Interested in purchasing a wildlife camera for yourself or as a gift for family or friends? 

The short answer from our Conservation Science Director Jessica Moreno is:

I recommend checking out the reviews and the beginner’s buyers guide found at www.trailcampro.com. With new models coming on the market all the time, this is a great resource for up to date recommendations and tips. You get what you pay for, so I don’t recommend anything worth less than $100. To minimize animal disturbance, choose an infrared/IR camera over white flash.

For more information, check out Jessica’s longer article in the Desert Leaf, “Wildlife (caught) on camera” which gives more details on wildlife cameras, the different ways they are used, some rules and regulations to think about depending on where you’re placing them, and what to think about when buying one.  

If you do end up buying a camera and get some interesting pictures of Sonoran Desert wildlife, we’d love to see them!

Note: Another fun resource is the Backyard Wildlife of the Southwest Facebook page where wildlife enthusiasts from around the Southwest regularly post photos of wildlife taken with their wildlife cameras and regular cameras. 

Tags: open spaces, Sonoran desert, wildlife, wildlife cameras, wildlife linkages