Spying on sparrows
University of California scientists have wired a forest in the San Jacinto Mountains with high-tech gadgets for a close-up study of nature.
About two dozen remotely operated cameras -- including one slung from cables and operable via Internet connection -- zoom in on feeding sparrows, nesting bluebirds, grazing deer and other wildlife at the James Reserve near Idyllwild.
The equipment enables scientists to study previously unobserved phenomena, such as animal behavior during weather changes. “The better we understand an ecological system, the better we can manage it,” says UC Riverside biologist John Rotenberry.
Check it out at www.jamesreserve.edu/webcams.lasso.
