THE JOY OF TRAP CAMS! by Sarah Raplee

         
  I love looking at photos and watching videos of unsuspecting wildlife caught on my day-and-night-vision trap camera. It was after watching my sister and brother-in-law’s videos of their visiting herd of deer in the high desert that we got inspired to try filming on our property. They know each doe, buck and fawn by name. He puts out corn for the animals during the winter when food is scarce. Ducks, quail, rabbits, foxes and the occasional dog or cat visit as well as the deer. Who knew their neighborhood on the edge of the city had such a diverse animal population?

Now my husband and I realize how much hiking into the woods up the hill to attach the camera to a new vantage point is worth the effort.

               Reward number one: watching the videos of deer and quail (who knew we had quail?) puts smiles on our faces!

               Reward number two: we learn there’s a whole nighttime community of animals living on our property that we were mostly unaware of until we began filming their activities. Watching them makes us feel closer to the land and to nature. We appreciate and pay more attention to our beautiful surroundings. We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

               Reward number three: we have a tool to determine whether those big cat tracks by the barn were from a mountain lion or a bobcat—and whether or not the predator is still around. Same for the black bear that left scat at the back of the property last week.

               Reward number four: watching the videos is a mindful meditation. You forget everything else and live in the (recorded) moment. Very relaxing.

               Reward number five: we find out what our cat does outside at night. He’s a mouser extraordinaire!

               And lastly, we get some exercise moving the camera from place to place and retrieving the SIM card so we can watch the videos on our laptops.

               I highly recommend this hobby to anyone who wants to enjoy life and smile more often!

If you own a a trap camera (also known as a trail camera or wildlife camera), what is the most interesting photo or video you've captured?