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Why do I need a Digital Trail Camera?
From the Bushnell Why Do I Need Series..

Bushnell Trophy Cam Trail Camera

Bushnell Outdoor Products

Overland Park, KS – -(AmmoLand.com)- With the advent of digital versus film cameras in the last few years, the popularity of trail cameras has skyrocketed.

Consumers can now take hundreds, even thousands of digital photos at a fraction of the cost of film.

With this technological breakthrough it makes more sense than ever to own at least one trail camera.

Traditionally trail cameras have been used primarily by deer hunters to photograph the animals in their hunting area for the purpose of scouting for the upcoming season. This is still a big part of their use, but outdoorsmen have begun to discover a whole host of new ways to use their cameras.

Sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts are now using trail cameras for other types of wildlife watching, such as placing a camera near a bird feeder to see what comes in while they are at work or at night, while they’re asleep. Turkey hunters are using cameras to record the times when a particular gobbler walks by, or to see what predators and fur bearers are roaming about. Trail cameras with infrared night vision LEDs, like the new Bushnell Trophy Cam can also be used for nighttime surveillance to catch possible trespassers or intruders.

Trail camera technology has continued to improve over the years to the point that now there are some great affordable units on the market. The Bushnell Trophy Cam models have a host of great features, while still being highly affordable.

All Trophy Cams feature: Day/Night auto sensor, are external power compatible, shoot VGA video at 16 fps, QVGA video at 20 fps, and have an adjustable PIR(Lo/Medium/High) that is activated out to 45’. With a trigger speed of 1 second, adjustable trigger intervals from 0-60 minutes, multi-image mode with 1-3 images per trigger, and a programmable video length of 1-60 seconds, you’ll be sure to capture all the action. The cameras can also operate at temperatures from -5F-140F.

They use either 4 or 8 AA batteries and will operate up to a year on one set of lithium batteries. Using a 16 GB SD memory card, they are capable of taking thousands of photos on one set of batteries, minimizing the amount of potentially game spooking trips necessary to check the camera.

The new 2010 Trophy Cams have 32 infrared night vision LEDs, resolution settings of 3, 5 or 8 Megapixels, a maximum video resolution of 720×480 and they can record a time and date stamp on photos. The cameras come with an adjustable web belt and ¼ x 20 socket for mounting the camera to a tree. They are also cable lock adaptable.

The three new Trophy Cam models for 2010 include the standard model with black & white text LCD screen at $199.99, the Bone Collector model in RealTree AP HD with a black & white text LCD at $229.99 and the Trophy XLT model with full color LCD view screen at $249.99.

Using a trail camera is a great way to photograph undisturbed wildlife and stay connected to the outdoors, even when you can’t be there. Visit Bushnell for more info: www.bushnell.com

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Official Number of Protected Migratory Bird Species Climbs to More than 1,000

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Rowan Gould today announced revisions to the list of bird species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

Species appearing on this list are governed under migratory bird hunting and permitting regulations concerning most aspects of possession, transportation, sale, purchase, exportation, and importation of protected species.

The list, last updated in 1985, incorporates the latest taxonomic and scientific data for migratory birds. The changes include 186 new additions and 11 subtractions, bringing the total number of species protected under the MBTA to 1007.

“This update to the list of federally protected birds reflects the best available science on bird taxonomy and distribution and will help us improve management of our nation’s migratory birds,” said Gould.

“The new list benefits researchers, hunters, conservationists, state agencies, tribal governments, and birdwatchers by extending federal protection to all migratory bird species native to the United States while highlighting advances and changes in bird taxonomy that have accumulated since the list was last published.”

The Service is the primary federal agency responsible for managing migratory birds. Federal migratory bird regulations, including the list, implement the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which in turn implements treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan and Russia. All species included on the list are considered federally protected, and governed by federal regulations limiting take (from the wild), possession, and other use.

The newly revised list reflects the addition of species based on new evidence of their occurrence in the United States or its territories. The revisions also remove species no longer known to occur within the United States and change some names to conform to accepted usages.

The changes also reflect taxonomic revisions to the bird taxa of North America published by the American Ornithologists’ Union and changes in the Migratory Bird List incorporate name changes and revisions moving some species from one taxon to another.

The final rule can be found online at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov/.

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