By Will Kelsey
Happy to share that the 20 camera traps the Trust kindly helped me to hire have been running smoothly since late-May. I plan to analyse the usable images generated to see if birds show a preference for rooted areas.
I am expanding the scope of the study to include an analysis of how pig rooting impacts the abundance of ground-running arthropods, which serve as a food source for the many insectivorous birds at Wilder Blean. The Natural History Museum generously provided me with the equipment needed to collect these arthropods. In exchange, the specimens I collect will be added to their collections.
Below are a few photos of the cameras, my pitfall traps and an ecosystem-engineering Iron-Age pig in action!
Note: Will has received funding from our Young Naturalist Fund
![Impact of Iron-Age pig rooting](/Media/Cameron/Blogs/pigs3.jpg)
![Impact of Iron-Age pig rooting](/Media/Cameron/Blogs/pigs1.jpg)