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

The White Whale (Black Bear slight return)

"Aye, aye! and I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up."

For the past two years, the infamous Black Bear of Marin has haunted this particular camera trapper, playing the role of Moby Dick to my Ahab.
Several reports have emerged from Point Reyes, across the county border in Petaluma and most recently at Kent Lake.
To capture images of a bear would be truly incredible -- for the species has been missing from Marin/Southern Sonoma for over 100 years!

On the heels of the latest report, I resumed the quest and headed out to Kent Lake.
Two cams were deployed, one focused on a set of boulders, the second in a circle of burned redwoods.

The anticipation was excruciating, but I somehow managed to hold off a check-in visit for 3 weeks...

The Results:

Redwood Cam

This was simply a horribly designed set. No bear and I deserve the results. Just going to walk away from this one.

Boulder Cam

I danced with the devil here, placing an unlocked cam in a location not terribly far from a trail. Perhaps, there is even more Ahab in me than I care to admit...

set view from behind boulder

 

10.13  10:22 PM

10.20  3:42 PM

I dig the gray foxes and to get an afternoon capture with them just chillaxing on a rock is a treat. Even without the bear, a feeling of success was attained.

However, the quest will continue...