine summer range in wilderness and low sagebrush-steppe winter range on the Columbia river breaks. Again, just my opinion.

This locality did not see a significant snowfall until December 12th, 2019. That was also the last time the camera captured photo's of migrating deer at this site. Very typical exit date for this part of the mountains in this locality. Other years the snow flies earlier, accumulates, and the bucks are migrating in snow up to their bellies trying to get out. Again usually around December 12th.

Forage quality drops significantly in the sub alpine high country after mid to late October. Especially if fall rains don't produce a 'green up.' This, I believe, in relation to rut timing gets many wilderness deer moving towards winter ranges roughly at the same time every year.

[jstone]

Great videos
Finally figured it out
What elevation

[jstone]

I have thought about leaving a camera in the high country over the winter.
How high did you put the camera? Snow depths. That’s why I asked the elevation
My camera area will be 5500-6000’

[nwalpineguide]

Can't wait to see the other stuff, it'll get me all fired up for that late tag I'm going to draw this year.

   Keep them coming!

Here's another good non-typical

[nwalpineguide]

I have thought about leaving a camera in the high country over the winter.
How high did you put the camera? Snow depths. That’s why I asked the elevation
My camera area will be 5500-6000’

jstone, it certainly would not hurt to put a camera in the high country (5500-6000 feet elev.) to capture deer movement in late fall and winter. And leave it up until the following late spring or summer.

I do place cameras high every year to capture data in anticipation of the high hunt. I just don't leave them up that high because I move them all lower down the mountain to capture the migration and rut.

Your high country data would be interesting in and of itself. Period. Comparison with any data captured on transition (3500-4500 feet elev.) and winter range habitats (1200-3000 feet elev.) as well arrival times by the deer in your chosen area would be interesting too. Just realize that in the mountains -migration and rut activity may coincide in the area you choose to setup cameras. It's challenging to differentiate strict migration with rut activity. I don't think these are mutually exclusive activities. Not where I run my cameras anyway.

In fact, I notice bucks wandering, searching out doe groups and becoming visible during daylight hours beginning about the 22nd or 23rd of October. I also begin to observe doe groups MIGRATING down migration routes at the same time. I don't think it is coincidence or a random thing like mere chance that the bucks show up during daylight hours when the does are on the move in the area I have the cameras placed. There has to be a correlation!

I place my camera units between 3700-4500 feet elevation to capture fall migrations. Sometimes (most of the time) there is very little snow if any at this elevation. Especially on south faces. Yet, snow depths in late February early March average about 3 1/2 to 4 feet max depth. This, for an average winter where 120-130 inches accumulates in the Lake Wenatchee area.  Most years by mid December the rut and migration are well over and all I capture on the cameras is an occasional snowshoe hare, squirrel, pine marten, bobcat, and an occasional bird.

By mid April the deer are back at this same elevation (3700-4500 ft. elev.), in transition habitat, on their spring migration upwards towards the wilderness. They can't seem to wait to get back into that wilderness. I've seen tracks on top of 5 feet of snow at 5500 feet elevation in the month of May. This observation from 2015 when the total snow accumulation for my area (Fish Lake & Plain) was 35 inches!

[jstone]

Great info.!! Thank you

[Dan-o]

Can't wait to see the other stuff, it'll get me all fired up for that late tag I'm going to draw this year.

   Keep them coming!

Here's another good non-typical

NICE BUCK!!

[WAcoueshunter]

Can't wait to see the other stuff, it'll get me all fired up for that late tag I'm going to draw this year.

   Keep them coming!

Here's another good non-typical

Nice, that’s the shooter on those tags!  👍

[nwalpineguide]

Those are really really cool. Thanks for sharing and keep em coming!

Here are a couple more: note the cougar following an hour later the two deer. These were the last deer the camera captured in 2019 from this site. Very typical exit date.

Enjoy!