I'm not resistant to change, however it has to make sense. And the new single
unit trail cameras make so much much sense. Not technically new, but new to the
fact that design and technology have become almost seemlessly intergrated. I
recently bought five solar powered integrated trail cameras from different
places on the internet. To my surprise, all but one preformed very will and had
some unique perks that traditional trail cameras just don't have.
Let me run
through a list of outstanding features
1) Built in panel that charges an
internal lithium battery
2) Some camera models use 4 AA batteries as back up to
the built in battery
3) Efficient solar panel that re-charges the built in
battery even in the dappled shade or cloudy days
4) Outstanding video
capabilities with 30 frames per second in 4K(some model has 60 fps)
5) Solar
panel doubles a rain guard to shed water away from the camera body and lens
6)
Multiple money saving opportunities with less battery cost and less camera
damage
7) An advanced wi-fi app allows precise aiming via live view thru
cellphone
8) The wi-fi app also allows viewing images on the SD card for
downloading if desired
9) Most cameras tested cost less than $100!
WHERE CAN I BUY THESE AMAZING SOLAR TRAIL CAMERAS?
I will provide some affiliate links to help you get the biggest discount. While I may receive a commission if a transaction THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU
I tested 5 solar trail cameras, but I can only recommend four of the cameras that I tested. The one camera has less than stellar 4K footage. I am not sure if it is a defective camera or an internal software issue.
My favorite Solar Trail Camera tested: The Voopeak TC 22 Dual Lens Solar Powered Trail Camera with a Sony Sensor and Wi-Fi Connectivity and 4K
Finally, I was blown away by the Ceyomur CY-95 Solar Trail Cam with wi-fi, 4K, 30 frames per second trail camera. It came in at less than $75 dollars and included a micro SD card with the camera. It uses the same wi-fi app as the Voopeak Cameras!
Voopeak and Campark Solar Trail Cameras are almost identical! The reason is that they are actually sister companies. If you prefer buying these same models from them, then here is an affiliate link to the outstanding Campark Trail Cam Store
While you may not realize it, but our YouTube Channel has over 68 million views!
Many of these views have come from our 12 years of using trail cameras in the jungle of Costa Rica. I have compiled an amazing playlist of trail camera videos with an amazing collection of jungle animals! It is always interesting to watch the technological advances with trail cameras over the last decade.
Here is a quick introduction to the solar trail cameras mentioned above.
If you would like to support our efforts in the wildlife monitoring project, here is an easy way to help out: Buy us a Coffee!
Thanks, we'll see you soon!
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Puma or Cougar from the Ocho Verde Trail Cameras (Felis concolor)
We finally got our Puma!
That's right, we saw cellular trail cam images of a big cat in February and March! When we arrived back in Costa Rica in late March, 2021, I was finally able to check the trail cams.
We had three new videos and a couple of new pictures of our large male Puma (Felis concolor).
I made the video below that shows exactly how the entire trail cam process went down from our home in Costa Rica and strangely enough...from my house in Charleston. Please enjoy the video and consider subscribing to our channel to more trail camera videos(actually more wildlife videos too).
For forty days and forty nights, my trail cameras recorded videos and photos of jungle animals. I checked the cameras at least weekly starting in mid January 2021. The videos of the rainforest animals were outstanding! Trail camera technology has come a long ways since we started doing this back in 2010. This video will premier on Saturday February 20, so if the link is funky, you will now why.
The rare greater Grison (Galictis vittata) shuffles through the rainforest on a trail camera in Costa Rica! Grison look just like honey badgers and are just as fierce.
A Tayra (Eira barbara) runs off with a papaya on a trail camera in Costa Rica!
January 13, 2020. I was dead tired from an all day expedition to find rare sea snakes out on the Golfo Dulce. Falling asleep early...I never noticed the emails that had come in just after dusk. When I woke up to howler monkeys at 4:45 am....I checked my email....I had two photos send from our wireless cell cameras to our e-mail account. The first email had this photo:
Ahh...Ocelot! Cool....We had seen plenty of them over the years...Its always a treat.....however...there was something more to the picture than just an Ocelot. Even with motion blur of the photo, I could clearly see the distinct eye-shine of a prey animal. The Ocelot had a meal!
I made a mental note and moved onto the next e-mail image that had come in a few minutes later. I recognized the location as a few minutes up the trail from the first Ocelot image. And there it was again, the same Ocelot.
Ocelot with prey at ASPER CREEK
Yes...she still had that prey item in her jaws. Well that was very interesting that she had followed the trail. I had other non-wireless cameras positioned before the first image and after the second image. They were only still cameras, but perhaps I could figure out where she caught her dinner and where she was going with it.
I decided that when the sun came up, that I take a walk on our Loop trail and check the pictures on the cameras and see what turned up.
This is what I saw:
That's our cat with her rat, a Tome's Spiny Rat. Outstanding!
But wait a minute...that rat is alive. Of course, I asked myself a question...why would she be carrying it away from the capture site and why would it be alive. I could not answer for a few more weeks and I checked the cameras once again.
In the meantime I had retraced the steps the Ocelot had taken with her prey. The color photo was first, followed by the eye-shine photo and ending up with the cat in what we call Asper Creek.
Here was the order of her travel:
Yes, the times were off a little bit and it was then I learned that cell cameras are as accurate time keepers as other cameras. This was backed up by the times that I received the emails.
After I had collected the memory cards from the cameras again it became apparent as to why she was carrying a live rat for a distance of several hundred meters and risk dropping it or something worse along the way. She had a Kitten!
The mom was an Ocelot that we had seen for almost five years on the property that we named 'Chere'. We have seen Chere with several young over the years. We are happy to see that her latest looks very robust with nice fat paws( called a mani gordo in Costa Rica). In the coming months we look forward to sharing more pictures and some videos here and on our You Tube Channel.
Chere's last kitten was in quite a few videos, including these classisc:
Thanks for visiting and watching the videos...we'll see you next time.
"Ok Mom....I'll see you in a few hours.....no ma'm....I'll be fine...yes, I'll wait right here for you!"
The chubby young ocelot told his mom.
She left.... he sat there.
He licked his paw and cleaned his face.
"What are those blinking lights on that tree?"
Eyes spies a Camera Trap!
"Oh...never mind...I'm hungry maybe I'll have a snack. A snake snack sounds great!"
"Cool, I caught a snake!"
"Where is Mom?", he thought... and he wandered in last direction...
Oh well...I'll just wait...
What are those strange blinking lights...I'll lick them...no...I'll bite and twist them.
WOW!
Bored he wanders off...
But around 3 the next day he returned and visited with the cameras as endangered squirrel monkeys screamed at him overhead.
The humans walked by that night and noticed the twisted camera.
Frank, James, and Owen walk by that night!
Later that same night, he shows back up and plays in front of the camera with his friend!
Cute Cats Playing
Here is the full video! If you can click the "Watch on You Tube" button for a bigger picture.
Supporting us.
Those of you that wish to support our efforts can
do so in several ways. You can always send us a contribution via snail
mail or though PAYPAL.
A more painless way for you to help out is by watching our OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Sooooo…..if you could subscribe to our channel and
share our videos it would be great! Here is a handy button. It is that
easy!
A Jaguarundi(Herpailurus yagouaroundi) peers over a fallen tree
Super Rare....Super Important---The Rufous Tree Rat
I had this blog written and ready to publish last week, then we got some really exciting news. We identified one of the rarest mammals in Costa Rica on one of our cameras! How rare? We are likely one of about five sightings.
This may be the lowest recorded sighting of the arboreal Rufous Tree Rat at less than 2 meters above ground.
Short ears and black tail are just a few of the distinguishing characteristics of Diplomys labilis.
When I could not find the above rat in my field guide, I recalled that an arboreal rat had recently been discovered living in Costa Rica…I looked into a Tico Times story about Costa Rica's 250 mammal species . The Rufous Tree Rat was only discovered to be in Costa Rica in June of 2015. I sent images via email to the researcher mentioned, José Ramírez, with images of our buddy. Late Friday afternoon he confirmed, with 90% certainty and 100% enthusiasm, that it is indeed the Rufous Tree Rat. Here is his description of the finding Here is his description of the finding.
I was later contacted by Naturalist Jim Córdoba_Alfara, who actually photographed the Rufous Tree rat for the first time in Costa Rica at La Tarde Lodge on the Osa Peninsula. He confirmed our sighting and is including our project’s images in an upcoming paper about this understudied and poorly known rodent’s natural history. While called an arboreal or Tree Rat, the the Rufous Tree Rat and its close cousins are more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas of South America.(via Canopy Family Website)
Other New Visitors
While not a true Rainforest carnivore, the Coyote is doing well in Costa Rica
The other new visitor is none other than the wily Coyote. Despite having 15 camera traps throughout the forest it never appeared on any cameras. I just happened to see it run past one of the cabins so I set up a camera and it was a nearly a daily visitor. We also found some droppings and realized that it was probably feeding on iguanas or basilisk lizards. Jaguars, Pumas, and man are the coyotes only known predators in Costa Rica.
My what a big tail you have!
Mexican Mouse Opossum
One critter that we have suspected of being here is the Mexican Mouse Opossum. Well we finally got a good enough image to properly identify it. They are some of the smallest marsupials in the New World.
We were also visited by the Neotropical River Otter again. This time it was actually in the water and was probably looking for freshwater shrimp. Pollution and habitat loss are two factors that have led to the Otter's decline in the last few years. THESE VIDEOS ARE BETTER IF YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR SCREEN
The other rare mammal that we saw was the Greater Grison. These small mustelids (Weasel Family) run around the forest and are rarely seen by people. We are catching more of them on camera traps. We were fortunate to have a short video and a nice clear picture of one.
A Good Mother
It has also been a few years since we have captured good images/video of an Ocelot and her cub. From October through our last visit in March, we saw them on a regular basis in all parts of the forest. I compiled a short clip of their wanderings.
The young ocelot caught perhaps her first mouse!
It was just a matter of time...
When we started this project years ago, Aida told us that it was not
uncommon to see naked people out in the woods. Sure enough, we got
several video clips of an amorous encounter of this gentleman and his lady friend!
Up the creek.
Eleanor and Jimmy cross the river after we set two cameras in a remote location.
We teamed up with Osa Conservation for the largest
Camera Trap project in Central America. They created a grid with 120
squares(240 cameras, 1,920 AA batteries) over the Osa Region of the Golfo Dulce. Each Square has two
opposing cameras. The study will run for 90 days.
Finca Green Eight(Ocho Verde) represented by the purple squares in the red oval.
The data collected will
assess the health of the endangered Jaguar population, their prey, and
their activity in vital corridors throughout the regions of Costa Rica.
We (OchoVerde) were responsible for 5 squares(10 cameras). Exciting news will be
coming from this research over the coming months. Here is the link about
what we’ve done so far .Click here to learn more about this amazing project.
Wireless Cameras Update
Our five wireless cameras continue to send us email images from over 3000 miles away. Of course, you can follow along on the Zoological Society of London's Instant Wild Page. Or better yet, sponsor your own wireless camera in Costa Rica and get these remarkable animals send directly to you. EMAIL ME if you would like to do this!
We have also been working with Osa Conservation for almost two years to get wireless cameras working out in the Osa Peninsula near Corcovado National park. They finally received a wireless network out there. I was apparently able to crack the code in order to get their network up and running. We had some great help from a new wireless camera company called Barn Owl. It seems as if it is only matter of time before we get images of a Jaguar!
Diquís Spheres
Capuchin Monkey and an ancient sphere.
An ancient indigenous tribe called the Diquís were famous for their carved stone spheres. Nobody really knows how and why these were carved, but they were rolled up creeks to various places in Southern Costa Rica. Many have been removed for museums or stolen for private homes, there is even one rumored to be in a yard in Charleston...
We were presented with an opportunity to visit a site literally right down the road from Ocho Verde where several of these spheres are located. We placed a wireless camera on the property and mysteriously the 12 new lithium batteries died before one photo could be taken. I eventually moved it to another spot where it seems to be functioning. It is sending about 60% of its pictures.
I put one of our trusty white flash cameras down by the creek and got some outstanding images.
Mysterious Ocelot and a Mossy Sphere
What in the hell is it?
Our cameras take great pictures, but sometimes we just cannot figure out exactly what is going on. We have two cases that we would like to share here. The first is this strange apparent beam of light shooting across the frame. It could be an insect, but at 5:36 am it is pretty dark at this place.
Shutter speed is 1/122 of a second.
Whatever it is seems to be traveling very fast.
The second mystery image involved what I think is a rather large animal.
1:20am in the center right of frame.
Mystery animal for sure.
I would certainly say that it is dog sized, but I cannot figure out how or why it has those parallel lines running across its body and legs. I would guess camera malfunction, but they appear to be behind the leaves as well.
If you have a guess on that these are, please email me or leave a comment below. Thanks.
Bonus Time
As if this blog wasn't long enough...
Hognose Skunk on the trail of a mate.
Unidentified Bat flies over the Famous Rock
Ocelot on Log via the wireless camera.
In the one that got away category...It would have been a beautiful Jaguarundi shot!
Supporting us.
Those of you that wish to support our efforts can do so in several ways. You can always send us a contribution via snail mail or though PAYPAL.
You can always support us by subscribing, watching, and sharing our videos on YouTube. For evry thousand vies, we get a few pennies and this does add up over the years.
Sooooo…..if you could subscribe to our channel and share our videos it would be great! Here is a handy button. It is that easy!
The Kinkajou, an occasional visitor to out camera testing area.
I'm tired of that Damn Snake! so let's get on with some pictures! We
have just returned from Costa Rica. The project is active and is
continuing to produce positive results. Animal populations continue to
be sustained. We even got a first real glimpse of a jaguarundi with her kitten.
A Jaguarundi kitten towers over it's mother.
Some of the cameras fared well despite that over 6 feet of rain fell in a 30 day time at the end of November. For
the first time, we did not see any trespassers hunting on the land. We
did see plenty of dogs, which cause chaos in the forest.
Local dog harasses an agouti within the same minute.
We are up to 4 working wireless cameras. As far as we know, we are still the only
project with wireless cameras in Costa Rica. Movistar, our cell
service provider, has been instrumental in helping us maintain
connectivity. We brought the cameras and they had the technology, but
we had to merge the two, a first for this multi-national company.
Back in August HCO, the company who sells the wireless cameras that we use, offered up a contest on Facebook and we won!
We won a Camera!
The cameras email us images in minutes. The images that we receive are much lower quality(resolution) than what is recorded to the card. Here are side by side examples:
Low resolution email image of Coati.
Better resolution of the same image downloaded from the SD card.
We have inspired at least six other property owners to use camera traps. So our project is much more far reaching than we ever expected. In
early January, I was asked by a friend to set up some cameras on an old
road up on the mountain behind Golfito. The first time we checked the
camera we got a male Puma image. We continued to see
more of him regularly for the next three weeks. We also discovered Puma
droppings or scat which were given to mammalogists from the Phoenix Zoo. This will shed light on the cat's dietary information from fur analysis.
Our cameras got a Puma only 3 miles from our property.
As
far as we know, this is the first photo evidence of a Puma seen in this
vicinity in a long time. There was also a documented report and video
of a Puma crossing the Coto River just South of Golfito. Our place, Ocho Verde is just 5km or 3 miles from each location. This
is important as we try to determine if we have a big cat corridor from
the Golfo Dulce Rainforest Reserve into the wilder mountains of Pavones
and into northwestern Panama. Cat corridors are important for genetic
diversity and healthy populations. Other than a fortunate sighting, our
camera traps will certainly be key in this determination.
This seems like a logical path for big cats
We can always use assistance with our project as there are constant financial burdens such as batteries, data plans, memory cards, camera repairs, etc. If you would like to offer further help, please use PAYPAL https://www.paypal.com/us/homewith the email address OchoVerde@gmail.com, or contact us directly at the same email address.
No brand was spared from the rain damage.
We have a remarkable support staff in the US that enables us to spend time on our project. Observant neighbors, reliable cat feeders, and an expert parrot watcher to name a few. We are always grateful for their help!
See you soon --Thanks--Frank If you have stuck around this long...here is funny video from our cameras!
In the enire six weeks we were there, we saw 2 snakes and no fer-de-lances!
Many of these views have come from our 12 years of using trail cameras in the jungle of Costa Rica. I have compiled an amazing playlist of trail camera videos with an amazing collection of jungle animals! It is always interesting to watch the technological advances with trail cameras over the last decade. 
