Three things I think affect animals.

I was standing in the woods this evening looking for deer sign. I had been swatting mosquitoes all evening and then as it started getting dark, I noticed how the mosquitoes disappeared as the temp dropped. I thought back over the years and realized that this is common for the mosquitoes to shut down as the temp drops at night during the fall. This led me to another thought. What are the things that you feel make a difference in animal behavior?

For me I feel that they are as follows.
1. Temp. I have found that animals here move so much better when the temp drops. I will go even further with it on temp, I have found that I much better when the over night temp drops below 50*
2. Moon phase. Here I find that coons walk better in the hills on full moons and water on dark moons. I feel that full the moon give them a lot better vision and allow them to feed further from the water line. On the dark nights, the water line acts a guide for them to follow. On land animals I find that cats and coyotes walk better on full moon nights as I feel that they can see much better allowing them to see attractors a lot further away.
3. Weather. I am talking about rain, snow, or huge cold fronts. I have noticed that after a rain it seems that animals want to make tracks. Run there territory and remark it. We don’t get snow much here, but I have found that animals do the same thing after a snow here. It is no more than frozen water.

What are your thoughts?

There ya go thinkin again Tony.........

I think you #2 plays a big part in movement.

Barometric pressure is a big factor. Humidity too, it makes their noses work better. Time of day and time of year.

I got a thinking problem Jerry. Jerry I fish by the moon for sure and I know it is huge factor in animal movement. I think for trapping purposes though that temp has a little more to do with catching. The moon makes them move but the temp makes them work set better. So 1 and 2 really go hand and hand.

Good thought there MadTrapper. IowaTrapper, I see that some here, but our front are not as huge as yall for the most part. We use to get a lot of rain in the winter, but for the past 5-6 years the winters have been dry.

I agree that all the things mentioned up to this point do affect animals, however I disagee with a couple of the points made, especially about dark nights vs full moon nights and coyotes.

However I also believe that Wind, especially hard or gusty winds has a major affect, as does very still quiet, hardly a puff of breeze wind conditions. Heck, I find that I am nervous and feel agitated easily when hard or gusty winds are blowing.

i have noticed somethin around where i live, maybe other guys seem to have it to, seems that coons like to run the creeks more the night before it rains, in the past seems like if it was gonna rain the next night, the next mornin there would always be 1 or 2 coons in the trap

howard,
i think no. 2 is the largest overall affector of animals in general....

Slim what are your thoughts about the coyotes and moon phase?

good post and good thougths mhoward

I like that. I always wondered why the moon affected animals, but I never thought of that on such a simple level

anyone who has done any predator calling at all knows that the absolute worst time for daytime coyote calling is during the full moon phase.... thats what i meant why???? not sure on that one but logic would tell me that.....

1. full moon=more light therefore predators have full advantage of all three of their most impt. senses which includes sight... they can see farther/more so they are more successful w/hunting.

2. they hunt for longer periods of time w/full moon (all night long) therefore they bed earlier (before sunup)

Mating season for sure stirs them up.

couple other things,pressure and hunger
i also believe the wind is a big factor

I agree on all 3 Tony. My most favorite one is the moon phase but more importantly moon set. Give me time in the woods or on the water at moon set and something good will happen. Got hundreds of records proving it also.

That was a given, any time any Andy is around things are going to go down.

I think temp and wind have a big affect on animal movement. I know deer always move very well on cold, calm mornings. The harder the wind blows, the more nervous they become. I would have to say that moon phase is right there at the top too.

I agree Howard, moon phase is the real deal. I always notice that fishing catch and animal catch/movement goes up prior to any storm or snowfall.

I have noticed the same thing about deer also Richy. Ricky I feel that deer get nervous when the wind blows becasue three of their defensive sytems is gone. They can't see because of all the movement, they can't hear because of all the wind noise and they can't smell cause of all the scents being blown around.

howard I agree with everything you listed but I would add mating season at #4 but i guess some consider that moon phases. Also deer move during windy days because of all the noise. They cant distinguish danger noises from falling tree limbs so they just cant stay still.