The Snapshot Wisconsin team has been busy putting together a report outlining how far we have come over the last 4 years and our future plans. Part of that is some interesting new science results that we plan to share in the next few newsletters. This month is all about turkeys!
Since wild turkeys were reintroduced into Wisconsin in 1976,
population levels continue to increase and expand statewide. Turkey population
is one thing we can track using Snapshot Wisconsin data. Chris Pollentier,
Upland Game Bird Researcher at the WDNR, has been working on using Snapshot
Wisconsin data to calculate wild turkey poult to hen ratios. The graph below
shows the number of turkey classifications from Snapshot Wisconsin trail
cameras in June – September 2016. Since 1988, the WDNR has done brood surveys
to count hens and poults. However, brood surveys are performed in only a
limited number of counties. Snapshot Wisconsin data will be helpful in filling
in this information for the rest of the state.
The most turkeys ever captured on a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera! (St. Croix County - 2017)
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Have you been
participating in Snapshot Wisconsin as a trail camera host for over a year? In the next few weeks you
should be receiving a letter in the mail from UW-Madison researchers with a survey about
our project. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the program and
help us improve!
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Some of our trail camera hosts, especially our elk monitoring volunteers, have their cameras secured with cable locks. When doing your checks, please remember to make sure that the cable lock isn't restricting the growth of the tree. If you don't have access to the key to loosen the lock please get in touch with us via email to request a key for your cable lock.
The cold weather also causes some issues for our cameras. If your camera is secured with a padlock keep in mind that the lock may be frozen, you will need to be prepared with a deicer or some way to warm the lock. Additionally, if the camera setup screen does not turn on the camera may still be functioning. To confirm camera function please check to see if the red light on the front activates when in setup mode. If the red light does not activate please email us.
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Season 6 of Snapshot Wisconsin on Zooniverse launched this week! We are off to a great start with awesome levels of participation by Zooniverse volunteers. We implemented some new changes to the photos we upload to Zooniverse for crowdsourced classification and to the retirement rules this season. Read all about it on the blog.
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We recently hosted our first two trail camera host recognition events for hosts who have been active in the project for more than one year. It was great to travel back to Dodgeville and Hayward and see folks again that we haven't seen since training. We plan to continue to host these events on a regional basis as needed in the future. Stay tuned to our blog for an upcoming blog post about these events. |
We will share one awesome animal photo each month. To enter one of your favorites from a Snapshot Wisconsin camera please send the image as a jpeg attachment with the animal classification, county location and date taken along with the reason why you love the image to DNRSnapshotWisconsin@wisconsin.gov.
This month's image of a coyote with prey was submitted by a Dane County trail camera host who loves the photo because it shows the cycle of life in the animal world,
something she (and probably most others) rarely get the opportunity to see.
Other interesting photos from our cameras can be viewed in the slide show on our webpage. The WDNR is now also on Instagram so look for Snapshot Wisconsin photos there also.
Contact Information for Snapshot Wisconsin
Phone: 608-572-6103
Participate on Zooniverse: www.SnapshotWisconsin.org
Find out more details on our webpage:
dnr.wi.gov Keyword "Snapshot Wisconsin
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