2013 Lowcountry QDMA - Camera Survey workshop

National logo over wood grain

Speaker Kyle Jones with some nice buck mounts

The Lowcountry branch of the Quality Deer Management Association held a Deer Camera Survey workshop on August 29 at the Fort Johnson Baptist Church. QDMA founder Joe Hamilton was in attendance along with a handful of deer hunting enthusiasts. Speaker Kyle Jones is a wildlife biologist working at a 2500-acre private plantation in Berkeley County and he shared his experience with camera surveys, starting with the definition that a survey is not a census. Deer cam surveys are just another tool for deer herd managers to utilize like a spotlight survey and an annual harvest data logbook. Jones relayed that annual camera surveys reveal trends in deer populations, sex ratios, fawn survival and more. These surveys also record other species like turkeys and problem animals like wild hogs and coyotes. August is an ideal month to do camera surveys but if you want to get down to work in September, Jones says to divide the property up into 100-acre blocks and then place a deer cam in the center of that block. Use corn to bait the camera station for two weeks before beginning the survey, and then run the survey for 10 to 12 days. Remember to point the camera either due north or south to avoid unwanted glare at sunrise and sunset, and check the cameras half-way through the survey to make sure they are working fine. Avoid checking the cameras daily due to human scent contamination of the area, which would skew the survey findings. Two times to avoid camera surveys is during the acorn drop since deer are scattered, and after February 1 when bucks have shed their antlers. After the deer cam survey is completed, organize and separate the buck photos into different age classes. This helps anyone sharpen their 'aging deer on the hoof' skills, and can also help to formulate a 'shoot or don't shoot' plan for that particular year. Jones actually prefers flash cameras to Infrared cams because of the higher picture quality at night. One lucky attendee won a brand new deer cam during a raffle, and everyone else who attended is sure to be heading to check their cameras with renewed vigor!!

To view past blog entries about Lowcountry QDMA click here.

Don Hammond and friends

Welcome sign