Hanging a trail camera on a perennial community scrape is something I commonly do to inventory bucks in an area. I often hang a camera over the same scrape year after year. Something unique I have noticed is a few of these scrapes are also used as night beds. Not all of them - just a few. But the ones where bucks feel comfortable bedding in are used every year.
Here are a few examples.
[glow=red]Example #1[/glow] - this scrape is on the top of a high narrow ridge. It is right next to some major doe bedding that is also used by bucks in the rut, several hundred yards away from any major food sources. Its just one stop on a buck travel route through the area.
Had a camera there in 2011 and got a nice 3 year old bedding in the scrape.
Didn't have a camera in that exact spot in 2012, but in 2013 did and got a buck bedding in the scrape in daylight at the tail end of the rut. This is the exact same scrape just the trail camera is facing a different way.
Right after the 2 year old beds down a mature buck appears, I assume from a nearby bed and kicks him out. Can't stand another buck in "his" scrape.
Now we are up to 2014, had a camera there again at the tail end of the rut. This example does get daylight use in the late rut daylight bed with the scrape and licking branch right getting more use in the pre-rut.
Nothing last forever, the area changed a quite a bit after some trees fell in a windstorm in 2015 and that specific bed and scrape was no longer used.
[glow=red]Example #2[/glow]. This scrape is located down in the bottoms where a couple small valleys meet. A classic thermal hub scrape on a buck travel route basically. Doe bedding on the ridges around, any food quite a distance away again.
2015 I had a camera there all October
Don't have a better picture but this buck is stretching and relieving himself just getting up. A tree fell and partially blocked the camera.
The first buck again.
2016 I had a camera there again most of October and November. Recognize him?
I think 3 years old this year.
Another buck
That heavy 8 again, this time stops by and plonks down in the middle of the day during the rut. The timing of this picture cracks me up....
You can bet I will have a camera there next year too.
[glow=red]Example #3[/glow]
This scrape is on a ridge top about 20 yards from a corn field. In the time my camera was there the corn was standing. Plenty of deer hit the corn for food and on the opposite side of the camera is major doe and buck bedding areas within a couple hundred yards. I pulled the camera about the same time the corn was picked but I SUSPECT bucks would bed there less even at night after the corn was out, too exposed.
Put a camera there for the first time this fall all October.
A lopsided buck I am watching for next year if he makes it.
Another one I am watching for next year.
Then a younger buck:
What is so interesting to me is that only a small fraction of scrapes I put cams on are used as beds. Some are down low, some are up high, the only one that I have seen used as night beds and be near food is the third example above. I do not know what exactly the determining factors are but am studying it.
They are all on travel routes bucks use while doing their nightly rut circuits in October and November but so are many other scrapes I watch that are never bedded in. The vast majority of bedding is at night which does not surprise me because none are great daylight bedding locations. They are just "good enough" for night beds. All the bucks were bedded for a few minutes up to a couple hours never more, just a short break from nightly rut circuits of the area.
Night beds haven't been discussed on here much recently, but there are some good old threads that discuss them in detail for those that are interested. The primary use of each of these examples was a scrape though, not a bed. 90% of the use was bucks pawing and hitting the licking branch. Every few days a buck would also bed down.
Generally the bucks bedded with wind-to-back as expected in hill country. In Example #2 where the scrape is down in a bottom, they are all facing down the valley because, outside of extremely windy conditions, falling thermals would be at their back blowing down the valley all night long.
Another interesting thing, after each of the younger bucks left (1 and 2 year olds), another more dominant buck always came in and worked the scrape hard within a few hours. When I got an older buck bedded, younger bucks came in and nosed around warily but did not paw up scrape. Bucks could clearly tell from distance anther deer had recently bedded there and who he was. They could not resist checking it out but all respected the herd hierarchy if it was a more dominant buck.
