# Google Earth Scouting



## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

I don't recall where I saw it, but I remember a thread asking if anyone had ever seen actual big game animals while e-scouting on Google Earth (or another program of choice). Well tonight I was looking over an area that I had only glassed from a distance searching for ways to get into the area to place a camera this summer... those cream dots in & around the pond sure look like elk to me. I count 25 or so & on some I can clearly make out white rumps. Thoughts? (I left the picture large for easier viewing)


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

That's cool! I've looked at several watering holes on google earth and never have I seen that before!


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## Rspeters (Apr 4, 2013)

Very cool....looks like elk to me.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Hey that's pretty cool. I think I'll check some of my honey holes and see what I can see.


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## bowhunt3r4l1f3 (Jan 12, 2011)

Awesome, I've looked at a lot of "honey" holes on G.E. and never seen anything that looked like that before.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

A couple years ago while looking at google earth and trying to scout for elk, I am pretty sure I found a bear. But, when I look at that same area now, it appears as though the satellite pic has been updated...


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## mtnrunner260 (Feb 15, 2010)

W2U,
Click on the clock with green arrow at the top of the toolbar and cycle through previous sat images and maybe the bear will still be there?


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## sknabnoj (Nov 29, 2012)

Do you know how often the pictures on GE get updated? I've often wondered if I were to venture out to some of the distant water holes if they'd be all dried up or something by the time I got there...


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## Squigie (Aug 4, 2012)

sknabnoj said:


> Do you know how often the pictures on GE get updated? I've often wondered if I were to venture out to some of the distant water holes if they'd be all dried up or something by the time I got there...


It depends on the area, and how important it is to Google (and their imaging partners).

Some areas might go only a matter of weeks or months without an update, while others might go many years before they get another pass from a more advanced satellite. The lower the population, more rural an area is, and the farther it is from high population densities... the lower its priority.

There are some parts of Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming that only get re-imaged every 4 to 8 years, and parts of Alaska that have only been imaged twice in the last 25 years. Yet big cities like LA, New York, Austin, etc get imaging satellites sent overhead multiple times a year.


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## mack1950 (Sep 11, 2007)

i have never used it to pinpoint animals but its a wonderfull tool to look for access points water and a overfew of the area very very usefull;


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

****... I thought I've seen & heard it all... First people were using trail camera's to "scout" an area... now we're using Google Earth to scout? 

Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate both tools for checking an area out, I just have a hard time with the term "scout" being used.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

sknabnoj said:


> Do you know how often the pictures on GE get updated?


Good question.

I think we should try to find out. I'm thinking if anyone had any duck decoys maybe we could set them up on the roof and then we could tell exactly when they fly over and take a new picture!


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

Squigie said:


> sknabnoj said:
> 
> 
> > Do you know how often the pictures on GE get updated? I've often wondered if I were to venture out to some of the distant water holes if they'd be all dried up or something by the time I got there...
> ...


Wouldn't the satellite fly over consistently while in orbit? The difference being whether there is a new image, or more reasonably, when do they bother with an update. Not much reason to get a new image of Alaska if you're looking to update the maps for your vehicle navigation systems. But I'm sure they look at satellite images from there quite often looking for fires, effects of oil wells, observing ice pack, weather, etc...


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

duckhunter1096 said:


> ****... I thought I've seen & heard it all... First people were using trail camera's to "scout" an area... now we're using Google Earth to scout?
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate both tools for checking an area out, I just have a hard time with the term "scout" being used.


So my definition of "scouting" is different than yours, to each their own.

For me, there are two definitions of scouting... "scout" for animals and "scout" the area. Google Earth and other sattelite image programs are exceptional tools to scout areas, especially new or unfamiliar areas looking for clues to where critters would like to be. I guess I must use the term "scout" more loosely than some... and I love my trail cameras.

It would seem foolish to me to use Google Earth to scout for animals... this image was taken Aug. 2011 and it's obviously highly unlikely that when I hike into the area this summer (May/June 2013) that I'll find that herd of elk there. So seeing them on my computer screen is an irrevelant but happy coincidence, but it does give me an idea that they're in the area (or at least were). It's not like I'm adding up antler inches on any of those cream dots (I'll wait until I get some good trail camera pics to do that).


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## bowhunt3r4l1f3 (Jan 12, 2011)

duckhunter1096 said:


> ****... I thought I've seen & heard it all... First people were using trail camera's to "scout" an area... now we're using Google Earth to scout?
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate both tools for checking an area out, I just have a hard time with the term "scout" being used.


Scouting an area would be determining the layout of the area. That's how I see it, so Google earth scouting is definitely within the definition. Now scouting for animals is something else entirely. There can be more than one type of "scouting" my friend. For instance the "Boy Scouts" the do scouting all the time! :lol:


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

Do all y'all suppose that Custer's crew would've been better suited to "scout" using trail cams, or actually sending someone ahead to get slaughtered?

I suppose, based on dictionary.com's definition, #5 could LOOSELY apply to trail cams...

scout1 [skout] Show IPA
noun
1.
a soldier, warship, airplane, etc., employed in reconnoitering.
2.
a person sent out to obtain information.
3.
Sports.
a.
a person who observes and reports on the techniques, players, etc., of opposing teams.
b.
a person sent out by a team to observe and recommend new talent for recruitment.
4.
a talent scout, as in the entertainment field.
5.
an act or instance of reconnoitering, inspecting

HOWEVER... In every instance of it... there is actual HUMAN observance of what is going on. That's all I'm saying. I'm not here to bash on the use of Google Earth, or Trail Cams... Not at all. That's a different battle for a different day. Just saying, the use of the word "Scout", doesn't exactly apply.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

PBH said:


> sknabnoj said:
> 
> 
> > Do you know how often the pictures on GE get updated?
> ...


Do we have to grow beards first? :lol:


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

duckhunter1096 said:


> Do all y'all suppose that Custer's crew would've been better suited to "scout" using trail cams, or actually sending someone ahead to get slaughtered?


Huh? If Custer had the opportunity to utilize sattelite imagery prior to going into battle do you _not _think he'd have used it? If he had the ability to throw a trail camera out to perhaps pattern his opponents movements... you don't think he'd have used it? Talk to anyone in the military and they'll tell you that every advantage, technological or not, will be utilized. Things may have ended differently for Custer if he didn't have to send his "scouts" out to get slaughtered. As for me, I'll take the cameras if you're willing to be slaughtered.
Scouting doesn't have be about being constantly physically in the hills just to get a little info... _work smarter NOT harder _seems to be a catchphrase that's popular these days. This way I spend as little time disturbing and pressuring animals while still learning about the areas I hunt.

I think that my use of the term "scouting" in reference to Google Earth (and trail cameras since you brought them up) applies perfectly to your definition:
#2 - *I'm* obtaining information whether it be from sattelite images or trail cameras... am I not?
#5 - *I* go and *I* come back with information, albeit from my computer monitor or my lowly trail cameras...

BTW, reconnoitering [reconaissance]= to make a preliminary inspection to gain information.

*I* bolded "*I*" above because *I'm* the HUMAN doing it... so I dunno but that sounds like EXACTLY what *I* was doin'.


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## Uni (Dec 5, 2010)

derekp1999 said:


> duckhunter1096 said:
> 
> 
> > Do all y'all suppose that Custer's crew would've been better suited to "scout" using trail cams, or actually sending someone ahead to get slaughtered?
> ...


Jeez, what's next? Using some sort of electronics to mark your camp so you don't get lost when hunting?


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## ARCHER11 (May 26, 2011)

derekp1999 said:


> duckhunter1096 said:
> 
> 
> > Do all y'all suppose that Custer's crew would've been better suited to "scout" using trail cams, or actually sending someone ahead to get slaughtered?
> ...


Well said! While id agree that nothing beats first hand experience in an area. Google earth and other satellite imagery and mapping software is one of my most valuable forms of scouting. Yes, it is scouting. Using the available technology will make the time spent putting boots on the ground A LOT more effective.


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## Rspeters (Apr 4, 2013)

PBH said:


> Good question.
> 
> I think we should try to find out. I'm thinking if anyone had any duck decoys maybe we could set them up on the roof and then we could tell exactly when they fly over and take a new picture!


Haha, you've been watching Duck Dynasty.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

I love scouting new areas with google earth.


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## rosedude (Dec 26, 2010)

That's way awesome.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I like to use it to locate trail systems in hunting areas. It's usually easier to use the clock or time feature and take it back to black and white, that way the trails show up a bit better.

Also if you look at the bottom of the screen you will sometimes see the date that the photo was taken.


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