Over the winter Krista and Helmi deployed several trail cameras to capture video of the wildlife at Seedrioru, to do a survey of the health of our forest, as well as create educational content to use with the kids. Just a few weeks in, we already had incredible results and couldn’t wait to share them! This page will be updated as the project continues so keep checking back!
The most common question being asked is “what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen on the cameras?” Although everyone has their favorites, myself included- I would say the coolest thing by far is the animals I have never seen up close in person clearly enough to identify in the 27 years I have been at Seedrioru.. So here I have cut together the mystery of ‘WHAT WAS THAT?!?’ that took several months to solve. I’ve posted the videos in the order they were captured- in March and April we started seeing tiny glimpses of a very fast animal that only triggered the cameras at night, when it had already run halfway through the frame, so we started by only seeing it’s butt running away. By late April and May we finally caught clear daytime shots. (-Krista Koger)Häid lihavõtteid! Lihavõttejänku tuli! Happy Easter! The Easter bunny came and visited the fox den overnight!A red fox sitting outside one of its densThe fox, at his other den sniffing around before he heads to bed, to make sure it’s safe.Since the fox has multiple dens, when he isn’t home sometimes other animals will take advantage of the empty den and move in!Almost every other animal will sniff the den as it passes, and for some strange reason there is a heavily used game trail right over the opening to this den!Curious raccoon taking a sniffOpossoms are not everyone’s favourite animal, but they’re a sign of a healthy diverse forest, and like everything else- they sniff the den too.The smallest animals the cameras capture have been mice, which were the biggest surprise to see near a fox den, as fox may see them as a snack!Even coyotes will sniff den enterances while passing by..Seedrioru is occasionally visited by the odd coyote. They tend to travel alone or in pairs, but disappear from the cameras for several days after any kind of human activity (ie: talgud, people going for walks or with their dogs, loud music at the sauna, etc)The coyote really are skittish! The cameras make a faint click when they are triggered, and an infrared light comes on- the coyote often notice and want nothing to do with it.They are beautiful, healthy animals.Down by the creek raccoons will flip over rocks looking for snacks underneath. Despite the cold, they don’t hesitate to get in the water- even though it’s whiskers are covered in ice!Seedrioru is home to several groups of deer, which dig around in the snow for plants hiding below.During the winter, deer get extra fluffy, especially around their tails. The deep snow also adds a little challenge for them to walk, causing them to prance like this.This yearling definitely gets the award for the fluffiest tail!A young buck crossing through the forestGroups of wild turkey are not uncommon around Seedrioru!Just a raccoon, but the full moon is shining on the river!Most animals are quite curious about the cameras!
