Trail cameras: A fun way to watch wildlife in your yard

I've always really enjoyed looking at the pictures and watching the videos captured by the trail cameras on our property. The videos are always my favorite because you get to see more of the behaviors. Either way, retrieving the SD card from a camera is always exciting because you just never know what we are going to see when you begin going through the images.

In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Anthony Trimboli about trail cameras. Anthony is a wildlife biologist, conservation educator, and my husband. He also has experience working in sporting goods stores where he helped people pick out the right cameras for them, which is why I asked him to talk with us about this subject.

During our discussion, Anthony and I touch on the history of trail cameras and their use for wildlife research and management. We also talk in detail about some of the different features that today's cameras have, some of the different ways that trail cameras can be used, and some of the things you might want to consider if you are purchasing one. In addition, Anthony shares tips for where to locate your trail camera so that it has the best chance of picking up wildlife moving through your property. Throughout the conversation we share some of the stories about things that we've seen on our own trail cameras.

In my opinion, trail cameras are a great way to watch wildlife, no matter what size property you have. It's always more fun to see things in person, but trail cameras give us the opportunity to see what's happening when we aren't watching or to see animals that may be a little more wary. This is true no matter how big or small your property is or whether it is located in a more urban or more rural area.

Links:

• Anthony's email: anthony@busybeenurseryandconsulting.com
• Backyard Ecology's website
  • Trail cameras for Pollinators
• My email: shannon@backyardecology.net

Episode image:

• A doe and a deer feeding at our pond – picture captured from video taken by one of our trail cameras
• Photo credit: Shannon Trimboli, all rights reserved