Nova Scotia Bound

Camera Trapping

2007-10-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

Camera Trapping

Many animals are reclusive or diurnal. This makes it difficult to observe them. Trapping larger mammals in restrictive traps is traumatic and poses the threat of injury to the animal. Camera trapping provides a limited view of these animals in their natural habitat. Special cameras that Cameras are triggered by movement, and equipped with electronic lighting, which can be used, day or night, to record these animals’ activities.

Our Team

2007-10-11T14:08:00.000-04:00

Our Team

Our team was comprised of twelve volunteers and two Principal Investigators. The Principal Investigators are both research scientists from Oxford University in London, England. The twelve volunteers included; the three fellowship teachers, a retired music teacher, two doctors (a radiologist and a General Practioner), two financial auditors, an operating room nurse, a professional midwife, a retired training consultant and a government civil servant. We came from Australia, The United Kingdom, Ireland and The United States (Rhode Island, New York, Illinois, Virginia and Connecticut). And of course, our loyal tracking dog, Lycos (origin questionable). Our youngest member was 37 years old and our oldest was 71. Two volunteers were men and ten were women. We all hiked between five and 6 miles per day for about eleven of the days we were here. We got VERY dirty, and loved every minute!

Last On Site Lunch/Breaking Camp

2007-10-11T13:54:00.000-04:00

Last Traps and Breaking Camp

2007-10-11T13:40:00.000-04:00

Last Traps and Breaking Camp

Today was our final day of deep forest trapping. The cooling weather and the shortening days may account for the declining numbers. Once again the Predominant catches were Meadow Voles. A few Red Back Voles were also caught. No Bog Lemmings were caught today. The Only three White footed mice that were caught were in our kitchen! We placed one in a small tank for a brief photo session and then released him in the woods.

The Gazebo was taken down and packed in the truck. Immediately following the removal of our trusty Gazebo, lunch was enjoyed in a cooling fall RAIN!!

Survival

2007-10-11T13:28:00.000-04:00

Where there's smoke, there's fire (sometimes!)

Simply Surviving

After a brief review of the basic concepts of emergency survival, compass use and sun location, team members built snares designed to catch small mammals. A pine sapling was used to power the snare and a twine catch loop was set in the center of a known animal trail. A snare of this size and type would be effective in catching raccoons, porcupines, rabbits, hares and skunks. Although skunks would clearly be an inadvisable dinner choice!
Cooking dinner posed a new problem. How to start a fire? Fire by friction was the choice. Team members constructed a bow and spindle. The bow was used to rapidly turn the spindle, generating enough friction to cause the tip of the spindle to become red hot and ignite some birch tinder. Due to a light rain, we were unable to ignite the tinder, but team members did generate enough heat to produce smoke.

Rissers Beach

2007-10-11T13:22:00.001-04:00

Tree Traps

2007-10-11T13:11:00.000-04:00

Bats and Botanicals

2007-10-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

Botanicals, Bats and Bob

Today’s activities included a census of trees in ten more forest sectors. Each sector measured ten meters by ten meters. The height and circumference of each tree over 60 centimeters meters was recorded. Six researchers worked at this for three hours. The dominant species were the coniferous trees. This included; varieties of spruce, hemlock, tamarack, and firs. There were lesser amounts of; birch, maples and beech.
The other half of the team mounted bat houses and would later visit Risser’s beach to search for bats using an echo location translator. Risser’s beach is a Provincial waterfront shoreline forest (“State Park”). It is a site of research on the endangered Atlantic White Fish.

Traps and Trails

2007-10-09T14:30:00.000-04:00

Traps and Trails

Today was Thanksgiving Day, October 8th,(Canadian). Our mission for the day was to move our traps from the grassy meadows to the deep forest understory. Again, 100 traps were baited and set. While waiting for our furry visitors, we began cutting a trail section 200 meters long. Using hand saws, an axe and various other tools, our half of the team removed several large trees, underbrush and forest wood. Three hours later we had gone 200 meters. The other half of the team did a plant census within several designated areas. The predominant tree growth was balsam, spruce, white pine and hemlock, all coniferous trees. Although there were some birch and beech, deciduous trees were the exception.

"Poop" Patrol

2007-10-09T14:16:00.000-04:00

POOP PATROL

In an effort to determine the mammal population in a given environment, the team would stake out 10 by 10 meter transects or quadrants. We would then examine every square centimeter of ground looking for mammal scat (poop). Over the course of the summer, the research teams examined 150 transects. Today, our team found evidence of Snow Shoe rabbits and white tailed deer. We also attempted to photograph the more reclusive nocturnally active mammals using sensor controlled cameras. The cameras were strapped to trees in various locations at the research site. The team would generally spend the entire day engaged in these activities. Lunch was at the base camp tent “gazebo”. We returned to the resident housing at about 8 PM for dinner.
EW8: 007, 008, 009, 012, 002, 003, 004, EW10:205, 046, 047, EW8: 015

The village of Lunenburg

2007-10-07T18:56:00.000-04:00

Lunenburg is a 250 year old fishing village. Quaint homes, shops, historic churches and unique streetscapes can be found on every street. In 1995 UNESCO named Lunenburg a World Historic Site. It is the home port of the tall ships, Bluenose II and Picton Castle. The Fisheries Museum of The Atlantic, home of the largest saltwater aquarium in Eastern Canada, and the Lunenburg Academy are “must see” destinations. The distinctive grid system street plan is characteristic of all British colonial settlements. The blacksmith and dory shop that first opened in 1895 is still building dories!

Kejimkujik Forest

2007-10-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

Kejimkujik
National Park
National Historic Site

This protected forest was the original home of the Mi’kmaq tribe of Native Americans. The 381 square kilometers of forest contain hemlock forests with trees that are between 250 and 400 years old, beech tree woodlands, flood plains of the headwaters of the Mersy River, waterfalls and costal bogs. The park also contains the historical Mi’kmaw petroglyphs (stone carvings). The park’s name, Kejimkujik, means “our place”. The endangered Blanding Turtle has been closely monitored in the park for 25 years. Dams built for the logging industry in the 1940s had deprived the park’s rivers of natural oxygenation. The dams were removed in 2005, and the river now supports a growing population of Brook Trout, Yellow Perch, Stickleback and Banded Killifish.

Checking The Traps

2007-10-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

Twice a day every trap was checked. Traps with closed doors were brought to a central location to be examined. If a shrew had visited the trap, it usually escaped through the shrew escape hole. Mice and voles were the capture targets. The traps would be disassembled in a large plastic bag, where the trap parts and bedding material were removed. The vole or mouse was then guided to a corner of the bag where it could be lifted out by the scruff of the neck. It was then examined and the gender, species and trap number were recorded. It was marked by cutting a tuft of hair from the side. This was used to identify re-captures. The final step was to weigh the capture. The mouse or vole was then returned to the exact location of the capture. This was done so that it would remain in it's own range, near food it may have stored.

Click on arrow to view the video

Lovable Lycos!

2007-10-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

Tracks and Traces
The soft and often muddy soil provides an excellent opportunity to track mammals. Lycos, a shepherd/husky mix provided us with his ability to scent track. Sometimes he tracked and trapped US! This forest is home to many large mammals, including raccoons, porcupines, fishers, deer, bobcat and bear. The smaller mammals that share the forest are a variety of voles, mice and shrews. The shrews are so fragile that even safe trapping often causes them to perish. For that reason, our traps all have shrew escape holes.

Cute Vole!

2007-10-05T12:41:00.000-04:00

Animals of the Forest

2007-10-05T12:24:00.000-04:00

Animals of the Forest
One of our goals is to trap voles and record their numbers and gender. This data has been collected by the five research teams that preceded us and our data will be added to theirs. The time span for this year’s project is from early May to mid October. Vole numbers should correlate to both climate and food availability. Predation on voles is also considered.

Red Belly Snake

2007-10-05T12:11:00.000-04:00

The Bog Forrest
Much of the surface of Nova Scotia has a layer of slate about one to five meters below the surface. This causes water to drain slowly. Over time, a layer of swampy peat accumulates. This is an ideal environment for many mosses, lichens, ferns and a wide variety of amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
EW3;001, 008, 009, 023, 035, 036, EW4:123, 151, 152, EW5:049, 050, 061

Flat Stanleys Help Looking for Voles

2007-10-04T16:28:00.000-04:00

2007-10-04T16:27:00.000-04:00

2007-10-04T16:24:00.000-04:00

2007-10-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

Checking the Traps

2007-10-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

Each day we check the (100) traps in the morning and again in the afternoon. On average we are trapping about 15 voles in each session. We have also captured white footed mice and shrews. The traps have shrew escape holes, as they are so fragile, they usually perish just from the trauma of being captured.
Our other research is examining transects for scat. A transect is a random section of the forest floor. For this research, each transect is 10 meters by 10 meters.The entire team of 12 lines up on one side and searches the forest floor. We have found scat from porcupine, white tailed deer, snow shoe rabbits and beaver. Most of the forest floor is bog. Geologically, most of Nova Scotia has a layer of slate and shale about one meter below the surface. This prevents water from draining.

Trapping and tracking

2007-10-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

Sept. 31, 2007
Trapping on the grasslands

Our research team hiked into the woods to Cooks Lake. This pasture, field and woodland area will be the site of our trapping research. For the first time, we found bear tracks on the trail. We also found evidence of Fisher predation upon porcupines. We divided the 10 members of the research team into five groups. Each group assembled, baited and set 20 traps. We will check the one hundred traps tomorrow morning and again in the late after noon. The weather has been perfect every day. It has been 75-80 degrees by mid-day, and about 68 degrees in the evenings.

Nova Scotia Coast

2007-10-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

Sept. 30, 2007
Tracks, Traces and Sightings

Today the research team hiked for three hours along the coastline. We searched for evidence of mammal habitation. We found “scat” from a variety of animals; Snowshoe hares, raccoons, porcupines, and otters. Although there are bobcats and bear in the area, we have not yet seen evidence of them. I did catch a Red Belly racer snake, and that picture is below. We also observed several deer and harbor seals. There were many tracks, and evidence of predatory birds. Tomorrow we will set the vole traps. Pictures by Jennifer Griffith.

I'm Here!

2007-09-29T16:48:00.000-04:00

It's a bright and clear day in Nova Scotia--I wish you could all be here with me!

Introduction to Voles

2007-09-23T15:35:00.000-04:00

Click on arrow to view the video

Pre Trip

2007-09-23T13:22:00.000-04:00

I haven't packed yet, but I have a really long list of things to buy.
I still can't figure out how I will get my dog, Quincy, through customs... he doesn't have a passport!

Local Time

2007-09-16T01:08:00.000-04:00

Added an analog clock to show the local time.