Hanmer Trapping group makes effective use of a camera.
The Hanmer Springs Trapping group has an active group of volunteers that are trapping around their beautiful town. After hearing about our cameras at a Hurunui Biodiversity Trust hui they weren't 100% sure the cameras were right for them and so decided to rent a DOC AI Camera for a couple of months.
Outside of logging catches they haven't been doing a lot of monitoring. A couple of their group have done some training for 5 minute bird counts. Each trap line is serviced by different volunteers. They decided to share the cameras around different trap lines. All the volunteers were able to have access to the Cacophony Portal. This gave the potential to engage the volunteers in a different way and to see how the biodiversity varies across their whenua.
Initial monitoring locations using the DOC AI Cam
The thermal monitoring data could be exported into a spreadsheet to produce this summary of what was detected.
A summary of the pests detected in Hanmer Springs
The most unexpected finding here was how many possums they had, given that they had only caught one in the last year (they weren't actively trapping possums). They were also surprised to see pigs close to town.
The videos were frustrating in a way. They could see the animals investigating their traps, but not going in. This is motivating them to think of better ways to set up their traps and improve their catch rate. Here's a hedgehog interested in a DOC 200.
Here's a video of a possum climbing on top of a DOC 200 trap
It's also interesting to see how the pest densities varied by location. The hedgehogs and cats were mostly detected in town. The possums were detected everywhere, but in higher densities out of town. The rodents were everywhere, but noticeably worse in one location. This information can help them decide what types of traps to use and where to focus them. They would like to get some AT220s.
No mustelids were detected. The cameras were only operating at night time and they may have to put the on during the day to detect any stoats etc.
Bird analysis
The group also set the camera up to record audio. Here's a recording of a Tui taken at the top of Jacks Pass.
This information can also be exported into a spreadsheet, and analysed to produce this sort of summary.
The AI doesn't always get the classifications correct. We're pretty sure there aren't kea and kaka in the area. It's easy to search the recordings for those classifications, listen to them and correct them. This information can also be split up by location and trends analysed over time.
Effective outcome monitoring with one camera
The Hanmer Springs Trapping Group is a great case study of how a small group can benefit from just one DOC AI Cam. They have been able to get a better understanding of the pests and birds and engage the community. After the trial they were able to purchase the camera (with the cost of the rental taken off).