Every morning is Christmas on Mt. Hoo as I scurry about looking for the gifts left during the night by our wildlife neighbors.
Those “gifts” come in the form of images recorded on any one of nine game cameras located at my hilltop home.
With childlike excitement, I pull the small electronic cards from each camera and with great expectations hurry back to my computer to see what gifts nature has brought.
Like a Christmas morning youngster, I am filled with boundless optimism that I may have captured something amazing as the wild creatures of Mt. Hoo went about their nocturnal ramblings.
It’s become an obsession that continues with the recent addition of a far more sophisticated camera trapping system that records high-resolution images.
Now, instead of those low-quality and oddly shaded infrared images captured by inexpensive trail cameras, I am recording full-color, multi-megapixel, suitable for résumé, animal portraits.
Like most nature lovers, my interest in the use of game cameras began with a desire to learn more about wildlife activities we rarely see in the wee hours.
I purchased a Browning Trail camera and began the journey down the rabbit hole!
It was like entering Wonderland.
Randomly moving the camera around every few days, I began to learn travel patterns, and discovered the presence of critters I never knew shared our little acre on top of a ridge.
Images have also recorded prey and predator ing the same spots within a minute or so. This makes me wonder if there is a safe zone or agreement between species as to where hunting is allowed.
Soon, I assembled a portfolio of nighttime images of coyotes, bobcats, opossums, raccoons, woodrats, owls, rabbits … lots of rabbits, bats, quail, roadrunners and even an occasional feral house cat.
I added a small water dish on the ground just outside my office window and was thrilled to learn that just about all my wildlife neighbors took advantage of this important resource.
The pictures were an exciting proof of life after dark on Mt. Hoo. Gradually, more cameras were added, capturing an opossum carrying youngsters in her pouch, the spring crop of coyote pups or cottontail rabbits taking dust baths.
The cameras offered an expanded look into the lives of our local wildlife neighbors, but the images were more novelty than quality. It was time to step up the game of nocturnal nature photography.
I had a professional quality digital camera I was not using, made a waterproof housing, and purchased a remote trigger that would be activated by movement and wirelessly send a signal to my camera equipped with a receiver.
The camera would fire, a small transmitter would send a signal to several flash units to fire, and whatever was moving past the remote trigger would be photographed.
I set up the camera trap not more than 30 feet from my bedroom door along a little pathway that ing critters would likely use.
This was Big Boy Christmas with high hopes of huge gifts in the form of spectacular images of our denizens of the dark.
Sometimes the morning gifts are more like lumps of coal.
Imagine my excitement when there were 42 images waiting for me on the new, high-resolution camera? Sadly, most of the photos were of a narcissistic rabbit posing while his picture was being taken.
Mt. Hoo has become the official portrait studio for local wildlife.
I’ve written before about nocturnal game photography with trail cameras, and reader interest was high. Dozens have asked me to recommend a camera, but there are so many choices and features, it’s best to do your own homework.
A great place to start is trailcampro.com where you can find a comprehensive buyers guide and product reviews.
The Nat, also known as the San Diego Natural History Museum, reached out seeking a few images and information for an exhibit it will be launching Nov. 18, titled “Caught on Camera: Wildlife When No One’s Watching.”
“Caught on Camera is intriguing and visually stunning, but it also conveys how camera traps can play a role in conservation,” said Justin Canty, vice president of education and engagement at The Nat. “We hope visitors will be inspired to participate in conservation in their own way, whether it’s through sharing their own observations or simply getting to know the local wildlife we share our environment with.”
The exhibition will be displayed on several walls of the museum’s top-level mezzanine where visitors will view squirrels in mid-leap, bobcats in backyards, and even native species few have heard of, such as the ringtail.
Many images were taken by researchers from The Nat and others working to study and conserve regional biodiversity, as well as community scientists.
A flat monitor will also feature a rotating gallery of camera trap photos submitted by residents of the county.
If you would like to contribute your game camera photos of interest, visit sdnhm.org/exhibitions/caught-on-camera and them in JPG format.
The Nat is open daily, except Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ission is $22 for adults; $18 for seniors, students and military; $12 for youths and free for children younger than 2.
Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email [email protected] or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.
