Burrow Occupancy

After one full week of having the cameras placed in the field, I went out this morning to download the photos.

 There were birds

 And more birds.

And even mice.

But the thing we found in most of the burrows.... tortoises.  

 We chose what we thought were abandoned burrows, hoping to see who else had moved in.

 

But instead, we found the gopher tortoises burrowing away

 In pairs.

 At night.

And especially in the bright sunny day.  333 photos had something going on.  Those are all tagged now and ready to upload.  So exciting to see so much activity in such a short period of time!

Camera Trap Photos

We had a camera out on the property to get an idea of who is on the property. 

  Look at who is visiting the property.  

 Here is a nighttime shot.  These are just a few of the shots we captured.

Deployment of Camera Traps

Saturday morning we were lucky enough to go out to the sight to set up our cameras.  

 We scouted for burrows and worked to set up our cameras to see what is living in them.

 Ryan took GPS readings on each camera so that we can make sure we find them later.  Some of the burrows were quite secluded.

Right now we are focusing on abandoned burrows.  Part of the role of Gopher Tortoises as keystone species is setting up burrows that are inhabited by lots of other animals. Hopefully we will see how is coming in and out of these burrows now that the Gopher Tortoise has moved on.