Recently there have been some heated and extensive discussions about flash and its effect on deer. Many tune into the outdoor forums to get opinions on many things by seeing what others have experienced with equipment and its uses. The different types of camera flash are just one of those subjects that seem to appear and then reappear on a regular basis. There are some very strong headed individuals that will just not accept anything other than their own opinion. 

The variables are so many that a conclusive evaluation is just not possible because of those differences. What holds true for one area is just not the way it is for another area. Deer are very adaptable to the different situations. We have gone to our “wild” area with our back packs and sneak in with packs of batteries and fresh SD cards observing all the scent control after waiting a couple of months to do so. The cards reflect the actions of those animals. The minimum interruption to their environment using this method showed that the animals were right back to their normal traits the next card change using the same method of approach to the deployment area. 

Now here comes change one. Weather is now getting very warm and the ticks are many so instead of that two mile hike on foot we load up the old ATV and make the same trip and do the card change and battery exchange. The very next time the cards were checked we could see an immediate drop in picture count. Everything remained the same with the scent control except instead of sneaking in on foot we used the ATV. The camera flashes did not change but our method of approach did. Slowly we noticed a gradual increase in the activity return after some time. 

During those trips where we did not use the ATV some of the cameras were changed out and depending on our current review status would determine just what flash the camera now being deployed would be. This also seemed to not make a lot of difference as to avoidance to the camera areas. 

Where we made mistakes and had a high degree of avoidance was just how the camera itself was actually hung on the tree. When stuck boldly out in the open the camera was found right away. The tips and tricks of camera deployment, say to aim up and down the trail. They also say to use available vegetation to conceal its position with care not to cover the lenses or PIR area. If the angle is too long and the approaching animal has more time to pick up on the existence of the camera then there is a better chance of it being found. The elevation of the camera is also important and when in direct line of sight and not above then the camera will also be found. Many of the arguments about flash are more than likely a result of some other things that alert the animal to the camera presents than the flash itself. 

First let’s do a short talk about white flash. There are many things in nature that may cause what could be designated as a change in white light and one of those is lightning but simple things like the above canopy blowing allowing an over abundance of moon light to hit some light colored vegetation. We have found that the white flash is very much associated with a pop when the cap fires the strobe. This bit of noise could be the true reason for an animal to jump rather than the flash its self. Again if the deployed camera was more above the line of sight then it has a much better chance of being excepted as being something in nature rather than what it is. 

The next advancement that was thought to be the greatest thing for scouting cameras was the use of red flash. The advertisements are like putting a picture of a steak on a bag of dog food. This is eye candy for the human buyer more so than a proven function. Where this type shines is when it is aimed away from where human traffic is, it increases its ability to not be found and taken by that human traffic. There is no noise associated with this type of flash except that some manufactures use a single camera which requires the use of the IR cut filter to switch. Most have gone to twice a day at dawn and dusk so this noise does not happen each time the camera is fired after dark. We have probably recorded more bad reactions to this type of camera flash than any other. There again that avoidance can be decreased by knowing the habits of the animal and deploying in such a manner that its red glow is not so noticeable. Placing it a little higher and back off the trail but well within the sensing zone, seems to be more acceptable. The great feature of night time video using this type of flash is also one of the big things that causes problems because of the fluttering red glow for an extended period of time which makes it more likely to be spotted by that weary old buck. 

The introduction of black flash was a big step forward and very much a possible answer to many of the avoidance issues. Not nearly as much deployment care is needed with this type of flash as long as the camera itself is not smelled or spotted. The popularity of this style has grown and we now see more manufacturers slipping their wares into the market trying to attract sales. There have been many who have attempted to develop a camera and advertize that it was a true black flash but were found out within hours of the first sales. This is a very difficult achievement and it takes a lot of research to develop and come out with a viable product. 

Then there is the flash called low glow. This is just a red flash that has its intensity turned down due to the use of 940nm leds or it is someone’s attempt at black flash that did not make it. We would probably put this style third behind white flash as far as possibly causing a problem. This style of flash that is tuned down to just an instantaneous blip (and not that long Cuddeback  blip) has a high potential of being accepted by many. 

What has not been studied is the effect of the flash color. Would a white flash camera with a red lens over it scare the hell out of deer? Would a white IR flash camera fare better when placed in the same area where a red glow IR camera was placed? We see that the color red in nature has been used as a warning by not only plants, but many poisonous critters that use it to keep predators away. Could this color be the problem rather than the flash itself? 

The prolonged exposure to the outside world and their devices being placed all over their environment have shown that the deer slowly gain an acceptance to this intrusion into their environment. With the popularity of cameras growing and more and more individuals are deploying year around the animals do begin to get use to this happening. Our hill test area now has a population of domestic deer. They could care less if you put ten red flash cameras or a purple flash camera there. They will stand off 50 feet away and wait for the person with the bag of corn to leave so they can gobble up a free meal. This is not the case in our wild area and we are careful to keep it that way because conduct different kinds of testing depending on the area. Any intrusion into their home place in most cases where it is wild will cause things to change and it is usually a while before they return. 

The opinions on the forums will probably continue and the sides will be drawn with each side picking their favorite style of flash but what is true for one area is not particularly true for another area. Those whitetails in Wisconsin may very well have different ideas than those in Louisiana. The unknown as to deer being able to see color spectrums has been researched but in my book it still remains unanswered. The use of white IR may be the way to go (cost wise) but until we do that research we do not know but we do have those cameras and as time allows we are going to try to find out. The black flash has pretty well proven its style by many and is now accepted as being the future. I would like to see someone take their favorite white flash camera that they have been using in their area and claim that there is no avoidance and put a red lens over that same flash and record the results. This might tell if the red color is having any impact on the avoidance. Until we have more answers I am going to just stick to my favorite red black white flash low glow camera with dual clunking filters and monitor my herd.