A Volunteer's Perspective

Teresa Root is a full-time naturalist at Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul. Her first career was as a classroom teacher (mainly middle school science and math). For over 20 years, she incorporated nature studies into her curriculum, from planting trees and doing weekly nature observations to watching birds for the Classroom FeederWatch program. She has been personally involved in citizen science projects for over twenty years, as part of Cornell's FeederWatch program (identifying and counting birds coming to her feeders) and the Monarch Watch program (tagging monarchs during their late summer migration). She enjoys gardening, bird-watching, bread baking, nature journaling, reading and writing mysteries, and cryptozoology. She is thoroughly enjoying her participation in the Eyes on the Wild project and can't wait for what the next set of photos might show!


Some might say I have an addiction or an obsession. “You’re spending your evenings doing what?” people have asked when I’ve explained my fascination with the Eyes on the Wild project. To someone who hasn’t tried it, I can understand the confusion. But for those of us who’ve been involved, you understand those feelings of satisfaction and anticipation as you spend time on the website. 

There’s great satisfaction in noticing the animals that aren’t immediately obvious. I’ve had to become much more detailed-oriented and pay attention to what’s going on in the background or along the edges of the photos. I’ve had to take time to zoom in and out to distinguish moving shadows from moving creatures. It’s little like playing “Where’s Waldo?” or one of those “Can you spot the six differences between the two pictures?” games. Only doing it with nature photos is so much more fun. 

The frequent deer pictures have given me lots of practice in finding hidden animals. I’ve gotten much better at recognizing a deer moving in the distance or in spotting one deer standing behind another that isn’t visible at first. I’ve become adept at identifying bits of deer - the tip of an ear, a small part of the leg and hoof - images at the edges of the photos. 

The many deer pictures have also given me opportunities to see lots of interesting deer behaviors. Like the posturing and fighting between two bucks. 

Or wondering why that one particular stand of bushes is where the does stand on their hind legs to feed. 

Or the images of a deer with all four feet off the ground as it flew past the camera. What was causing it to move so fast? 

I’ve seen deer smirking at the camera. (I swear, it looked like the deer was smirking. Maybe that was a clue I should have quit for the day.)  I especially like the deer photos where their faces take up the entire screen. I’d like to think they’re as curious about us as we are of them.

But what keeps me coming back is the exhilarating sense of anticipation - what new, different animal might I spot today? On one of the first days, I saw photos of a fox and another of a wolf or coyote, not realizing how unusual those kinds of sightings would be. 

Once I understood, that’s what kept me coming back - the lure of wondering what might show up on the next. Persistence (some might call it obsession!) has paid off. I’ve seen gorgeous pheasants, strutting turkeys, chubby raccoons, sprinting squirrels, and my favorite - a trumpeter swan gliding over a marsh. 

With the next season’s photos now available, I’ve spotted a sandhill crane and swallows. The deer are still plentiful, but now I’ve seen fawns, and bucks with velvet on their antlers. I understand there’s a possibility of seeing bears, or badgers, or - who knows what!

So what if I’m behind with the cleaning or other chores around the house? There are photos that need viewing. I promise I’ll only do a few. Or maybe just until I see a bird…or a bear…just one more – maybe!

Want to share your experiences on the project? Email Caitlin (caitlin@umn.edu) and Emma (bubli018@umn.edu) with your text and we'll help fill in the images!