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Native Californian, biologist, wildlife conservation consultant, retired Smithsonian scientist, father of two daughters, grandfather of 4 small primates. INTJ. Believes nature is infinitely more interesting than shopping malls. Born 100 years too late.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Exposing the stripper




She was naked and alone. A redwood sapling stripped of her outer bark.

The question was who was the stripper. Chickadee, titmouse, bushtit? Maybe a nuthatch. Or was it a rodent?

I suspected a dusky-footed woodrat. There was a stick nest only yards away.

Rich thought maybe a Sonoma tree mouse.

We set the camera about 12 feet away and 5 feet off the ground on a metal post, and we waited 6 weeks for a good weekend to make the four and a half hour drive, which was last Saturday.

The camera batteries died after a month, but there were 52 pictures.

Forty four were of grey squirrels and twelve of them were of squirrels on the tree.



There was one visit by a woodrat.



And 4 of deer, who looked only to be passing through..



The evidence is inconclusive. None exposed the stripper.

We'll have to use video to catch it in the act.

The work never ends.

5 comments:

brdpics said...

Sasquatch TP!

cliff said...

Most in our area are squirrels using the bark for a nest. Great photos, it does take a while to find the culprits.

cliff

Camera Trap Codger said...

We cannot reject Sasquatch TP hypothesis. Scientists and Bigfoot. enthusiasts have pondered the creature's toilet etiquette for many years now. Cedar and redwood bark would do an excellent job. Sasquatch however has duped us for years. Superior intelligence always saves it from the camera trap's eye.

I see that Cliff also allows that possibility.

We will not give up.

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I wanna do something like this I mean going to the mountain and carrying my camera in order to take a lot of photos because nature and animals are exciting.