Looking for more community science opportunities? Improve forecasts by becoming a volunteer weather observer!
Join volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas who report precipitation online to ensure measurements of snow, rain and hail are available for your area.
This March, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is recruiting volunteer weather observers as part of their “March Madness” campaign, a nationwide competition to see which state can recruit the most volunteers.
All you need to do is sign up, attend a free online training course, grab a high-quality rain gauge, and you’re ready to start measuring precipitation in your backyard.
The data you provide will help improve weather forecasting models, forecasts of river stages and flood levels on local waterways, and will inform National Weather Service thunderstorm and flash flood warnings. For more information on CoCoRaHS, contact kevin.erb@wisc.edu.
Interested in exploring additional community science opportunities? Just around the corner is Citizen Science Month, April 2023. Find other ways to get involved with locally driven or online science projects on the SciStarter Event Page. Who knows what you’ll discover!
February #SuperSnap
February #SuperSnap goes to these white-tailed deer fawns spotted in Columbia County! A female deer, also known as a doe, will give birth to her young in May or June and will typically only have 1 fawn the first year of mating. In subsequent years, she will likely give birth to 2 fawns, and in rare occasions up to 3 or 4! White-tailed deer have special adaptations and behaviors to help the young survive from predators. For instance, the young have a reddish-brown coat color with small white spots, which helps them blend in with forested areas. Additionally, the doe will only visit their young 3-4 times a day to avoid leading predators to their location!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @charleysangel for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
January #SuperSnap
The January #SuperSnap goes to this beaver spotted in Ashland County by a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera! Beaver, the largest rodent in North America, have unique features that help them conduct their favorite activity. Gnawing on sticks, of course! Their large, round tail helps with balance on land, and they will use their tiny front feet to carry and hold sticks. In the fall, they will often begin to prepare food caches of their favorite woody items. If the area is relatively free of predators, the beavers will take their supplies a farther distance from the water to gnaw the pieces into shorter lengths. Afterwards, they will begin carrying the pieces back to their underwater storage area for easy access during the winter!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @cjpope for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
December #SuperSnap
The December #SuperSnap goes to this raccoon and her four kits captured in Jackson County! Four kits are an average litter size for raccoons, and they are typically born in April or May. Kits are born helpless with their eyes closed, and they only weigh a few ounces. By late summer, the raccoon young are much more independent, but they will stay close to their mother throughout their first winter. When a new litter is expected the following spring, the previous years kits are ready to move out on their own!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @momsabina for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
November #SuperSnap
The November #SuperSnap goes to the couple of otters captured by a Snapshot Wisconsin camera in Vilas County. Otters are semi-aquatic and have many features that make them excellent swimmers, such as their webbed feet, narrow body and strong tail that helps them propel through the water! They can stay underwater for up to 8 minutes and are able to do so by closing their nostrils to keep water out during these longer dives. They can detect prey in dark or cloudy water with their long whiskers, then use their clawed feet to latch on to their favorite food items, such as bass or sunfish!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @bzeise for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
https://www.eekwi.org/animals/mammals/river-otter
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/north-american-river-otter
October #SuperSnap
The October #SuperSnap goes to this porcupine that made a point to be captured by a Snapshot Wisconsin camera in Marinette County! Porcupines have as many as 30,000 quills on all parts of its body, except the stomach. Unlike the common misconception that porcupines can shoot the quills at predators, they swing their barbed-quill tails as defense which can cause their quills to become embedded in their predators. Porcupines are not an aggressive animal, but they will use this unique defense when threatened, especially from their main predator, the fisher!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @AUK for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
Spooky Snapshots
Happy Halloween from the Snapshot Wisconsin team! We wanted to share a few of our favorite spooky photos that have been captured on our project’s trail cameras. We hope you enjoy them, and that everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!
Note: Some photos include animals carrying dead prey.
A bobcat from Vilas County arching its back
A coyote and what appears to be either a full moon or a light spot in the sky.
An unknown light in front of the camera lens. Speculations include a spider web or insect.
An Unidentified Flying Object hovering over this raccoon in Dane County.
A coyote carrying a scavenged deer head.
A flock of red-winged blackbirds soars across a field.
An ominous great horned owl staring into the distance.
September #SuperSnap
The September #SuperSnap goes to this striped skunk and her kits spotted by a Snapshot Wisconsin camera in Oneida county! Kits are born in dens by May or June and will begin to wean from their mothers by six weeks. They will then start venturing out on forage expeditions by following single-file behind mom. Striped skunks are opportunistic omnivores and will consume anything from fruits and nuts to amphibians and reptiles, but their favorite food source is insects!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @oregano for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
August #SuperSnap
The August #SuperSnap goes to the Sandhill Cranes captured by a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera located in Dodge County. Cranes have unique behavior displays that are often referred to as “dancing.” They can be seen dancing when they are seeking a mate, to strengthen the bond between lifelong mated pairs, or to express aggression or territoriality. During these displays, cranes will let out a series of distinctive calls that can be heard up to 2 miles away!
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @Swamp-eye for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
https://www.eekwi.org/animals/birds/sandhill-crane
https://madisonaudubon.org/crane-dancing
https://savingcranes.org/learn/frequently-asked-questions-about-cranes/
July #SuperSnap
The July #SuperSnap goes to this fantastic trail camera image of a fisher from Dunn County! This type of fisher doesn’t require a pole and net to catch their food. Fishers instead use their retractable claws, sharp teeth, and agile body when on the hunt for a meal. They also rarely eat fish as their name might imply. They most commonly prey on other terrestrial mammals, including snowshoe hares, squirrels, and even porcupines. This species is omnivorous, so they will also consume nuts, fruits, and mushrooms when available.
A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @smeurett for this #SuperSnap nomination.
Continue classifying photos on Zooniverse and sharing your favorites with #SuperSnap – your submission might just be next month’s featured photo! Check out all of the nominations by searching “#SuperSnap” on the Snapshot Wisconsin Talk boards.
Sources:
http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/fisher_k6.html
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/furbearers.html
https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/fishers/about
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