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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.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The call of the high country

Christian finishes his log set.

The high country was calling, "get off your butt and set some cams -- the camera trapping workshop is only a month away".

So the codger spent a day in Sierra County in good company -- "graduates" from last year's Camera Trapping Workshop plus friends.

The northern Sierra still has plenty of snow.

Forest Service roads weren't always passable; snow drifts were thick on the north slopes.

And the Yuba River wasn't fordable by the usual routes and means: rock-hopping, wading, or crossing fallen logs.


The high country in Eldorado County, where I found more mountain beaver habitat this weekend.


That didn't stop us; we put out a record number of cameras in several habitats.

We GPS'd each set because in only 4-weeks the growth spurt of grass and Delphiniums will drastically change the appearance of each location.

I was pleased to observe that the guys learned their camera trapping lessons well and gained a great deal of experience on their own this past year.

Now they're pushing the envelope for camera trapping creativity.

What you can't see in the picture above is that Christian's camera trap is only 12 feet or so above the whitewater!

Okay, I'm joshing.

But in a few weeks when the drifts melt there'll be a lot more water flowing under his lofty perch.

And for other high jinks and discoveries from last weekend check Camera Trapping Campus.

2 comments:

Sebastian Kennerknecht said...

Really looking forward to the class! I am sure you guys set some great sets this past weekend!

Camera Trap Codger said...

It's going to be fun, and we have a lot more camera trapping locations (= more habitats) than in the past.