In the Milwaukee area and need a break from the city or an educational way for your kids to stretch their legs? Check out this outdoor exhibition featuring Snapshot Wisconsin at the Forest Exploration Center (FEC)! FEC Community Trail Spur exhibitions celebrate Wisconsin’s rich forest heritage and explore our human connection to the land through trailside art, literature, and science under the theme All That Trees Provide. Until mid-July, “The Intersection of Art and Science” exhibition will feature a unique curation of original wildlife art submitted by Wisconsin artists, paired with real dat ..read more

The May #SuperSnap goes to this committee of turkey vultures on a bank in Vilas County! Dating back to prehistoric times, these fascinating birds are often seen soaring high in the skies, riding heat thermals on their 6-foot wingspan. They’re easy to tell apart from other large birds while in flight as their wings form a distinctive “V” shape and they tilt from side to side as they glide through the air, unlike hawks and eagles which remain steady. As they ride the skies, turkey vultures scan for food with their keen sense of sight and smell. Their main sources of food are dead and decaying an ..read more

The April #SuperSnap goes to this pair of skunks rustling around in Sawyer County! Skunks are solitary animals except when mating mid-February to mid-April, and when sharing a den over winter. They settle into their dens around November through March with up to four adults sharing one den! Skunks do not hibernate but instead enter a state of deep slumber, called torpor, from which they may awake from time to time. On warm winter nights, when temperatures are above 30°F, skunks will even emerge from their dens! This pair was spotted around mid-November, so they most likely share a den and came ..read more

The March #SuperSnap goes to this buck scratching an itch in Grant County! Male white-tailed deer, also called bucks, will often be observed rubbing their head and antlers on trees in the fall for several reasons. The primary reason is to mark their territory during the mating season or “rut”, which stretches from October through December. Both male and female deer have glands in their foreheads called apocrine glands, which they will rub on trees and branches to mark their territory and communicate with other deer.  Bucks are known to mark more often than female deer and the glands are m ..read more

The January #SuperSnap goes to this badger striking a pose in Sauk County! Even though the American badger is Wisconsin’s state mascot, they are quite elusive creatures and rarely make appearances, so it’s always exciting to see one come across Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras! A shot as clear as this one perfectly showcases their distinct features, like their dark “sideburns”. Have you ever wondered why the badger is Wisconsin’s state animal? Interestingly, it all dates back to the 1800s and revolves around a rich history of lead mining in Wisconsin. Early colonizers dug tunnels throughout th ..read more

The December #SuperSnap goes to the sandhill crane stretching their wings in Rock County! Have you ever noticed how the feathers of a sandhill crane can range from gray to brown in color? In the spring, the naturally gray bird will “paint” their feathers with mud to camouflage themselves in brown grasses. The sandhill crane is often confused with the great blue heron, especially in flight. When you spot a large bird in the sky, pay close attention to their neck! An outstretched neck will indicate a crane, but a great blue heron will fly with their necks folded back.   A huge thanks ..read more

Snapshot Wisconsin is celebrating its 50th Zooniverse Season this winter! The first Zooniverse season was launched on May 17th, 2016, and has continually brought in thousands of classifiers since then. From China to Mexico, from Russia to Brazil, volunteers have helped Snapshot Wisconsin make more than 9 million classifications! Global map showing countries where volunteers classify from. As we celebrate 50 seasons, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude to all the volunteers who make this project possible. Your work helps Snapshot Wisconsin provide valuable data and research to th ..read more

The October #SuperSnap goes to the red fox that was seen preying on a snake in Pierce County! Foxes are fantastic hunters. In fact, they can locate a rustling sound within 1 degree of its exact location using their large, upright ears. When they locate their prey, they will creep low to the ground with their heads outstretched. Then, when they are in the perfect position, they will pounce on their unexpecting prey with their forefeet! Red foxes are omnivores, and they will consume a wide variety of plants and animals which varies with each season. A huge thanks to Zooniverse participant @Mege ..read more

The September #SuperSnap goes to the curious coyote pup seen in Eau Claire County by a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera! To prepare for their upcoming litter of 5-7 pups, coyotes will usually repurpose abandoned badger, woodchuck, or skunk burrows for their den sites.  Pups are born with short, yellow-brown fur and will be weaned from their mother by the time they are about 8-9 weeks old, at which point the den will be abandoned. They will learn to hunt by following their parents on hunting trips. By the end of the summer, the pups will be ready to go hunting on their own for some of their ..read more

The August #SuperSnap goes to the doe and fawn spotted together in Sheboygan County! White-tailed deer photos make up 2/3 of animal photos captured by Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras, which makes them the largest collection of animal photos in the Snapshot Wisconsin database. Each year, the Snapshot Wisconsin dataset is used to track population ratios such as adult sex ratios (doe to buck ratio) and recruitment ratios (fawn to doe ratio) throughout the state. The Snapshot Wisconsin volunteers who host trail cameras and spend many hours classifying photos contribute greatly to these efforts, a ..read more