Hi all! It has been nine days since I started my urban wildlife study. This past week in Los Angeles has been gloomy and wet. Since I began my study on January 4th, Burbank has received 2.5 inches of rain. The warmest day reached the low 60's and it has been very wet and cloudy. There has definetly been a decrease in wildlife activity in the mountains. Brian at the Stough Canyon Nature Center (SCNC) hasn't seen deer activity in over five days, nor has he witnessed the California Quail roaming about. Brian is a full time employee and has spent significant time in the area of the SCNC. He has observed that quails are generally active in wet weather but they don't even seem to be hanging around lately. Animals normally come down the mountain to get water, however since there are puddles everywhere there is no need for them to leave far from their shelters to hydrate. Brian and I discussed the most recent mountain lion tracks in the area. From the size of the footprint it is likely to be P-41, a male mountain lion who has been collared in a NPS study.
Unfortunately nothing has triggered the camera yet. If you recall, I had placed it on a popular game trail that animals use to get down the mountainside. I have decided to move the camera to an area that has had recent cougar activity. The downside of this particular area is that there aren't many trees to secure the camera. I had to rig the camera set up differently in order to place it in that location. I purchased two metal posts and a hammer and was able to secure them into the ground. This set up is not ideal. This area is more traveled by hikers. As a result there will be more "false" (human) triggers resulting in larger memory card usage. It also has a higher probability of theft. However, I am hoping that people can be respectful if they do notice it. I changed the PIR (passive infrared sensor) sensitivity to high due to the size of the area in the cameras new view.
The weather is due to clear up this weekend and I am hoping that some wildlife will trigger my camera. At this point, I will be happy if it's a squirrel. I have spent every other day in the pouring rain checking on my equipment, ensuring all is well. I don't mind the wet or cold. If anything it is preparing me for my move to Humboldt come summer. Giving my camera time to capture footage this past week has taken a lot of patience. I have sat up at night wondering if a bobcat would take the game trail down the mountain in search for food, hungry from sleeping in its den the past few days. I think to myself, "please little bobcat, walk across the range of my sensor." One of the challenges I'm facing is being able to collect quality data using only one camera in the field. This is why obtaining more funds is so crucial to my study. The more cameras I have, the more species I'm going to be able to observe and record.
