As the 7th graders from Heritage E-STEM Middle School learn about the prairie ecosystem, we take time to learn about both the plants and the animals that live there. Students looked for signs of animals during their visits this past week. We found coyote scat, squirrel dreys, holes (not snake holes - see the earlier post), deer rubs, insect holes and tunnels under the bark. We saw and heard birds. And a couple of students even spotted voles dashing through the grass as they walked in the prairie looking for live traps.
We also set up two trail cameras to try to capture images of animals active at night. Last year, we got pictures of deer, coyote, and raccoons. (Lots of people, too.) This year, the camera by the bridge crossing the creek took pictures, but none of them revealed any animals. It was windy on some of the days the camera was set up and moving plants will trigger the motion sensor in the camera.
The camera by the trails had taken at least 196 pictures by the time the second class came out on Thursday. Admittedly, most of them were taken as the students walked past the camera, waved at the camera, jumped up and down by the camera. Even so, some of the pictures probably showed something other than 7th graders. But, we'll never know. When the group arrived at the camera on Friday, it had reset itself to zero. To be sure, I checked the memory card when I took the camera back to the nature center. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. No pictures.
So what went wrong with the camera? I'm not sure. I've used it in colder conditions. I've had it take more than 200 pictures before I've downloaded them from the memory card. I don't know what could have happened. But it's a good lesson that just because you have technology, it doesn't mean you'll be more successful. Lesson learned.
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