The Return

Last summer, there were optimistic thoughts for the river otter field studies my students and I were engaged in. Our cameras had been collecting consistent solid videos each period, the students were learning signs of otter in the field and we were observing several critters during our field work, including an epic hunt of a coot.

The new school year rolled around and the pendulum swung back. Cameras malfunctioned, were swallowed up by a rising pond and with new human disturbances, the otters vanished.

Environmental Science curriculum shifted away towards studies of coho salmon and coast redwoods. The responsibilities of Adult Life also intensified and with it, camera traps began to capture nothing but dust and cobwebs.

Late in the school year, a handful of otter reports began to trickle in (PSA: please submit any observations you have to Otter Spotter !) and with the days winding down, I finally mustered up the opportunity for the class to ramble down and check things out with our own eyes.

8 months of disappointment were pushed aside as we were given another hunting performance (unsuccessful) and the scat-splattered trail gave communication that several otters were likely residing.

Cameras were deployed in two new locations, with a homebrew being used for the first time.

Hi.

noble profile w/ bud

A few other critters dropped by to check in:

young grackle being a grackle

this raccoon vibing the return of Twin Peaks

Hopefully these charismatic beasts continue to stick around for next year's students to study. 

¡BOCA!

A constant back-and-forth that at least occurs in my head, is whether to use a homebrew hacked camera, or one of the newer Bushnell Trophys.

The homebrew provides pretty decent color images 24 hours a day. The newer Bushies, while not always in color, have options for video and the added element of SOUND. These choices of course allow for a greater opportunity to capture behavior.

Here are a few images from Oakland's Knowland Park, where a choice for full color created questions, rather than providing additional information.

Would love to hear some crazy Raccoon sounds here. And who is #2 looking back at? What pace were they moving up the slope?

Yawn? Bark? Audition for Game of Thrones dragon role?

With a kiss. Party Opossum. Just because.

Learning and Playing

Here are a few pictures of some raccoons, Procyon lotor, from the Santa Cruz Mountains that I got in the Fall. The main group of raccoons that came by the camera were a mother and her two offspring. They walked up and down the creek, faces up and paws dragging the bottom feeling for yummy critters to catch and eat.

Notice the "I am trying to concentrate" look on the young one's face.

Inspecting the camera

Cannonball!!!
This is one of my favorite images of the past year

Just to illustrate that sometimes the 8-legged critters find your camera a wonderful place to set-up shop. This usually leads to the camera trap blues.

I know that was a lot of raccoon pictures. More than most sane people would want to look at, but these are only a fraction of the ones I could have posted.

Should Be Guest Post: Mother Dear [(Deer Mother) - Thinking Fellers Suburban Studies #3]

My co-teacher and amigo, Ryan, was to present this post to y'all, but after mine and JK's Mojave (mis)adventures and some dude getting baby cougs, he got a wee shy.

A story remains, however.

One of the maxims that Ryan has spread throughout our campus is BE AWARE OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU.
We apply this saying in many situations in our classroom, social thinking groups and particularly in spreading a love and enjoyment of the outdoors.

Hanging out with the family in a suburban backyard and using that awareness can lead to amazing discoveries:

Across the creek lie a fawn, curled up and waiting for mama!

Our intrepid amateur naturalist and camera trapper swiftly set up a cam to observe behavior:

 

 mother chases off a rascally raccoon

nursing the young

We are often merely intruders on a rich world that surrounds us. Step outside and report back what is happening in your 'hood.

Thinking Fellers Suburban Studies #7

In order to prepare my class for a camera trapping project with the Felidae Fund, we went out to the small oak-covered rise above our school that separates us from the industrial parks that litter the eastern portion of Terra Linda, San Rafael. Here we were to practice making a set and getting comfortable with the equipment.

The students made observations of animal trails, scat and other possible areas of interest to decide the camera location.

As we were leaving our set, a cry went out with an arm pointing to the trees -- above us, a large raccoon was napping! Truly a treat for the kids to see and even for myself this was a great first time experience. All of the time I have spent looking in trees for birds, while holding onto the hope for a gray fox or 'coon, had resulted in nada up until now.

The camera was in place for five days and all captures came from the first night.

 

gray fox

our napping friend?!

Before checking the cam, we quickly scanned the trees for the napper, but our glimpses discovered nothing. However, after unlocking the cam and then walking halfway out of the oak grove, another cry gathered our attention -- a sharp-eyed student had spotted the masked sleeper once again:

Mammalian Critters

Like I said not a great set, but pickings have been slim. That whole graduate school thing getting in the way of fun.

Woodrat using the trees branches as a highway

Bobcat butt

Bobcat Shoulder

I just cannot seem to get the bobcats to look at the camera right now.  Going to have to try a new approach.

Sniff and Run

It has been a slow start to camera trapping in 2012 for both of us here at Camera Trapping Campus, so I thought it was time for a Sniff and Run to get back on track.

sniff and run   |snif and rən|
verb
a quick intake of something that intrigues the senses before continuing on

The first location that entered my mind for such an endeavor was Fox Nap Rock, Kent Lake. The possibilities for another set here seemed varied, interesting and guaranteed -- thus a return visit was made.
Over a span of nine days (two soaked by much needed rainfall), four species visited, with seven unique visits total.

The Participants:

Additional (Partially Obscured) non-Sniffer:

and this one just makes me laugh

The Sniff and Run did its job perfectly: providing a feeling of success along with an itch to unveil more.

As a teaser, excitement is brewing regarding planned or potential sets involving:

- urban visitor studies
- Put a Bird On It (raptor nests, Sapsuckers and the bird communities around them)
- a partnership in my classroom with Felidae Fund

Keep Cruisin'

The Great Highway is still a popular route as ever at Santa Cruz's Younger Lagoon.

Munching Raccoon

Here a raccoon has made a fast food stop to chow down on a rabbit that was found as roadkill just outside the reserve.

Flighty Deer through the Fog

Go Go Go.

08:43:06

08:44:10

Chill Bobby

The highway rest stop is used for some good rubbing time and checking out the scenery during a rain storm.

Log Jammin'

There are many ways to deal with a log in the trail. You can jam over it. You can jam under it. You can jam around it. You can even jam across it. In this set we got a few species dealing with a log in the trail in just about every way imaginable.

The bobcat goes under it. Tight fit but he just manages to squeeze through.








Don Coyote or Sancho, we still have not decided, goes over it







The raccoon family goes over it, across it and probably under it.









The woodrat just seems to hang out on the margins of it.

Look at the length of that tail!

Something Old, Something New

It was a beautiful day in Santa Cruz, perhaps only the 5th sunny and hot day of 2011's traditional summer + Indian summer, when Camera Trapping Campus met up to collect data from recent sets. Cams had been scattered throughout the reserve -- some in a few unexplored sections and others in areas already observed, where we are aiming to be species specific.

The marsh is one location that has been trapped with good success, so we will begin with the new goods from that spot.

An expected and returning character made an appearance two days in:

This one of fifteen raccoon visits over thirty-five days.

Next up for the expected; a young buck:

Now, getting those characters out of the way, may I introduce a new fellow on the scene -- a first for Younger Lagoon and a first for any of my sets:

Tyto alba

The Barn Owl visited the second day of camera operation and was captured just this once.
An enticing prize for future sets? Surely an owl specific set lies in the wait !

More to come from the marsh from Jake.

Camera Trapping on the Beach

I made this set back in the Spring on the beach dunes pointing North away from the Ocean.  Yes I said North.  In most of Santa Cruz County the ocean, more properly Monterey Bay is South rather than West.  Believe me it is quite confusing to the internal compass.  I have to constantly remind myself, so that is South not West.  I happened to find a freshly dead seagull and moved it a few feet in front of the camera to see if something would come by and dine on it.  There were bobcat prints around the seagull, so I was obviously hoping I had scared it off and it would be back.

View of the set, looking into the beach dunes

The first things to come by were about 90 images of a field biology class.  I did not want to go through the trouble of getting their permission to post their images so you will have to take me at my word.

Next was a bobcat that came by during the night and sniffed around for a minute or two.  Unfortunately all I got were butt shots as it placed itself between the camera and the dead bird. This is not either mum or kit that we have seen so often before.

The bobcat did nothing more than sniff.  I guess it was not hungry enough to eat a three day dead bird.  Or maybe they don't care for greasy seagulls.

Charadrius vociferus

A killdeer checking the area out.  These may have one of the better latin names in all of the bird world. Charadrius vociferus. Vociferus indeed.

A ground squirrel.  Gotta say his real estate is much better than all the ground squirrels we see in the meadows of campus.  I am sure he has a bit of a collapsing tunnel issue though.

A raccoon stops by in the rain.

Spermophilus beecheyi

Beecheyi on guard once again.

Batteries only lasted 6 days due to the large number of human triggers and yielded mostly butt shots, but the killdeer and ground squirrel were new photographed species.

I reset the batteries and gave it another shot with only slightly better results that I will share next time.