After completing my first year in college in 2017, I had the privilege to aid one of my graduate student friends in field work for two days. This involved heading into the Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson for retrieving data from motion-activated trail cameras. Although some hiking and bumpy roads were involved in reaching the locations, the effort was well worth it! Overall a rich diversity of creatures was photographed, as well as numerous cattle and hikers. Additionally, most cameras were unscathed, though one was damaged while another had been stolen (see my page entitled “The Art of Camera Trapping” under “Tips and Hints” for more on this issue). After returning to the university, we got underway with organizing the photos in preparation for analysis (also see “Software” under “Tips and Hints” for more info on how to do this). Moreover, that same year I headed out with him again in August and October near the end of his study to do some final data collections in the Santa Ritas. All in all those trips were good experiences; learning from those with more expertise in a given field always has its rewarding benefits!
