Pine Martens - Volunteers needed to monitor wildlife cameras

Wild About Loddiswell have been asked to help monitor Pine Martens in the Avon Valley and Daniel Brown of the Two Moors Pine Marten Reintroduction Project has invited us to apply for funding for some wildlife cameras.

We need volunteers to monitor the cameras, details are as follows:

There would be a training session with a staff member from the Two Moors Pine Marten project for all volunteers.

The Two Moors Pine Marten Project will select suitable sites and, with the help of Wild About Loddiswell, seek permission from landowners to site  wildlife cameras.

The camera site would need to be baited with the bait (probably peanut butter) placed at least 1.5m off the ground.  For the first four weeks the bait would need to be topped up weekly.  After that time it would not be necessary to continue with the bait.

The SD card would need checking, probably about once a month, though it would be worth checking it a week after the camera is first sited to ensure that the camera isn't being triggered by vegetation waving about. If volunteers wanted to check the SD card more frequently, then of course they could.  Batteries would also need to be checked and replaced if necessary too, with the spent batteries taken home for re-charging (charger provided).

We would like to make this project accessible to all, so if you are less mobile and unable to monitor a camera in the field, you might like to analyse the images and videos on the SD card at home, dropped in to you by another volunteer.

You would not just be looking for Pine Martens, any footage of other wildlife would need to saved and uploaded to the Mammal/Web website to assist with their citizen-science project (Durham University) to monitor mammals across the UK and Europe.  It would also give us a wonderful insight into the wildlife that inhabits the Avon valley.

There would be two SD cards for each camera - when the camera is checked the used card would be removed and taken away for analysis. A blank, formatted SD card would be installed in its place in the camera. 

After analysing the SD card, saving any images/videos of wildlife to a PC and uploading them to Mammal/Web, the images on the SD card would be deleted, and the card formatted, ready for re-use (training will be given for this where required).

After a certain length of time (TBC) the cameras would be re-sited to new areas within the valley.

We would like to involve the school too, using the pine marten education packs provided by the Two Moors Pine Marten project.

Wild About Loddiswell would set up a Pine Martens page on this website where information about the project would be posted.

All this is subject to our funding application being successful.

If you would like to assist with the project, please email me at: wildaboutloddiswell@outlook.com

Thank you!