Wildlife in the Watershed
Remote cameras illuminate cute & quirky behaviors while informing management decisions
VLAWMO works to understand the health of our environment in a variety of ways. One way we did that was by conducting a watershed-wide, remote-camera survey from 2018-2020. The survey allows us to focus on areas near waterways and in wetlands to understand mammal diversity and identify rare species (Note: We see birds sometimes with remote cameras too, but there are more thorough ways of sampling for bird diversity in an area). Some mammals, like River otters, are indicators of habitat health and water quality. These species are of particular interest as we consider areas for increased conservation and restoration effort. A way to evaluate the results of a restoration is to compare what mammals we saw before and after. If we make the habitat better, do new species of wildlife move in? This kind of information provides baseline data about species present in our watershed and helps VLAWMO identify priorities for the future. Scroll to see samples from 6 primary sites in our watershed and over 28 camera locations.
6 primary locations for the 2018-2020 remote-camera survey in the Vadnais Lake Area Watershed.
Close-up views of each primary location starting with Site #1: Vadnais-Sucker Lakes Regional Park
Remote camera locations in Vadnais-Sucker Lakes Regional Park
Vadnais-Sucker Lakes Regional Park has high quality habitat in an otherwise mostly urbanized watershed. This park contains plant communities identified by MN DNR as pre-European colonization. These native plant communities are the focus of survey work during 2020 to better understand current conditions and provide targets for what restorations in the area might look like.
Wildlife in native plant communities
These images didn't all happen at once. The Coyotes had a spat. We saw an injured Coyote the next day at another camera. The Mink came by later, checking out the area.
This River otter popped up through a beaver-maintained air hole at the beaver lodge.
It startled at the camera--a new object in an otherwise familiar place.
And disappeared into the water, only to reappear and slide on by a few seconds later.
Pausing with a curious glance.
Sliding on by.
Coyotes in this area are pretty used to living carefully around humans. They seemed quite comfortable in front of the cameras.
Coyote pauses along the wetland edge.
Raccoons are always curious about new objects and scents in their territory.
Traveling and staying in family groups helps to improve raccoon survival, so we often see them in small groups.
Red foxes (note the black stockings) are right to be wary in well-established coyote areas.
Let's see what happened in Site #2: the North Oaks the Conservation Easement with Minnesota Land Trust
This photo was from Izzy and Madeline's camera. Izzy and Madeline worked with VLAWMO as University of Minnesota (UMN) service-learning students in spring 2020. We especially like the front and back view of these two raccoons (see next).
...coming and going as a pair in the wetland.
A male Ring-necked pheasant. Their colors are lovely, but these nonnative birds are commonly referred to as ditch carp by ornithologists.
Small mammals are captured by cameras too, like this Short-tailed shrew.
Sometimes we forget to highlight more common mammals, unless they pose just right like this Gray squirrel.
A young Coyote stops to check out the food caching log. Josh, a UMN service-learning student during fall 2019, set up this camera.
Flying squirrels were especially active caching seeds at night. We were even lucky enough to see a pair at the log together.
A Short-tailed weasel (or Ermine) could make a meal out of all of those smaller mammals working to cache food for later in the winter.
A Virginia opossum passing by.
A Red squirrel. Red squirrels are highly territorial. They will even chase away larger Gray and Fox squirrels.
An Eastern cottontail is always on the lookout for predators.
And here's that pair of Flying squirrels. They were the real treat for us at this particular camera location. There were hundreds of pictures of their behaviors, including gliding right by the camera.
This site had a camera aiming over the top of a Muskrat lodge during winter.
Coyotes came by to check out the scents that we left at the site and couldn't resist rolling in them.
Coyotes live in family groups, so it's not uncommon to see them visiting a camera site together.
Sometimes it's the perfect pose that makes the photo just right.
Site #3: Amelia Lake and wetlands
Amelia Lake is the least known area for VLAWMO. The lake is classified as a lake of biodiversity significance. It has an invasive species, Flowering rush, reported over past decades. Nothing is known about the current status, distribution, or effects on biodiversity in the lake from Flowering rush. Purple loosestrife was abundant on the lake in the past. Beetles have been chewing back the invasive loosestrife and allowing native Water willow, a species of conservation concern, to rebound. Amelia Lake will be the focus of surveys in 2021. We'll be able to learn more about this interesting lake then.
A Mink using a log to access the wetland area.
The reflection with this Sandhill crane is especially lovely.
Mink tend to stay close to water and are comfortable swimmers. They frequently swam by this camera using the stream to access the lake.
Raccoons are abundant in the area.
Beaver sign is present in many places in the watershed. This is the only time, so far, that we've captured one with our cameras.
A Muskrat swims by during the day.
This Great-blue heron stayed for a while in front of the camera, stealthily hunting for frogs and fish.
The last glimpse of the heron as it took off. Look at those feet!
The cameras are close together at this site because VLAWMO has only 1 access point where we have permission to reach the lake. We appreciate permission and collaboration with landowners in our watershed.
Site #4: Tamarack Nature Center
Tamarack Nature Center is changing a lot these days. Nature center staff, Ramsey County Soil and Water Conservation Division, and VLAWMO are working together on woodland and wetland restorations. Stop by to walk the trails and see these efforts in process.
A Pileated woodpecker visits a fallen log in the wetland near Tamarack Lake.
Many photos in this sequence are spliced together. This one shows a Short-tailed weasel (or Ermine) in summer and winter coloration. They get a white coat in the winter to allow them to camouflage in the snow.
White-tailed deer are abundant in the watershed and at Tamarack Nature Center.
Wild turkeys are easy to spot in the watershed, and they are often seen at camera sites.
Virginia opossum don't have an established territory. They tend to pass through and keep on moving in a continually roaming mode of behavior.
A camera was placed looking directly at a Muskrat lodge as the Muskrat pair was actively preparing and reinforcing the structure for winter. It was especially neat to see them working together, bringing reeds and mud to keep their lodge strong.
Coyotes were regular visitors.
Can you figure out this one? Look on the log to see a small mammal, and see if you can guess what it is.
That was kind of a hard one. Here is the Red-backed vole zoomed in a little bit. A Meadow vole could also be found in this area, but that reddish-orange tint to its fur helps us determine the ID of this critter.
Site #5: Birch Rotary Nature Preserve
Birch Rotary Nature Preserve is a small park in White Bear Lake, just down the road from Tamarack Nature Center. The wetland has interesting plant species, supports breeding populations of frogs and toads, and hosts a pair of cranes that possibly nests nearby. It also has a high density of Amur maple with buckthorn and honeysuckle sprinkled in, all of which are invasive. As VLAWMO continues partnering with the City of White Bear Lake, we think it would be a worthwhile endeavor to restore areas in this preserve.
A male Wood duck poses for a perfect photo on a floating raft of reeds in the wetland.
A female Wood duck and her babies passed by this site a few times over a couple of weeks.
A mink out during the nighttime.
A Great-blue heron.
A Mom and her young raccoons actively forage in the area. In the next series, Mom comes by first, followed by one of her young raccoons, both still wet from their swim...
A pair of Sandhill cranes often occupies an area slightly to the side of this spot. We were delighted to see this visit during the night.
A Canada goose gets underfoot. It's safer to stay close at this age.
Site #6: Lambert Lake and major VLAWMO project site for sheetpile replacement and meander construction.
This site has been a focus for VLAWMO for the past couple of years. An MPCA/EPA grant is supporting new structural additions, including building a curving stream (or meander) out of a current ditchline and replacing failing sheetpile with long-lasting steel. Engineers at SEH are designing these environmentally-friendly structures. Researchers from the UMN are designing and testing biochar treatment cells to remove bacteria and work to address the impairment for this stream. It turns out that it's also an active site for River otters, Coyotes, White-tailed deer, Wild turkeys, Raccoon, Mink, and more. We've seen interesting behaviors and interactions between River otters and Coyotes and even recorded otters mating. These observations got us interested in learning more. We're partnering with the Minnesota Zoo and UMN veterinarians on an otter project to learn more about the health of our urban otters as a result.
White-tailed deer use the wetland areas for feeding and resting.
River otters pass through, scent mark the area, and deposit scat at the latrine site.
Otters roll and roll in the grass, leaving behind grass balls that help identify otter activity in an area.
It's a little hard to see detail on these photos because we put the camera on a tree that was close to the bank--close enough to photograph animals but not close enough to get great pictures.
Rolling in the grass may help otters groom their fur and remove parasites.
Note that Coyotes visited not long after the River otter scent marked. Coyotes investigated the spot and kicked away at the scent marks.
They urinated on another River otter marked spot and investigated everywhere.
The Coyotes were suddenly startled by a noise in the water.
The noise turned out to be a River otter. If you look closely, you can just see a glowing eye at the bank. Not to worry, no River otters were harmed by Coyotes during this project.
A Coyote pauses for a close-up.
Wild turkeys lek at this site. Lekking is when the males gather at a site to display, as they try to gain attention (and mate with) the females.
Raccoons are active at all of our sites in the watershed including Lambert Lake and Pond.
If you look closely, you can see velvet on the tips of antlers that are just coming in.
Otters were seen mating at the site on April 19. It's interesting to have a specific spring date for mating in Minnesota. The lens was foggy, so the pictures weren't great. It's kind of poetic, though, that we had to give the otters their privacy.
Site #7: 4th and Otter Restoration Site
Restoration has been underway at this site since 2019. Community-engaged students, McKenna and Olivia, set up a remote camera for 4 weeks during fall 2021. Seven mammal species were documented including: Eastern cottontail, White-tailed deer, Raccoon, Red fox, Gray squirrel, Peromyscus (mouse), and Virginia opossum. A few highlights follow below.
Red fox are more often seen in residential areas, whereas coyotes tend to be seen in larger green spaces. This site is situated between a road and residential housing, so Red fox were expected here.
Raccoons checking out the fallen log.
Young opossums were a special treat to see at this site.
This cottontail snipped off a blade of grass right in front of the camera.
In total, we observed 19 native mammal species during our remote-camera surveys from 2018-2021. Would you have predicted that we had that many in our watershed?
- White-tailed deer
- Virginia opossum
- River otter
- Raccoon
- Mink
- Short-tailed weasel or Ermine
- Coyote
- Red fox
- Beaver
- Muskrat
- Eastern cottontail
- Flying squirrel
- Gray squirrel
- Fox squirrel
- Red squirrel
- Red-backed vole
- Short-tailed shrew
- Peromyscus (White-footed or Deer mouse)
- Striped skunk
- Feral cat
- Domestic dog
For more information about the VLAWMO remote-camera survey, click Reports, then Environmental Surveys and Biological Monitoring
A coyote in our wooded wetland at City Hall, which is the site of a buckthorn removal and restoration effort.
Thank you for viewing this Story Map and staying curious about wildlife around you.
