As a child, I remember seeing photographs of startled birds and mammals in nature magazines and National Geographic. Knowing how hard it was to observe even common mammals like badgers near my home town of Athlone in Ireland, I was enthralled by the idea that the animals could trigger cameras and capture their own images. In our teens, a good friend and I spent a number of nights up in trees near badger setts trying to catch glimpses of these fascinating animals. We knew that they were there; we had looped briars around the entrances to their underground setts to catch hairs. We failed to catch hairs because the badgers removed the briars, and we failed to capture all but the briefest glimpses that left us wondering what we had really seen.


This evening I removed the chip from a camera I installed in August. It has been clicking away at passing animals without much care or attention from anyone. Similar cameras have revolutionized wildlife biology and made wildlife photography available to a far broader range of people. It's hard to say that my little camera trapping adventure has revolutionized much of anything, but it's a lot of fun for my favorite 8 year old to see what comes through our back yard.




Even our simple back yard setup is generating data that could easily be used to address a number of questions. For example, the published accounts of cotton tail rabbits suggest that they are most active near dawn and dusk. But in my back yard, I most often photograph rabbits after mid night. Quite obviously I may well be photographing the same midnight bunny on several nights, but it does suggest that I should repeat the experiment in a different location and capture evidence from one or several other rabbits.
Our yard is visited by skunks, racoons, opossums, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and several different neighborhood cats. We have also captured photographs of several birds including catbirds, grackles, cardinals, bluejays, sparrows, juncos, and robins. Skunks have distinctive coat patterns and there are at least two that visit our yard.
I can't recommend a specific camera brand because I have only tried one. I can say that I'm very happy with the Reconyx camera that I'm currently using. An available metal housing makes it possible to string a cable lock through the housing and the camera reducing the possibility of theft. However, I can strongly recommend camera trapping as a fun family activity and a way to connect to seldom seen animals that quietly slip through our back yards. Once could very easily craft a fascinating science fair project or indeed publishable study with the budding scientist in your life.
All photographs taken using a Reconyx HC600 Hyperfire