Stealthcam i390

I tested the stealthcam i390 as a possible low-cost camera solution. The camera is very large and heavy. It can be locked with stealthcam's locking device or a homemade solution. The homemade solution I used requires a slim, long padlock which is placed through the hole in the camera case. A bicycle lock is then secured around the tree and the camera is secured to the bicycle lock with the padlock.
The camera's performance is nothing to write home about. It takes some time for the camera to fire up and take a photo. The camera's sensor doesn't seem to work very well either. I tested by walking, crawling, and having a live dog cross the camera. Although it does trigger for the most part, detection seems somewhat random and flaky. It also doesn't seem very easily triggered by small species, which may be a plus or minus depending on one's needs. The flash overexposes any night photos if placed anywhere near the ground or if the animal is very close. I had to tape a piece of paper over the flash to reduce this problem. The camera is sometimes setup by sunlight, but not nearly as easily/often as the Wildview 2MP camera. An example photo is attached. Finally, because the camera is so large there is a tendency for smaller species to get cut out of the photo if the camera is placed upright near ground level. At the end of the day, all of the disadvantages of the camera are just too much to deal with just to avoid having film processed. By the time I factor in gas and time, I would rather pay for film processing than deal with the frustrations of trying to force this camera to function as I'd like.

Log Hideouts

The snake's head can be seen peering out from a hole in a log on a hill side (open the picture full size to see). The other piece of wood covers a small hole approx. 2" deep that the toad is using as a hide.

Reptiles of the Marsh

Today, I took a tour with department of conservation volunteers. We found numerous turtles and two species of water snake. The two pictured are the yellow belly water snake and the diamondback water snake. Both are nonvenomous, but as they are quite large can deliver a powerful bite.

35 mm Stealth Cams

I had previously written that 35mm stealth cams have problems rewinding. Searching the web for a solution, I also found dozens of others who were experiencing this. The solution appears to be simple: leave the camera is standby. If the camera is powered off and turned back on, at least for me, it will not rewind properly even using the manual rewind function. However, if after loading the film, I never let the camera power down or turn it to the off mode, then the film will rewind properly.

Cover for Backyard Wildlife

Here's an interesting way to provide cover for backyard wildlife. This fallen tree is surrounded by thorned plants! Usually I'll see either thorned plants or an old log/tree seperately, but here they have been combined which would seem to provide better cover for small animals than either alone.

Seed Collecting

I've taken some grapevine cuttings, but I decided to try growing some from seed too. After doing some research, I've cleaned the fresh grape seeds (taken from purple fruits that had begun to dry up). Most of the seeds sank but I did have a couple of floaters which were disgarded. The cleaned seeds were placed in a moist film canister (I filled the canister with water, then dumped the water out). I plan to leave them in fridge until late winter.

I also found some black purple coneflower heads. After seperating the seeds from the chaff, I think I'll just leave these in a paper bag and see what happens next spring. I've heard from several people who grew them without stratification.