Audubon staff at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary have been using remote cameras equipped with motion sensors to study the different species and numbers of mammals on Sanctuary land for over a decade. This past fall, they also conducted a special study over two months as part of the SnapshotUSA program, a large-scale initiative started in 2019 to better understand mammal population numbers nationwide.
Overview of SnapshotUSA
SnapshotUSA, a program supported by the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, collects data nationwide annually in September and October. Through the program, they have made more than 1 million mammal observations and 67,000 bird observations to date.
The 2025 SnapshotUSA effort included submissions by agencies, organizations, and colleges and universities representing a variety of habitats, with 3,320 cameras deployed across 49 states and Puerto Rico. With cameras placed throughout the wetland habitats, the Sanctuary is in the “Subtropical Division” and is one of more than a dozen locations in Florida. While the Sanctuary’s location is considered “wild,” other SnapshotUSA participants placed cameras in rural, suburban, and urban environments.
Findings From the Sanctuary’s Cameras
Following SnapshotUSA guidelines, Audubon staff deployed cameras in 20 locations at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary at the beginning of September. Once all the images are retrieved from the cameras, they are uploaded to a machine learning tool that identifies and catalogs images and data. While Audubon research staff and volunteers confirm the identification for every image, the tool saves hundreds of hours of review by filtering out repetitive images, blanks, and those that show only wind-blown vegetation.
Of the 164,307 images collected by the Sanctuary’s cameras during the 2025 study, the online tool identified 14 species of mammals, with hundreds of images of white-tailed deer, bobcats, and wild boars, which were the most numerous mammals. It also detected 18 sequences of Florida black bears and 7 sequences of Florida panthers. But the cameras also captured images of many other animals, including birds and even insects.
“This kind of study encourages us to think about the ecosystem as a whole,” says Audubon Research Associate Darienne Purtz, who was responsible for overseeing the data collection for this project. “Since the cameras are out there all the time, they capture behaviors, interactions, and species that go unnoticed when we are not in the field,” she adds.
As part of the project, the team made an exciting observation. A photo of a King Rail captured the bird carrying plant material. Rails are very secretive marsh birds, and since this was during nesting season, it may be a sign that they are nesting in or near the Sanctuary.
Where Do We Go from Here
SnapshotUSA aggregates all project data online, accessible by all participants and the public. The effort provided an excellent opportunity for Audubon to collaborate and contribute data to large-scale mammal studies. It could also possibly pique the interest of researchers studying mammal biodiversity or behavior that could advance conservation efforts at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the future. Rigorous science plays a pivotal role in documenting the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on birds, landscapes, and people—and in devising innovative, inclusive solutions to mitigate and counter their effects.
