Wildlife Monitor: Wildlife Camera

Showing posts with label Wildlife Camera. Show all posts

Game Cameras, Worth the investment!

Game cameras have been used for years by hunters and trappers to know what "game" animals are on their property. Today, we see these cameras being used for security, wildlife research, and many other tasks, though they are still most commonly used to monitor game species by hunters.

The act of using a game camera is called "camera trapping". A game camera is a weather proof camera that is left outdoors for long periods of time. Heat or motion trigger the device to take a photo or video, depending on the user's preference. Most cameras come equipped with different settings which can be altered to yield the desired product.

The great thing about these cameras is that they provide a minimally invasive and cost-effective way to answer simple questions about a habitat, ie, which animals are found where, and when?

At White Memorial, game cameras are used to explore which species are using different habitats. In previous blog posts you can see all the different species we recorded remotely using these cameras. Whether it was pointed toward a carcass to view scavengers, or aimed at a headwater stream to view animals using water, they always provide some insight to wildlife habits.
However, our scope is limited to our four cameras and small research staff. We hope that citizen science can help fill in the gaps of our knowledge of the local wildlife.

As game cameras increase in popularity, they've also decreased in cost. Advances in technology have made it easy to get a relatively cheap camera that will last you a few years. We'd like to encourage local landowners to invest in one or more of these cameras just to see what species you can capture on your property. You may be surprised at what you find!

The Rhode Island Natural History Survey has outlined some advice for landowners who may want to use game cameras on their property. Topics such as using them for security reasons, and the legality of using them at a land trust or other popularly recreated area. That link is here.

The Nature Conservancy has gathered some insight about using game cameras for citizen science, along with advice for purchasing cameras. That content is available here.

We hope you are inspired to explore the unknown side of your land; the side that you don't get to witness in person. The elusive animals that escape the limited field of your vision may be captured by a game camera!

To further inspire you, please enjoy some of my personal favorite photos gathered from camera traps this season.

Happy Trapping!

This Catbird was captured after a river otter changed the angle of my camera.

This White-tailed Deer was captured at Apple Hill
upper field along a stone wall that separates the open field
from the dense vegetation.

A River Otter spotted at Cat Swamp off the Laurel Hill trail.
This camera was placed about 12 feet high in a tree
facing down toward the swamp

This is the River Otter that chewed on and tossed around the
game camera I placed on a log in at Mallard Marsh.

This fawn was found at Mallard Marsh (between 202 and Whites Wood Road) after my game camera was messed with by the River Otter.

This Black Bear was captured off the Mattatuck near Beaver Pond

Game Camera on Deer Carcass

In late May, a White-Tailed Deer was hit and killed by a vehicle in Litchfield. White Memorial staff dragged the carcass into the woods in the same area where, if you remember from a former post, we had dragged a road-killed coyote carcass over the winter. These photos come from a series of game cameras we placed around the carcass to watch the scavengers take action.

A Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, spreads its wings on the carcass
It appears to make strategic incisions to mitigate bloating, by opening
the gut in several places

A Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, walks past the carcass.

Two Turkey Vultures spread their wings, perhaps in an attempt to balance on the swollen carcass.
Another vulture stands to the side.

Three Turkey Vultures pick meat off of the deer

A Coyote, Canis latrans, approaches the deer carcass. It does not stay long

Four Turkey Vultures surround the carcass

The wing span of a Turkey Vulture is about 6 feet

Four Turkey Vultures surround the now rotting carcass

A coyote is encountered in a swamp adjacent to the carcass.
We placed a camera toward the swamp to see if the same animals who were using this carcass as
a food resource would use the swamp as a water resource.

Wildlife Camera Images -- February 2017

Birds

American Crow at Pine Island Ditches

Black-capped Chickadee at Pine Island Ditches

Adult Cooper's Hawk at Museum Bird Blind

Dark-eyed Juncos at Museum Bird Blind

Fox Sparrows at Museum Bird Blind

Mourning Dove at Museum Bird Blind

Northern Cardinal at Museum Bird Blind

Brown-headed Cowbird at Museum Bird Blind

Mixed flock of blackbirds including male and female Red-winged Blackbird, Purple Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, & Rusty Blackbird.

Mammals

Eastern Chipmunk at Apple Hill

Eastern Coyote at Pine Island Ditches

Eastern Gray Squirrel at Museum Bird Blind

Raccoon at Pine Island Ditches

Red Squirrel at Museum Bird Blind

Striped Skunk at Museum Bird Blind

Virginia Opossum at Museum Bird Blind

White-footed Mouse (eye shine in center of image) at Apple Hill

Yearling Buck White-tailed Deer at Apple Hill

Adult Doe White-tailed Deer at Apple Hill

Wildlife Camera Images -- January 2017

I have set several remotely triggered wildlife cameras along trails and near feeders to record wildlife. Wildlife cameras have become an important tool for assessing population abundance, habitat associations, and other ecological questions for a variety of wildlife organisms. White Memorial can use this information as an additional source of species inventory data and I'll periodically post images of wildlife captured using this technology.

Birds