Snapshot NY

10/16/2026

It's time to vote for your favorite images submitted for the October photo contest! Congrats to the top 10 contenders 🎉 The winner will receive either a Snapshot NY camo hat, or Snapshot NY insulated mug! Get your votes in before Oct 31st!

Vote here! ⬇️⬇️

Vote for your favorites!

10/14/2026

Wildlife Wednesday: Small Mammal Edition! 🍄🌰🐾

Meet one of our forest-floor residents in New York: the Southern Red-backed Vole! (Clethrionomys gapperi)

While they might fly under the radar compared to larger woodland wildlife captured on our trail cameras, these compact little rodents play a massive role in our forest ecosystems. Recognized easily by the bright reddish-chestnut stripe running down their back from forehead to tail, they weigh in at just about one ounce (around 27 grams)!

Unlike some mice and voles that prefer open fields, Southern Red-backed Voles thrive right here in New York’s moist mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, bogs, and swamp edges. They rely heavily on a complex network of logs, stumps, roots, and rocks for shelter, moisture, and food.

Did you know?

🍄‍🟫 Fungi Fanatics: While they eat seeds, fruit, and vegetation, a huge part of their diet consists of underground fungi that they excavate from the forest floor. By eating fungi, they help disperse spores throughout the woods!

❄️ Winter Survival: In the autumn, they cache seeds, roots, and nuts near their nests. When winter arrives, they stay active day and night underneath the insulating layer of snow cover.

🌿 Conservation Status: Globally and right here in New York, they are ranked as Secure (G5/S5) meaning they are widespread, and common across our state's landscapes.

Did you know we had these cute little guys in NY?

Photo credit: Larry Master, Master Images
https://www.masterimages.org/Mammals/Southern%20Red-backed%20Vole/index.html .jpg

10/14/2026

We are looking for more volunteer scientists to participate in Snapshot NY, specifically in the Adirondack, Tug Hill, and Catskill regions! As you can see, we have some gaps in these areas where grid cells are not selected.

We have a subset of trail cameras available to loan set aside specifically for these areas! If you have a seasonal cabin in one of these regions, have friends or family, or know of anyone who might want to participate - please spread the word! If you are interested, please check out our website for more information! www.snapshotny.org This is a screenshot of our grid map showing the areas in the green rectangles where we need more participation. You can find the live map on our homepage that shows which grid cells are selected (red) and which ones are available (clear). If your grid cell is taken, you can still click on it to be placed on our waitlist.

10/13/2026

Don't forget to submit your trail camera images for our October photo contest! 🎃

Submit them here by 10/15:

Submit your trail camera images for the monthly Snapshot NY photo contest here!

09/02/2026

🐭 Wildlife Wednesday: Small Mammal Edition

The Meadow Jumping Mouse

Last week we featured the woodland jumping mouse and this week we will meet its "cousin", the meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius)!

How to tell them apart:
🔍 Tail: Woodland jumping mice have a white-tipped tail, while meadow jumping mice have brown throughout the length of their tail.
🎨 Color: Meadow jumping mice are duller/more olive-brown; woodland jumping mice run brighter and more orange.
🏡 Habitat: Meadow jumping mice like grassy fields and wet meadows; woodland jumping mice stick to forests near streams and bogs.

Both have giant hind feet and an extra-long tail for leaping several feet in a single jump!

✨ Fun facts: Meadow jumping mice are surprisingly strong swimmers, drum their tails on the ground when alarmed, and pack on serious fat each fall to fuel a hibernation that can last 6+ months underground.

📍 Meadow jumping mice are found across New York, and there was a comprehensive ecological study conducted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (Whitaker 1963). This study is still cited in mammal research today!

📷 We don't have any confirmed sightings on our trail cameras though, because these mice are so small and fast! Getting a positive ID from trail camera footage is tough. Researchers actually design special low, bucket-style camera rigs just to survey animals like this (picture of this below).

Photo credit: Larry Master, Master Images

09/02/2026

☀️ Day shift or🌙 night shift? Barred Owls cover both!🦉Unlike most owls, Barred Owls are known to occasionally be active during daylight hours too, especially on overcast days.

What an excellent capture! And in mid-flight too!

08/31/2026

As your Snapshot NY Coordinator - it is only fair that I run a trail camera too! I recently captured my first fisher on camera! 🐾 I hope you all get as excited as I do to check my trail cam!

Fisher captured in Sapsucker woods at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology! So cool that we have these critters right in Ithaca!

-Joelee

08/30/2026

Have you seen a wild turkey this summer? Your observation goes a long way in helping the DEC monitor New York’s turkey population.

🦃 To report your sighting, visit the link in the comments!
📈 To see how survey results from previous years help monitor annual turkey productivity, please visit the Fall Turkey Harvest and Productivity Dashboard.

💡 Did you know? Turkeys have excellent eyesight – about three times better than humans!

📸: John Tucker

08/26/2026

🐾 Wildlife Wednesday - Small Mammal Edition! 🐾

Woodland Jumping Mouse 🐭

Don't let the size fool you! This tiny mouse can pack a scare! 🤣

Woodland jumping mice (Napaeozapus insignis) are one of NY's most impressive little acrobats. With oversized hind feet and a tail longer than their whole body, they can launch themselves several feet in a single jump!

A few fun facts:
🌲 They're most active at night and prefer cool, damp woodlands near streams
🍄‍ They are omnivorous with a preference for seeds, but will eat fungus, caterpillars, insect larvae etc.
😴 They're true hibernators, sleeping away at least 6 months of the year! One of the longest hibernation periods of any NY mammal
🐁 That long tail helps them balance during those large leaps!

📹 Caught on our Snapshot NY-ers cameras on video mode (remember, you can only upload images through our website portal, but can share videos with us for social media!)

08/26/2026

Listen, we get really excited to see a bobcat on camera too - but let's not forget to give some of our common backyard critters some love too!

Keep common species common! 🐇🐿️🦝🦌