Weeks 17 & 18:
As an update on my camera trapping efforts, I checked the cameras one week after posting them to confirm they were functioning properly and to see if the game trails on which they were focused were receiving animal activity. After reviewing the photos, I reprogrammed the Bushnell cameras to medium/high sensitivity, rather than high, as they were picking up every twitch of grass in the background. The Reconyx at high sensitivity are more selective, and I left them as they were. I will check the Bushnells again later this week to assess the effectiveness of the slightly lowered sensitivity level. Two cameras also needed to be adjusted to tilt at a higher angle, more parallel to the ground, to capture the entire individual animal on camera, as the mesomammals at these locations were consistently moving across the viewing field slightly out of frame. I may also put out a few more cameras in new locations around the farm, in order to continue improving my camera trapping skills and discover what species are active in some of the areas we haven’t surveyed so far. As of the first check, the cameras this round have captured the usual suspects: raccoon, opossum, skunk, and coyote, as well as beaver, otter, and bobcat.
I recently created a PowerPoint that will be used to present the Partners for Fish and Wildlife project plan as an outdoor classroom to Thrall ISD personnel, and I look forward to sharing our designs for the project and receiving feedback from teachers and administration as we begin to take action in converting the site back to native prairie and building infrastructure for nature education purposes. I am also currently refreshing my WordPress knowledge in order to update Dr. Tomeček’s lab website and should be making progress with new content on the site very soon.
I’ve included a few of the better camera trap photos, one each of North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), North American beaver (Castor canadensis), and bobcat (Lynx rufus). Additionally, please enjoy these photos of an adult southern leopard frog (Rana [Lithobates] sphenocephalus) and large female Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) that I came across while out and about. The latter I managed to capture using a homemade catchpole composed of a 4’x¼” dowel rod and fishing line.
Dani Miller
Wildlife Biologist
Stiles Farm Foundation