Otter Play

I was back at the otter den today with an extremely hopeful outlook.  It is wrong however to be so hopeful with camera trapping because these results are not always typical.

Otter looking right at you in the very left of the image.

This otter den has not disappointed. Otters showed up on several occasions since I checked this camera last.  One thing to keep in mind is that the den has a few entrances, some on water and some on land.  This camera only faces one of the many entrances.

What do the multiple entrances have to do with camera trapping?  Well, my camera only points at one of the entrances.  Only a fraction of the otter movement in and out of the den shows up when one camera points at one land entrance.

The camera was set on its video mode so I included some videos as well as still images that I extracted from the videos.

When the otters do show up though, they seem very photogenic.  They'll play and jump around in the camera's view.  A game of tag also took place during a few of the camera's recording moments.

River otter pops its head up in front of the camera.  It is located at the bottom-right of the image.

Otters are known for their play.  If you visit an aquarium or zoo that has these animals, you know first-hand that otters chase each other on a daily basis.

The last video shows some otter chase or a good game of tag.

A Warm Winter's New Sets

It's been unseasonably warm this winter in Virginia.  We still have yet to see more than an inch of snow in my area which means the cross country skis are still hung up and animal tracks are still in mud instead of snow.  There is no reason to fret though because this winter has harbored some interesting sights in the natural world  for new places to camera trap.
 Here is a quick overview of some of my newest camera trap sets to look forward to:

1. Dead deer again (I'll call this set, "The Downed Buck"). A different deer has died in the park! I stumbled across this deer only a few days after taking down the cameras at the other deer in the last post  It is also located not even 200 yards from where the other deer's bones lay.  A young buck most likely killed on the road by a car; he is now the centerpiece of two camera's field of views.  I placed a camera trap there and checked it the next day just to see what I got.  Red fox came by and that was it.  I can assume that there will be more foxes, raccoons, feral cats, and domestic dogs around the area.  Will a coyote come by to take a look?
2. Squirrel and Bird Set #1.  Peanut butter and bird seed (both legal bait for birds in Virginia) have been placed to attract squirrels and birds alike.  My fellow employees and I have our fingers crossed that we will get some shots of a flying squirrel, but that could be too much of wishful thinking.
3. River Den Set #1.  A seemingly promising location, this den has four entrances (2 of which are over 1 foot wide) and is only about 5 feet from the bank of the Potomac River in Riverbend Park in Fairfax County.  Fresh scat of a light gray-brown color and containing fish scales was found on a mound a few inches from an entrance.  Could it be the den of an otter, mink, or weasel? Will I get more camera trap images of another fox or raccoon? We'll see some results starting in a week or two.
4. Meadow Set #4.   Deer and raccoons have came by in the first week already.  We're looking specifically for some carnivores here such as red foxes, gray foxes, bobcats, and coyotes.  I set up two cameras (one video, and one set for stills) at this location located on a game trail in Riverbend Park's famous meadow.

I am thrilled to have gotten the cameras up and running in these hopeful locations but I am specifically excited to see the results of the new sets in Riverbend Park (River Den Set #1 and Meadow Set #4).

Some self-proclaimed "exterior decorating"  at  River Den Set #1 in Riverbend Park, Fairfax  County