Deer survey

[mjhaverkamp]

Ok I found a guy to do a drone deer survey, question I have is when should I have him do the survey, we have owned the ranch for only 4 months, really do not know how many deer are living on the property, it has been hunted the past 20 years. Was thinking it may be good to do it before all the brush turns green, may be easier to spot deer, it is in west texas near childress, it has plenty cover but not extremely thick, mostly mesquite. I am not that interested in Buck to doe ratio right now, I think we can figure that out with cameras and hunting, thanks

[BlackHogDown]

I've got a really nice drone i use for work. Its got dual 4k cameras with gimbal, etc. Great optics...

I was excited to fly around the ranch and spot deer at our place in Duval Co. I was a bit disappointed by how difficult it was to spot them even as low as 150 ft (low enough for them to be disturbed by the noise.) At 3x zoom, was hard to see deer sitting at feed pen, let alone those in the brush. Granted, they blend pretty well with reddish sand and dead-colored grasses/brush but still... I understand there's a factor they use to account for deer they dont see but i have a hard time trusting in the accuracy... Curious to hear what others have got to say.

[Throwin Darts]

I've flown my drone over my place and the deer took off like crazy even with that drone a decent distance up in the air.

[mjhaverkamp]

I've got a really nice drone i use for work. Its got dual 4k cameras with gimbal, etc. Great optics...

I was excited to fly around the ranch and spot deer at our place in Duval Co. I was a bit disappointed by how difficult it was to spot them even as low as 150 ft (low enough for them to be disturbed by the noise.) At 3x zoom, was hard to see deer sitting at feed pen, let alone those in the brush. Granted, they blend pretty well with reddish sand and dead-colored grasses/brush but still... I understand there's a factor they use to account for deer they dont see but i have a hard time trusting in the accuracy... Curious to hear what others have got to say.

They use thermal, the two ranch owners I have spoken with so far that has had it done had nothing but high praise for drone use, they have the videos, said the deer did not spook at all, one said the deer acknowledged the drone but did not run away. I would have to believe a helicopter would be many times more invasive than a drone.

[GarGuy]

Were the past hunters management minded? maybe you are starting off with a good herd.

[mjhaverkamp]

Were the past hunters management minded? maybe you are starting off with a good herd.

Well I am not sure about that, have heard different things. I think I am going to wait until summer to do the survey, the drone company said they would do it anytime but he did indicate late summer to early fall is when most do it, especially since we do not have a heavy canopy, it is mostly mesquite. Plus all the fawns will be on the ground so we will get a good idea of how many mouths we are feeding.

[PoppinPiggies]

We used to do yearly thermal surveys but stopped and switched over to camera surveys and hunter observation logs as we deemed them as more accurate. We always did these surveys in early September before the velvet started coming off bucks so we could get a determination of the population and be able to separate the herd into Bucks, Does, and Fawns. We stopped doing these surveys because we would review the footage after a professional told us the results and it was hot enough outside still that even at night most everything was glowing purple and orange so I am not sure how the operators were seeing deer in the brush. It was nice also being able to count any hogs or varmints the drone flew over as well.

[mjhaverkamp]

We used to do yearly thermal surveys but stopped and switched over to camera surveys and hunter observation logs as we deemed them as more accurate. We always did these surveys in early September before the velvet started coming off bucks so we could get a determination of the population and be able to separate the herd into Bucks, Does, and Fawns. We stopped doing these surveys because we would review the footage after a professional told us the results and it was hot enough outside still that even at night most everything was glowing purple and orange so I am not sure how the operators were seeing deer in the brush. It was nice also being able to count any hogs or varmints the drone flew over as well.

I think we will most likely use cameras and ourselves to determine what we have on the ranch after one or possibly two surveys, right now I would just like to get an idea of what is running around on the property.

[cehorn]

Well I am not sure about that, have heard different things. I think I am going to wait until summer to do the survey, the drone company said they would do it anytime but he did indicate late summer to early fall is when most do it, especially since we do not have a heavy canopy, it is mostly mesquite. Plus all the fawns will be on the ground so we will get a good idea of how many mouths we are feeding.

I am by no means an expert so take this with a grain of salt. I would do it in August for many of the same reasons mentioned here and others. Here is my short list of reasons:

• You will be counting fawns as you mentioned
• You will be able to count bucks. I know you said you would handle that w/ cameras and in person but if you can get numbers and ratios in your survey why not?
• August should be the hottest and driest month. To me this means they will be moving for food and water, this is why I have tried to do my camera surveys in August; negative could be the heat making it hard for a thermal to do its job - if it is 100 degrees outside and a deer's body temp is 100 degrees I'm not sure how that works, this may make it a night operation
• Given August is the driest month, you shouldn't have as much ground cover to worry about (scrub brush, wildflowers, etc.) so the only hurdle should be trees
• Doing it in August puts it before the first few big rains that always ruin the dove opener. Once it rains they don't have to move as much and don't come to feeders as much.
• I know you said you have mostly mesquites so you may want to see when your mesquites are dropping beans and possibly avoid that, August may be the worst time with that consideration. I would do the same with acorns and oaks.