Black bears communicate with one another through scent as well as through vocalization. Bears often signal their presence by marking an aspen, birch or other marking tree by repeatedly clawing or biting into it, and by rubbing their bodies on the tree. They usually select a tree that stands alone along an animal trail or in other places where they spend a lot of time.
This particular bear hangs out in this clearing a lot, as my camera has spotted him here at all hours of the day or night. Additionally, two major animal trails intersect at this clearing, one leading directly past the tree upon whose trunk my wildlife camera is mounted. That trail crosses the clearing in the direction of the camera lens, passing by my compost area and eventually leading to the seasonal road that runs through our property in Petra, Maine. Behind the camera, the trail leads deeper into the forest, passing through several small clearings and some long abandoned logging roads. Another trail leaves the clearing into the woods to the left of the screen, passing through a thick forested area. To the right, a trail leads around the brush pile that you see here, and enters the forest, eventually leading into a cedar swamp quite some distance from here.