Day 9: Setting the Bar High

The group went back to Cook's Lake to check our traps in the new fields for the first time. We had a pleasant surprise, there were 8 different species in the first set of traps. Total we caught around 10 mammals, which was way more than last week where we caught 7 total for the while week. We then did 5 more deer surveys in the clearing, after that is was lunch time. When everyone was finished we had to carry wood back from the road to the gazebo. We broke up into groups and my team worked on the new cabin for the research site. Then we checked our traps for the second time and made our way back to the van. We went to Bridgewater and everyone got anything that they needed from the store. After, we left went beaver watching in a nearby lake. Unfortunately we did not see any beavers, but it was really nice to sit outside and take it all in. Then we had dinner and everyone hung out until the yellow house left for their 10:30 curfew. It was a long day, but it was well worth the work. We collected a lot of good data.

Here is a chipmunk that Team B caught.
The chipmunks are really cute; however, they can crawl their way out of the plastic bag. They are very smart and will continually go into the trap for food.

Here is a jumping mouse that Shana is holding. They have their really long tails so that they can keep their balance as they make their way through the undergrowth.

Here I am, I was going to hold this one; however, it was a chipmunk and you can not hold them by the scruff of their neck so Christina handles all of them. They are very very jittery while they are in the bag or in some way being contained.

This is where the beaver dam is. We did not see any after we waited for an hour and half, but the scene was really pretty and it was nice to unwind after a busy day.