Milford man shares backyard wildlife with the world on YouTube

MILFORD, Maine (WABI) - Black bears, bobcats, and whitetail deer are just some of the many regular visitors to Scott Hayden’s home in Milford.

Rather than keep the incredible images to himself, he created a YouTube channel to invite the world into his backyard.

“I love the outdoors, love animals. So, we walk down here every day. I always wondered, were there animals traveling down the woods roads? So, I thought, maybe put some game cameras out at some point. When the pandemic hit, being so isolated in your house and all that, I needed some way to get out and get away from all the bad news. So, that’s when I broke down and we bought the cameras,” Hayden said.

Hayden has 10 trail cameras spread throughout his 20 acres of property. He comes and collects the footage from them two times a week and uploads a new video to his YouTube page every Sunday morning.

“Basically every animal that we have in Maine, we’ve captured. It was my daughter who said, ‘You should start a YouTube page.” Hayden said.

Hayden’s channel has racked up close to half a million views. But for him it’s not about the numbers, it’s about sharing all that Maine has to offer.

“I really thought this might be a nice little piece of Maine to share with others,” Hayden said. “People may not realize that behind their house, this is exactly what’s happening.”

“For a lot of people it seemed, especially during the pandemic but even now, it’s just relaxing. I don’t add any music, I don’t do anything. It’s just the pure footage itself, so you’ll hear the birds signing, the wind blowing. To see what the animals do in their daily lives is really neat,” Hayden said.

In addition to working full-time as a geologist, Hayden spends hours on the weekend editing videos. All that effort is worth it for moments like a recent bear sighting on his swing.

“It was so funny to see him! The first few times we got him on camera, he would just walk by the swing. Then later his curiosity -- he’d start to check the swing out a little bit. Put his head on it, rub on it a bit. And then this last video is when he finally decided to give the swing a try,” Hayden said.

In December, COVID-19 claimed the life of Hayden’s mother, Joan, at the age of 83.

She was able to see much of the footage before she passed, and Hayden said having an outlet helped with his grieving process.

“It’s horrible losing a parent, but it was always nice because every time I’d come down here I’d think of my mum and how much she would enjoy this. The week video that I did the week she passed away, I actually dedicated to her. This is my solace. This is how I got through COVID,” Hayden said.

Those feelings of solace Hayden gets from the animals, he wants to make sure they’re afforded in return.

“We have never, ever fed any of the animals. I’ve been here 20 years and when we walk these roads every day, you know, we’ll see the deer quite frequently -- but bear, moose, other animals like that -- you never see them. They don’t want anything to do with you, and we don’t want anything to do with them. The only reason we’re seeing them is because these cameras are out here 24/7,” Hayden said.

To see more, visit “Maine Wildlife Trail Videos” on YouTube.

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