Journal archives for March 2021

March 11, 2021

Camera Trapping Adventures - March 10, 2021 meeting notes

Last night we discussed several topics that I wanted to make sure I shared with the entire group.

I have included many observations that used camera trapping technology from primarily Litchfield County. We could expand on this type of data acquisition. I will need some help with broadening our reach of data from throughout the state/region. I noticed a few things right off from the data that has been amassed. Bobcats appear to have a lot of observations already. This is probably due to the state of Connecticut DEEP coordinating a project that encourages people to share their observations. But there also appears to be a lack of observations for several common species such as common raccoon. How can this be? Raccoons are one of the most common wildlife species in Connecticut and I am sure trail camera users are detecting this species. Yet, there are so few raccoon observations uploaded to iNaturalist! What else is not being shared? I see a golden opportunity here and I am excited to have you on board so that you can be part of it.

I shared a video that I made several years ago of images and videos I recorded with two trail cameras along the Bantam River on White Memorial’s Haight Parcel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QU6bjTgUCI

Last week, the New York Times published an article about camera traps that contained some important information as well as some really nice images. Several people shared some good information in the comment section. It was published in their Sunday’s print version on March 8 but with fewer images, the digital version is much better.
Roach, M. March 3, 2021. Why you need a wildlife camera. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/realestate/why-you-need-a-wildlife-camera.html?referringSource=articleShare

We also reviewed a similar project to our own but this one is in the Seattle/Tacoma, WA vicinity facilitated by the Woodland Park Zoo. They have been conducting this project for several years. Take a look at their website’s mapping portal. https://carnivorespotter.org/ You can toggle between the type of observation such as those that shared a video or image, as well as simply a report which offers no evidence. This project focuses on carnivore species only. You can see that some patterns in the data and it makes me wonder what patterns we could see in our data with a few years of effort.

Remember to keep your curiosity and batteries fresh!

Posted on March 11, 2021 08:24 PM by wmccresearch wmccresearch | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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