A hawk fights a murder of crows. A black bear lounges in a spa. A creepy figure wearing a bathrobe stalks through the timber shortly after midnight. No doubt, some offer laughs, and others spark fright. Regardless, check out these cool captures, many of which are among the best trail camera photos you’ve never seen before. Some are even awesome snaps courtesy of Muddy, Stealth Cam, or Wildgame Innovations.
1. Leap Frog Fox
Foxes are among the most elusive animals in the woods. With the rise of coyotes, there aren’t as many around today. This pair seems to be doing quite well, though. While they aren’t playing leap frog, they are “mousing” around in search of dinner. (Photo courtesy of Bruce Harris)
2. Double Drops
It isn’t often you see a drop tine on a whitetail. It’s especially rare to see two tines heading south. This massive whitetail has just that and more, though. I sure wish I could’ve hunted the “Finger” stand back in 2023. Whatever a hoss cat is — this buck is one. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Chartney)
3. Two-Headed Whitetail
One quick glance at this one and it appears the doe has two heads. Of course, it’s an optical illusion, as it’s merely the doe’s fawn. If you look closely enough, you can see one of its hind legs as the youngster playfully rears up on its mother’s neck. (Photo courtesy of Frank Emery)
4. Rascal the Raccoon
Raccoons are among the wiliest of critters. They’re also full of rascality, as shown by this one nicknamed “Rascal.” It seems to be king of the stump and standing at attention in hopes food or some other good thing is on the horizon. (Photo courtesy of Frank Emery)
5. Piebald Matriarch
This piebald doe is marked up about as cool as they come. With all of that brown and white, she certainly stands out in the herd. There is no mistaking her, as she displays the rarest of piebald markings. (Photo courtesy of Gene Bakner)
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6. King of the Salt Block
Another rascally raccoon, this one thinks it’s king of the salt block. He’s just hanging out and daring anyone to take it from him. He isn’t big, but he’s wiry, and he’s mean. (Photo courtesy of George Pfeiffer)
7. Dinner Date
Ah, it’s the circle of life. This buck and doe exhibit classic early November rut action. (It probably lines up just perfectly with HuntStand’s Whitetail Rut Map.) While it’s a bit awkward for the viewers, at least he took her to dinner before making a move. (Photo courtesy of Jonathon Bledsoe)
8. BBQ Ribs on the Shish Kebab
Black bears are all about a free meal, and this one has BBQ ribs on the brain. Sitting there on a shish kebab just asking to be eaten, this rack of ribs is all but in that bear’s belly. He had quite the feast that day. (Photo courtesy of Keith Fortier)
9. Peace Time
Rarely do enemy combatants tolerate close proximity such as this, but it seems to be peace time between the coyote and whitetail. It seems both are preoccupied and not too concerned with the other party. (Photo courtesy of Ken Martin)
10. Avian Action
There’s a lot happening in this photo. Hawks and crows are doing battle, and that’s quite cool. According to Larry Anthony, it’s his favorite pic of all time. He said that red-tailed hawk wore those crows out all summer long. (Photo courtesy of Larry Anthony)
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11. Put Your Dukes Up
You wouldn’t necessarily think a doe would stand up to a buck like this, but they do. It’s especially common when an older, dominant doe encounters a younger buck that’s 1 ½ or 2 ½ years old. Oftentimes, older does are still bigger and bossier than the young fellows. (Photo courtesy of Mason Hayes)
12. Soakin’ It
If there’s a cooler bear than this one, I haven’t seen it. This one is straight up letting it all hang out while bathing in the water tank. He’s enjoying that late-summer soak before suppertime. For sure, he’s king of that hill. (Photo courtesy of Noah Korpi Plank)
13. An Antlered Doe?
At first glance, you’d think that fawn is a bit confused. On second thought, it’s quickly apparent its mother is an antlered doe. Although quite rare for a doe to grow antlers, it’s even rarer for an antlered doe to have offspring. Still, it is possible, and this seems to be an example of it. (Photo courtesy of Adam Bertram)
14. Owl in Flight
It isn’t often you see an owl moving in broad daylight. But it happens, and this is a great example of it. With a whitetail in the background, it’s an even more interesting snapshot. This is truly a unique and uncommon trail camera photo. (Photo courtesy of Blake Green)
15. Hummingbird in Your Face
Hummingbirds are among the fastest-fluttering animals in the world. They dart around with incredible athleticism. That’s what makes this one so interesting—the camera snagged a blurry but wild image of a sugar-water-loving bird. (Photo courtesy of James Rankin)
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16. An Ancient Piebald Buck
Most albino and piebald deer die young. Even where they aren’t legal game, predators or poachers often pick them off. Of course, they tend to have notably poorer health, too, which also lends to a shorter lifespan. This buck beat the odds, though. Without a doubt, it’s an ancient one. According to the hunter who had him on camera, the deer was found dead the winter after this photo was captured. (Photo courtesy of Noah Korpi Plank)
17. Nope. Heck Nope. Definitely Nope.
It’s 1:29 A.M. on Thursday October 10, 2024. What are you doing? Probably not taking a stroll through the woods with your bathrobe. But we know someone was. I’m sure there’s more to this story. I’m equally sure we don’t want to know what it is. (Photo courtesy of Richard Damron)
18. Weasel on the Wildgame
One of the most reclusive and elusive animals, otters are quite skilled at evasion. They are also highly adept at hunting and fishing. It’s certainly impressive how the camera user posted this one in just the right spot to snag a photo of this old river weasel on state game lands in Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy of Ryan John)
19. Shake That Butt
One of the most charming birds, this old boy is shaking that butt. While some might look at this guy and mistake it for a prairie chicken, it’s actually a sharp-tailed grouse. Without a doubt, it’s trying to impress the ladies and raise a family. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Rasmussen)
20. The Fence Jumper
Professional wildlife photographers spend a great amount of time attempting to get the perfect photo of a big buck jumping a fence. While this trail camera photo isn’t quite to that level of quality, the silhouetted shot of this big, fence-jumping deer is quite special. Add the snow on the ground and sunset in the distance, and it’s even more impressive. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Rasmussen)
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21. Cohabitation
This trail cam photo is a perfect example of cohabitation. The bird benefits from picking ticks off the deer, and the whitetail benefits from that, too. It’s a harmonious and symbiotic relationship. (Photo courtesy of Justin Lewis)
22. Velvet Hanging and Bloody Antlers
The velvet shedding process occurs in a fairly condensed period of time. Oftentimes, deer completely shed out in less than 24 hours. At the time of this capture, the buck was near the completion of velvet loss. (Photo courtesy of JW Eade)
23. Quack Corn
A family of ducks isn’t exactly the typical feeder-centric trail camera photo. But here, we have both quack and corn. The boss drake seems to be herding these mallards where he wants to go. All these ducks are likely tame, though, as the bird in the background certainly seems to be a farm-related hybrid. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Eurich)
24. Bobcat Kill
Some hunters deny that bobcats kill grown whitetails. This is proof of it, though. While it’s less common for bobcats to kill older bucks and does, they certainly can. They definitely predate younger deer, though, as shown here. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Wakefield)
25. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Whitetail
Santa’s sleigh-pullers are supposedly reindeer or caribou. According to this trail camera photo, they are whitetails, and this is Rudolph the red-nosed whitetail. I guess he’s easy to spot slipping through the dark timber. (Photo courtesy of Marlin Hunter, Jr.)
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26. Woody Woodpecker
Like the hummingbird, the woodpecker is another fast-flying bird. Head-banging on tree trunks and scurrying in and out of view, this small animal is challenging to photograph, let alone with a trail camera. Here, that’s exactly what’s done, though. Woody Woodpecker is getting his grub on. (Photo courtesy of Raymond Riddleberger)
27. Flying Fawn
Young whitetail fawns are known for their high-energy lifestyle. This one is exhibit A. He’s flying through the forbs in the woodland understory. It’s quite the trail cam capture. (Photo courtesy of Roy Rhodenizer)
28. Hawk vs. Crow
It’s no secret that hawks and crows don’t like each other. This picture expresses the epitome of that hate-hate relationship. It’s entirely fueled by utter disdain with potentially life-altering outcomes. Hawks and crows have no love lost between each other. (Photo courtesy of Steven Blalock)
29. Grooming the Bum
Whitetails regularly groom. This assists with hygiene, pest removal, and even socialization with other deer. This one is clearly grooming his buttocks, which happens in the animal kingdom. (Photo courtesy of Tim Dunn)
30. Crypto Buck
The cryptorchid buck is one that continues growing antlers indefinitely but does not shed its velvet in the fall or antlers in the winter or spring. Instead, they continue growing, resulting in these large and oddly shaped antler structures. Generally, this results from an injury to the testicles. This deer is a classic example. (Photo courtesy of Will Deakins)
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The Command app is used with Muddy and Stealth Cam cellular trail cameras. It’s a great app alone, but when integrated with HuntStand, both apps combine for the ultimate trail camera management experience. By integrating Command with HuntStand, and importing your trail camera locations, benefit from extensive trail camera photo analysis. This can aid in patterning deer, choosing the best stand locations, and more. You might even get some crazy trail camera photos.
