Have you seen similar negative reactions? If so, with consistency?
To answer your first question, yes. If I put a cam anywhere near the height of 2-6 ft off the ground no matter what type of setting they will find it and react one way or the other to it. I've come to the conclusion that deer have seen enough cameras over their short life span and had more than enough negative experiences near them to make them nervous. I also believe a deers personality has an effect on their reaction as also their mood or temperament at the time.
I also have been putting cameras up in the air about 10-12 feet if the situation or setting allows me to and have found that the deer don't notice them unless they come through at night and see the red glow. That's where I agree with Flutie that the black flash cams are the way to go if placed in higher or less conspicuous places.
As for negative responses on a consistent basis, I don't know. The mature bucks I capture on video are mostly at night and are rarely ever seen again! This year I found two existing scrapes that were huge in size and located along a beanfield just 30 yards apart. Starting on 10/18 I had a fantastic looking 3.5 year old hitting both of these scrapes that I doctored up with JVS scent. He came back through and hit them again 10 days later on the 28th but hasn't been back through since. He saw the cameras but it didn't seem to bother him as he ripped a sizable licking branch off one of them during his 10/18 visit. Then on 11/3 a wide 4.5-5.5 150ish 10 came thru during day light hours late in the afternoon on 11/3 while I was at work....:smiley_blackeye:.... never to be seen again. He too seemed to have spotted both cameras over both scrapes but seemed to not be too bothered by them. He actually acted like he was posing for the camera but I attributed it to his personality as he was very visible from the road several times this season in broad daylight so he's prolly dead. The very next evening I captured great night time video of an absolute SLOB in the 5.5 age or older that showed evidence that he was nervous of one camera but didn't seem to notice the camera at the second scrape. He too has not been seen again since. I also got a 3.5-4,5 year old 9 point around the same time that acted the most skidish but that could also be due to not wanting his ass kicked either but the camera did make him act very nervous though. So not having anymore visits from any of these deer is not helping my own little study either but I will be trying to find a way to monitor these scrapes from a more elevated position in the future. It's much more difficult setting up on scrapes on field edges cuz the overhead branches obstructs the view and can set off the camera on windy days if the limbs are moving around a lot. I'll prolly have to set up on one side or the other if I can find a decent tree close enough but still able to get high enough.
This study certainly has some merit IMO.
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