Recently, I decided I needed to know how many seeds a paloverde tree drops during the period from May-June when it produces copious (and delicious) pods. However, virtually anything that eats in the Sonoran Desert seems to eat these paloverde seeds. So I need to design a seed trap that allows seeds to fall into it, but does not allow animals to eat the seeds before I return.
I first thought five gallon buckets would be pretty resistant to javelinas and pocket mice, but quickly realized the Harris’s antelope squirrel has no problem boinging in and out of them. My next try was to extend the bucket with a squirrel baffle type cone. This had the added benefit of increased diameter of seed collection, but the decided detriment of acting like a sail on gusty days. Even with all the heavy rocks I could find piled in the bottom, the prototype blew over ten minutes after I set it up.
However, I was rewarded for leaving my camera out with my first ever video of a bobcat! He or she wandered by late in the afternoon, and returned a few days later at dusk. Check it out:
PS Thanks Prohaskas for letting me try out my seed traps behind your house!
Biologist. Explorer. Storyteller. 